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My Dad's Famous Tomato Gravy + Happy Father's Day!




Isn't it wonderful that there's an entire day devoted to celebrating the incredible dads in this world?  I'm one lucky girl, because I was blessed with the greatest father in the whole world.  I know, I know...We ALL think our dad is the greatest, but mine truly is.  :)


Not only is he a great dad, but he's an equally awesome cook.  Today is your lucky day, because I'm sharing one of his best recipes.  This is one that I've meant to write down for the longest time.  He visited recently and whipped this gravy up for dinner along with country fried steak, and I made it a point to take notes as he went.

This isn't your mama's gravy!  It's packed with mouth-watering flavor and is kicked up a notch with the help of red wine and bacon.  The secret to the best gravy is bacon drippings, and this recipe takes full advantage.  

Be careful - This is dangerously delicious and has been known to cause dancing in one's seat at the dinner table.

Happy Father's Day, and Bon Appetit my friends!

PS - I love you bunches, Dad!!  :)




Paul's Famous Tomato Gravy
Source:  My dad

Ingredients:
6 slices thick cut bacon
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 cans beef broth
2 cans diced tomatoes
Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a large cast iron skillet, fry the bacon over low-medium heat, flipping often.  Once the bacon is nice and golden brown, drain on a paper towel-lined plate.  Once it's cool enough, break the bacon slices into small pieces and set to the side.

To the pan drippings, add the flour and stir with a fork, scraping up the cooked-on bits from the bottom of the pan as you go (this adds flavor!).  If needed, add a little more flour, until all the bacon grease has been soaked up.  Keep stirring and continue to cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. 

Next, add the red wine, broth and diced tomatoes to the skillet, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken, about 4-5 minutes.  Stir until chunks are gone and the gravy is smooth.  Add the bacon pieces back to the skillet and season with salt and pepper, stir well.

Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Serve with buttermilk biscuits or country-fried steak.

NOTE:  This gravy is the perfect accompaniment for country-fried steak.  If making country-fried steak with this gravy, add your cooked/fried steak right to the skillet while the gravy simmers in the final step.  This will produce incredibly tender and flavorful steak!

Stirring the flour into the bacon drippings and scraping up those yummy bits with a fork!


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