Recipe for Southern-Style (South Alabama) Gravy

If you are from the south or learned to cook by someone from the south, you’ll know that we don’t always measure ingredients. It’s always “a little of this” or “pinch of that” or just a “feeling” of when to stop pouring for the right amount. I learned by watching my mother and grandmother (who learned from her mother and so on) and inherited their non-measuring method. So, as I write down some of these recipes, I sometimes have to back track, and remake the dish, while “guesstimating” to the correct measurements of the ingredients.  

That’s why during the holidays last year, I decided to record my mother as she made her delicious, southern-style gravy – a recipe that has been passed down orally, like a family folktale.

Based on the interview I did with my mother, while making her gravy, I was able to document a more accurate measurement of the ingredients. My mother is probably reading now and will likely dispute the measurements I have below, so I challenge her, and you, to watch the video and tell me if I got it right. Watch how my momma makes her southern-style gravy.

Homemade Southern Style Gravy Recipe

Ingredients

• ½ Onion
• 3 TBSP Flour
• 3 TBSP Olive Oil
• 1 cup Water

Directions

• Finely dice onion into smaller pieces.
• Add 2 TBSP of olive to a saucepan on medium heat.
• Add in onions and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, until they start to slightly turn golden.
• Add in flour and continue to stir and let it brown (not burn) for another 5 minutes (keep stirring).
• Add in 1 cup of water and stir until evenly blended.
• Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, occasionally stirring, until thick.

If you’d like to add a protein, Mom suggests to fry chicken or pork chops and then add into it into the gravy, and let simmer for about 10 minutes on the low setting.