Southern Chocolate Gravy with Bacon

Southern Chocolate Gravy with Bacon is a delicious, decadent Southern-Style gravy made from simple, budget-friendly ingredients such as bacon drippings or butter, all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, sugar, milk,  a pinch of salt, and smoky crumbled bacon to drive your taste buds over the edge.

I can not begin to tell you how delightful Southern Chocolate Gravy with Bacon is without thinking back to the look that would come across my beautiful mama’s face when she would talk about how when she first had Chocolate gravy over her mama’s house in Tennessee, she felt like heaven and earth moved that day.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America theorizes that Chocolate Gravy may have been a product of the folks from Spanish Louisiana and the Tennessee Valley trading or possibly passed down from one of the Spanish colonies on the East Coast in the 16th and 17th centuries by the ethnic group known as the Melungeons.

I genuinely believe Southern Chocolate Gravy with Bacon should be considered a liquid crack, you have it one time and completely lose your mind over that smoky, chocolatey deliciousness, the next thing you know you’re at the Betty Ford Clinic for addiction to Southern Chocolate Gravy with Bacon, it’s just that darn good Y’all.

Don’t forget to make a little extra to store for a few days or to send to a friend who has never had the sheer pleasure of experiencing one of the South’s finest gravies you’ll ever enjoy. They’ll be happy you did once they try it over some oven-fresh hot biscuits. Store it in a cute little mason jar, and don’t forget to make some hot oven-fresh biscuits to enjoy with the Southern Chocolate Gravy with Bacon.

Ingredients needed

• Four pieces of thick-sliced bacon fried until crisp

• Two tablespoons of bacon drippings or butter

• Three tablespoons of all-purpose flour

• 1/2 of a cup of granulated sugar

• 1/4 of a cup of unsweetened baking cocoa

• 1/8 of a teaspoon of kosher salt

• a pinch of cayenne pepper, optional

• One and 1/2 cups of whole milk + more if needed

• 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

• hot oven-fresh biscuits

• sprigs of fresh mint for garnish

Frequently asked questions

1. Why do I have to sift the flour and unsweetened cocoa powder? When flour is sifted with other dry ingredients, such as cocoa powder, this helps to combine them evenly before they are mixed with the other ingredients.

2. Can I use imitation vanilla extract? If in a pinch you can, however, I strongly recommend using Pure vanilla exact over the imitation for optimal flavor.

3. I don’t eat bacon can I omit the bacon? It will not hurt to leave the bacon out.

4. Is the Cayenne pepper necessary in the Chocolate Gravy recipe? No, of course not you can omit it. It just enhances the chocolate gravy with another layer of flavor.

5. Can I use canned biscuits for this recipe? Just use a brand you enjoy and bake them.

6. I live in the South (insert State), and I have never heard of Chocolate Gravy is this a Southern Cuisine? It sure is, and it was served frequently at Graceland with Elivs’s stamp of approval.

Southern Chocolate Gravy with Bacon

Heidy McCallum

Southern Chocolate Gravy with Bacon is a decadent delicious gravy made from simple budget-friendly ingredients such as bacon drippings or butter, all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, sugar, milk, a pinch of salt, and smoky crumbled bacon

5 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Sauce

Cuisine American, Southern

Servings 6 People

Calories 476 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 pieces Thick sliced bacon fried crispy
• 2 tablespoons Bacon drippings or butter
• 3 tablespoons All-purpose flour sifted
• ⅔ cup Granulated sugar
• ¼ cup Unsweetened baking cocoa sifted
• ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 pinch Cayenne pepper optional
• 1 ½ cups Whole milk + more if needed
• ½ teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
• 12 hot oven-fresh biscuits
• sprigs of fresh mint for garnish optional

Instructions

 

• Place a well-seasoned cast iron skillet on medium heat, let it heat for a bit, then add 4 pieces of thick sliced bacon in the preheated cast iron skillet; cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and reserve until cool enough to handle. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings for the chocolate gravy.
• Crumble the crispy bacon once cooled enough to handle.
• Combine the all-purpose flour sugar, cocoa powder, kosher salt, and in a bowl and whisk the dry ingredients to blend them together.
• Add the 2 tablespoons of reserved bacon drippings or 2 tablespoons butter in the cast iron skillet over medium-low heat; add the cocoa mixture, stirring constantly and cooking for about 2 minutes or so.
• Slowly add the whole milk to the cast iron skillet, then add vanilla whisking with a small whisk constantly, until chocolate gravy is smooth and has thickened to a thick gravy consistency.
• Add the crumbled bacon to the Southern Chocolate Gravy and serve over split homemade oven-fresh biscuits while still hot, garnish with a sprig of fresh mint if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 01Calories: 476kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 9gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 787mgPotassium: 301mgFiber: 2gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 272IUCalcium: 98mgIron: 3mg

Keyword Chocolate, Gravy

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