Southern Tomato Gravy with Country Fried Doves

User Reviews

4.9

16 reviews
Excellent

Southern Tomato Gravy with Country Fried Doves

This is a basic Southern tomato gravy recipe inspired by the book Victuals, which I highly recommend. You can vary it in many ways I mention above, and serve it with most meats, fish or with a starch such as grits, biscuits or rice. 

I Made This!

1 person made this

Save this

6 people saved this

Ingredients

Servings

TOMATO GRAVY

  • 4 to 6 lices Bacon or 3 tablespoons some other fat or oil
  • 1 cup onion finely chopped
  • 1 heaping tablespoon cornmeal fine, or all-purpose flour
  • 1 ounce can tomatoes or 1 1/2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes, crushed or diced
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons sorghum syrup or maple syrup, or light molasses
  • salt freshly cracked black pepper
  • black pepper freshly cracked black pepper

FRIED DOVES

  • 1 pound dove breasts other some other meat, from about 16 doves or so
  • salt or Cavender's Seasoning
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 egg lightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1 leeve saltines crushed to resemble breadcrumbs
  • cooking oil for frying

Instructions

MAKE THE GRAVY

  1. In a large skillet, ideally cast iron, cook the bacon slowly until crispy. Remove the bacon. Eat two pieces. Chop the remaining pieces. Leave about 3 or 4 tablespoons bacon fat in the pan.
  2. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until it softens, about 5 to 10 minutes. Take your time. Sprinkle the cornmeal or flour over everything and stir this in. Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. 
  3. Pour in the can of tomatoes with their juices. If you're using fresh tomatoes, chop them up well beforehand, reserving as much of the juices as possible. I seed them, but you don't have to. Drizzle over the syrup, too. 
  4. Stir this all in and cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes basically dissolve, about 20 to 30 minutes. I cover the pan while cooking, otherwise you might need to add a little bit of water to get it right: You want the gravy to be a bit thicker than Thanksgiving gravy, and a bit chunky. If this bothers you, puree it in a blender. 
  5. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Smoked salt is a good call here, and you want a lot of pepper, as it's part of what makes this gravy so good. Keep warm while you make the doves. 

FRY THE DOVES

  1. I like to put the dove breasts, one by one, in a freezer bag and pound them out flat with a rubber mallet, but you don't need to; they cook better my way, but it is an extra step. Salt them well, or dust with Cavender's seasoning, or Cajun seasoning. 
  2. Set up a breading station. Put the flour in a bowl and season it with a tablespoon or so of Cavender's or salt. In the next bowl, mix the buttermilk and the beaten eggs, and thin it out with about a tablespoon of water. Now put the pulverized Saltines in a plastic bag.
  3. Get oil nice and hot in a large skillet. You're looking for about 350F. Flour a few dove breasts, dredge in the egg mixture, then toss to coat in the mashed saltines. Do about 4 or 5 breasts at a shot and make sure they nicely coated. 
  4. Fry in the oil about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Set aside while you finish the rest. Top with tomato gravy and serve with grits, biscuits, cornmeal or rice. 

Notes

  • NOTE: You can do this same thing with country fried steak, chicken, duck or goose, venison or pork. You want the cutlets pounded to about 1/4-inch thick or less. 

Nutrition Information

Show Details
Calories 297kcal (15%) Carbohydrates 27g (9%) Protein 9g (18%) Fat 17g (26%) Saturated Fat 6g (30%) Cholesterol 80mg (27%) Sodium 281mg (12%) Potassium 314mg (7%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 9g (18%) Vitamin A 110IU (2%) Vitamin C 2mg (2%) Calcium 51mg (5%) Iron 1.9mg (11%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 6people

Amount Per Serving

Calories 297 kcal

% Daily Value*

Calories 297kcal 15%
Carbohydrates 27g 9%
Protein 9g 18%
Fat 17g 26%
Saturated Fat 6g 30%
Cholesterol 80mg 27%
Sodium 281mg 12%
Potassium 314mg 7%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 9g 18%
Vitamin A 110IU 2%
Vitamin C 2mg 2%
Calcium 51mg 5%
Iron 1.9mg 11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Genuine Reviews

User Reviews

Overall Rating

4.9

16 reviews
Excellent

Write a Review

Drag & drop files here or click to upload
Other Recipes

You'll Also Love

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

American
5.0 (33 reviews)

Crispy Slow Cooker Corned Beef

Irish
5.0 (639 reviews)

Easy Baked Sweet Potatoes

American
5.0 (15 reviews)

Creamy Chicken Pasta Salad

American
5.0 (12 reviews)

Candied Yams

American
5.0 (21 reviews)

Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Pasta

Italian
5.0 (108 reviews)

Buffalo Wings

American
5.0 (63 reviews)

Broccoli Casserole

American
5.0 (36 reviews)

Filipino Adobo Chicken

Filipino
5.0 (84 reviews)

Crab Cake Sandwich

American
5.0 (15 reviews)

S'mores Bars

American
5.0 (21 reviews)

Vegetable Beef Stew

American
5.0 (30 reviews)