Good morning everyone!

Welcome back to Gravy time!

Hope you all enjoyed last weeks post where I showed off my hometown. Thought it would be nice to vary things up a bit.

We’ll get back to the old style gravy train today though. Specifically, we’re going to have another entry in our “Sunday Gravy Sandwich Extravaganza!” Some real made up shit that I came up with like just now.

You know the deal, that’s where I make fresh bread and build a sandwich around it.

We already got the party started a few weeks back when we made this.

That was our Roast Beef “Debris” Po Boy and it was so much goddamn fun I decided to see what other types of homemade sandwiches I could make.

I have legitimately lost track of the number of weeks that have passed by when I cooked something from a homemade dough. We are going to see how far we can push the homemade sandwich concept this season.

Have we got more sandwiches in the future on Sunday Gravy?

People, you bet your sweet fucking ass we do!

Some pretty righteous shit too, if I do say so myself. And Lord knows I certainly can do my fair share of that.

Got a fun one today. Old school as shit and always a fan favorite.

Let’s make a Sloppy Joe and some tater tots!

What? Like this shit…

And that shit?

Fuck no!

This is Sunday Gravy dammit!

From scratch.

Everything.

That’s just how we motherfucking roll!

If you’re like me and experienced a middle class white bread upbringing you will be no stranger to the menu today. This was a weeknight staple in the young right house. Ma could slap this shit together in the time it took to cook the tots and satisfy the rabid, slobbering beasts that were my three older brothers and myself.

I’ve mentioned this many times before, I have no fucking clue how my parents did it. Shit I probably would have sold or killed off at least 2 of us. Four boys in successive years isn’t crazy, it deserves it’s own psychosis and pier reviewed paper.

So I can forgive dear old Ma a bit for using the old canned “Manwich.” Jesus Christ, that name still curdles my giblets to hear. She was not afraid of the frozen tots either. Easy as shit and everybody loved the damn things.

Fish sticks and tots? Yep.

Burgers and tots. Oh heck ya.

Maybe a little of this?

You know me too well.

I’m just as guilty as Ma was. I’ve used tots as an easy go to side forever and never even bothered to try making them myself.

That shit changes today. Right here!

Before we get to the tots I did say everything was from scratch, yes?

You know what that means.

Absolutely.

We’re back on the bread line folks!

We’ve done the homemade buns many, many times before and I know a few of you regulars even make them yourselves now which is not only flat-out fucking awesome it’s also one of the greatest compliments you can pay me.

So, thank you for that.

Time to proof the yeast with the sugar and the 110 degree cup of water.

Then… Aw who am I shitting? You know the fucking drill by now.

Look!!

My Kitchenaid is earning it’s pay, yo!

Oiled bowl? Check? Let rise for an hour until doubled then punch down? Yep.

Shape the buns?

Lovely buns indeed!

Then give them another rise? Yep, another hour.

Let’s get them in the oven.

Look at that!

NOW since the Sloppy Joe mix comes together fast let’s get after them tots.

Tater Tots!

recipe greatly inspired by damndelicious.net

2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled.

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup vegetable oil

Let’s go ahead and peel the jackets off of them spuds.

Rather than working with a raw potato we are going to quarter and pre-cook the potatoes. I placed these in a sauce pan and covered the potatoes with an extra inch of water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 6 minutes.

Drain and let cool.

We want to shred the par-cooked potatoes. Now you could grab your handy box grater and that would certainly work OR…

If you got the fucking tools use the fucking tools. Place that shred wheel attachment on the food processer and pass the potatoes through the feed tube. These bastards will be shredded in seconds! Hell yes it’s easier to clean a box grater than a food processor but I like playing with the kitchen toys too much.

Once they’re shredded use a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much liquid as you can.

Add the shredded and drained potatoes to a bowl and then get your flour and seasonings in there and mix.

Get these in the fridge for a bit. Half hour at least. I used the time they were in the refrigerator to make the Sloppy Joe mix and kept it warm while I cooked the tots, thus ensuring hot and fresh tots.

For the sake of the recipe let’s show the entire tot procedure rather than jumping back and forth between recipes.

When you’re ready for tot time I found they were easier to shape if you rolled them up into a cylinder like this.

Then just cut them into tots.

Pour the oil into your frying vessel of choice. Heat the oil up to 350 if you’re using a thermometer or just leave it over a medium heat for about 10 solid minutes before starting the “tot time.”

Let’s get these babies going.

Cook the tots. Important tip that will be clearly demonstrated in a second; don’t overcrowd the pan.

That’s right. Just 6 or so tots at a time, until they turn golden brown. About 3-4 minutes per side. When cooked remove to a paper towel lined receiving plate.

Look at the difference between the tots on the right and the what-ever-the-fuck on the left.

The difference? Those on the left were cooked in an overcrowded pan.

Important to know. Don’t be in a goddamn hurry when it comes to your tots!

Season the cooked tots with salt and pepper right as they come out of the oil. Serve.

SLOPPY JOE TIME.

recipe greatly inspired by fivehearthome.com

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion diced

1 pound ground beef

8 ounces tomato sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup of barbecue sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon prepared mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Our homemade hamburger buns

 

Let’s start by dicing up the onion.

Now there are certainly many, many recipes out there that also add a green pepper to the proceedings. I chose not to. Shit man, that linked recipe up there didn’t even use onion. I will not let that omission stand!

Let’s give the diced onions a sweat.

That’s about 7-8 minutes on a medium low heat. Next add the hamburger meat to the onions.

Cook until brown, just a few minutes.

NOW add in the minced garlic.

Why add the garlic in last, class?

That’s right! Because burnt garlic is bullshit.

Very good.

Now drain the grease from the pan. Remember the old “dump the can of tomato sauce in a bowl and drain the grease into the empty can” grease disposal technique?

Employ that shit here.

Now add in the tomato sauce, ketchup, barbecue sauce, sugar, seasonings, mustard and Worcestershire. Cook until nice and bubbly.

That’s fucking proper lovely it is.

Let’s plate the fuck up!

Shit yes!

I should point out that I really should feel bad for the other folks who get to indulge in my Sunday Gravy meals. I ALWAYS steal the best looking parts of the meal to further enhance and “sexy-fy” the food photos.

Hence why that plate right there got all of the proper cooked tots and the best looking bun.

I should also point out that I do not in fact feel bad for stealing all of the best food bits for the photo because I then get to eat all of the best food bits. Besides I cooked this shit.

A motherfucker earns that right.

Anyway.

Let’s get a closer look at the Sloppy Joe.

Oh yeah. It’s every bit as good as you remember. Only it beats the ever-loving FUCK out of a can of “Manwich.” It’s savory and rich, slightly sweet, oniony with a garlic punch. It’s got that depth from the mustard, barbecue sauce and ketchup.

This motherfucker is going to lead you right down to flashback central.

Bet you didn’t have one of these fuckers on a homemade bun though. And I’m certain I don’t have to tell you what a freshly baked bun adds to the party. That’s a goddamn party you want to be invited to

Guess that technically takes this right out of the “weeknight” rotation but still!

Now them tots.

All of the crispy, crunchy tater tot goodness with the added benefit of having been made with fresh potatoes. I’m not certain “fresh” even enters the fucking equation when we’re talking about the frozen kind. That little bit of onion powder, garlic powder and oregano do bring that familiar “spice blend” element to the tots though.

It should be pretty fucking self evident that the crispy browned tots were clearly better than the ones cooked in the overcrowded pan.

Lessons learned for my next tot adventure.

See what we did?!

We brought the old school vibe and we brought the homemade goodness all at the same damn time!

This meal was stupid delicious and so very familiar to the younger “growing up” days.

Awesome stuff.

If you want you can just make the Sloppy Joe mix for a weeknight meal. Shit, that’s easy and delicious enough.

You can even thrown in some homemade tots and really taste the difference.

Or you can be just batshit insane like me and do the whole goddamn thing from scratch.

Here’s a fun little story to close this out. My new kitchen doesn’t have the same counter space that my old place did so I can’t leave my Kitchenaid mixer out on the counter top. I reserved a place for it in a closet.

Every damn Sunday for what feels like forever I lug it’s heavy ass out to make a bread dough, lovingly clean her, then lug her heavy ass back for storage in the closet a little while later. It’s turned into a tradition like thing.

It means some fresh delicious bread is about to be made up in this hizzy, is what it means.

What’s our next feature for the “Sunday Gravy Sandwich Extravaganza?”

Don’t think you’ll have to wait long to find out.

Thanks for hanging around people. I really appreciate it.

See you next week!

Be Safe!

Be Well!

PEACE!