Happy Thanksgiving From Slap Ya Mama! It’s time to learn about all of the different types of gravy! After all, what is Thanksgiving without Gravy? Gravy may seem simple enough to make only involving drippings of the meat you are cooking, adding some water and starch and cooking it down. However, did you know that gravy is totally a regional thing and can change from state to state? We believe that all gravy is beautiful and today in honor of Thanksgiving: here are the 12 most common types of gravy.

Cornmeal Gravy

If you like the texture of grits, this is the gravy for you! This gravy stems from Native Americans and the versatile use of corn. All you need is bacon drippings, milk, and cornmeal to make it! Many farmers over time have eaten this as a meal to help nourish their bodies during long work days.

Chocolate Gravy

In the hills of Appalachia, you can find a gravy that will cure your sweet tooth! Combining cocoa, sugar, flour, salt, butter and milk in a skillet makes a concoction so sweet and creamy, you’ll want to put it on everything. It has been said that between Spanish Louisiana and the Tennessee Valley, a mexican breakfast chocolate came to the mountains and now everyone enjoys this chocolate sauce.

Sawmill Gravy

The name of this gravy comes from lumber camps when workers were using whatever they could to make food. The original sawmill gravy was made by scraping meat and fat from the bottom of a skillet into a mixture of flour and milk. Today, crumbling breakfast sausage into the mix will work just fine.

Redeye Ham Gravy

It has been said that Andrew Jackson asked his hungover cook to bring him some country ham  with gravy as red as his eyes. Even if this isn’t true, the ham fat based gravy is definitely an eye opener because of the coffee grounds used to make it. Get the recipe here.

Red Gravy

Red Gravy is a hot topic for debate. In New Orleans, Creole red gravy is roux-based and fortifed with trinity but in the mountains, it can be made with remnants of fried meat and fresh tomatoes. In some places, marinara sauce is referred to as red gravy!

White Gravy

Fat, flour, cream and a healthy dose of black pepper makes this famous gravy and is beloved by many places in the south. In many places, sausage crumbles added to it make the perfect gravy and biscuits recipe!

Chicken Gravy

Of course, when you eat baked chicken, it wouldn’t be the same without chicken gravy! All you have to do is whisk milk, flour, seasonings, and the leftover bits of chicken to make a perfect drizzle for your next chicken dinner.

Hamburger Gravy

Brown hamburger meat and onions and thicken the leftover fat with flour and milk. Some people actually add steak sauce or bouillon! This gravy goes perfect with mashed potatoes, biscuits or potatoes.

Chili Gravy

Of course, anything with chili in the name has to be from Texas! This gravy is just like the rest but with chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder and oregano and thinned out with chicken broth. The most popular way to eat this gravy is over cheese enchiladas!

What is your favorite type of gravy? Let us know in the comments! On behalf of all of us here at Slap Ya Mama, we hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!