Mama's Meat Sauce

Born in the late 1800s in Uniontown, Alabama, the strong, no nonsense matriarch, Grandma Penny crafted the first batch of Mama’s Meat Sauce as a matter of resourcefulness and in a streak of Black brilliance. Likely off the plantation or very near to it, Grandma Penny began the rich legacy of making something out of nothing, infusing flavor and love into lesser cuts of meat, using Mama’s Meat Sauce. Our family came from Alabama as part of the 1900s migration of coal miners to West Virginia, and the next Mama in our family worked as a cook in the boarding house, carrying guns in her apron for protection. Everyone loved the foods she would cook as Mama’s Meat Sauce gained notoriety in the community.

This sauce has a reputation; community members asked if the sauce would be made for events, family members requested large quantities to travel home with them and others have tried to replicate the magic. In the late 1960s, Mama raised our Mama to make Mama’s Meat Sauce with no measuring or cooking utensils, but with the purposes of taking care of her family. Mama’s Meat Sauce is born out of struggle, but shows the resilience of our family. This sauce is our family legacy.