An alternate recipe, from Robb Walsh’s "Tex-Mex Cookbook:"

1/4 cup lard or vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp powdered garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
2 tbsp chili powder
2 cups chicken broth or water

Heat lard in skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in flour and continue stirring for 3-4 minutes until it makes a light brown roux. Add all the dry ingredients and continue to cook for 1 minute, constantly stirring and blending ingredients. Add chicken broth, mixing and stirring until sauce thickens. Turn heat to low and let sauce simmer for 15 minutes. Add water to adjust the thickness.

Chili gravy is very old school Tex-Mex, classically served over cheese enchiladas, and lives on in my memory, especially the places that cooked and served them on a almost-lethal-to-the-touch aluminum platter. It was meant to be a cross between Mexican chile sauce and Anglo brown gravy. I have had more luck finding these old-fashioned types of enchiladas, with the chili gravy, in Texas diners in small towns than in Mexican food places.

Now I’m hungry again.