red-eye gravy recipe?

I've never made this kind of gravy but on Sunday afternoon I was listening to "The Splendid Table" on NPR. It's a talk show all about food and wine and dining and more. The website has a lot of recipes and articles about subjects they've discussed during the show. Of course on Sunday they were talking turkey and fixins and this recipe turned up in the Gravy Department. Maybe it will work for you. I've pasted it for you:

• 1/4-inch-thick center cut of country ham
• 4 tablespoons black coffee
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

This is a traditional way of serving country ham in many parts of the South. It's usually served for breakfast with grits and hot biscuits. Water may be used in place of the coffee, but it won't have that unique flavor.
1) Trim off the skin from the slice of ham. Fry the ham quickly in an ungreased hot skillet for a couple of minutes on each side. Remove the ham from the pan and set aside.
2) To the hot fat remaining, add the black coffee and sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar, cover, and simmer for a couple of minutes.
3) Pour the gravy over the ham slices and serve.

DJ Edward made some stellar Red Eye gravy the other night to accompany his ham biscuits. Try reaching him at the music store. Good luck.

DJ Edward made some stellar Red Eye gravy the other night to accompany his ham biscuits. Try reaching him at the music store. Good luck.

I tried one of those biscuits and they were tasty.

More specifically, DJ Edward works at the music store located above Sundog Books in Seaside. ;-)

I see coffee in the recipe above, and I know other people who use coffee in their recipes. I once told my mom that I saw someone making it with coffee (Mom never used coffee - and her's was delicious), and Mom said they didn't know how to brown their butter. Does anyone esle use a recipe without the coffee?

(I have not tried any Red-eye Gravy that I didn't enjoy.)

I have looked everywhere for a good recipe, and they all call for coffee. My grandmother made great red eye gravy, and definitely didn't put coffee in it. SJ's mother's observation got me thinking, and I remember my grandmother always started it with a roux for the brown color. I got out her book, and here's what I found--

After baking a ham, scrape drippings into skillet and brown up. Add 1/2 cup cold water and bring to a boil. Cook until it turns red.

Let me translate that from Martha Harris to Martha Stewart for you --

Remove pan drippings from a baked ham to metal bowl, and place the bowl in an ice bath or the freezer. Once the fat has congealed, remove it from the bowl and discard. In a heavy skillet over medium heat, melt 3 Tbsp butter (she would have used the fat, she was old school). Sprinkle 3 Tbsp flour over the butter and stir to prevent lumps. Cook until brown and nutty, and a spatula pulled through the middle leaves a path for 2 or 3 seconds. Pour in pan juices a very little at a time to keep the roux from getting lumpy. Gradually add all the juices and 1/2 cup water and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook for 10 minutes or so. My grandmother would chop up a little piece of ham and add that to the gravy before serving.

I've done this and think it works better than coffee. Brown the ham slices quickly, remove from pan, scrape up the brown bits and add a large pat of butter, pour regular Coca Cola (not Diet) in pan, stir like crazy and serve over the ham slices or in a bowl to go with biscuits.

I've done this and think it works better than coffee. Brown the ham slices quickly, remove from pan, scrape up the brown bits and add a large pat of butter, pour regular Coca Cola (not Diet) in pan, stir like crazy and serve over the ham slices or in a bowl to go with biscuits.

I also use Coke and not coffee. My mother doesn't use coffee or Coke, just water.

Lots of good suggestions. I have only had it with coffee, but may try water alone. It needs to make a decent amount of gravy as those who eat it prefer to soak the biscuit with the gravy. Guess I need a trial run tomorrow...;-) another excuse to eat!

I used to have this when I was a kid at my gramma's - it's pretty easy.

Why Is It Called Red-Eye Gravy?

Also called poor man’s gravy, cedar gravy, red sop, or bird-eye gravy, this Southern classic is made by mixing the drippings of pan-fried country ham with black coffee. When the mixture is poured into a serving bowl, the coffee sinks to the bottom with the grease pooling along the top. This creates an appearance similar to a red human eye.

Whether this is the root of the name is up for debate. Legend has it President Andrew Jackson once requested gravy as red as his hungover cook's eyes, or that the red-eye name is due to the ability of the coffee in the recipe to keep people awake.


Ingredients

4 large slices country ham (about 8 oz.)

3/4 cup strong black coffee

Directions

Trim ham:
Trim most of the fat from the outer edges of the ham slices.

Heat ham trimmings:
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the trimmings and cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until they render about 2 teaspoons of fat.

Cook ham slices:
Add the ham slices to the skillet and cook about 10 minutes or until browned on both sides, flipping them several times. Remove the ham to a plate and cover to keep warm.

Add coffee to skillet:
Pour the coffee into the skillet. Bring to a boil and scrape up the bits from the bottom of the skillet.

Reduce the heat and simmer 5 to 10 minutes or until the liquid reduces to about 1/2 cup. Discard the rendered fat pieces. Serve the gravy piping hot.