Red-eye gravy is a thin sauce often seen in the
cuisine of the Southern United States and associated with the
country ham of that region. Other names for this sauce include poor man's gravy, bird-eye gravy, bottom sop, cedar gravy, and red ham gravy. The gravy is made from the drippings of pan-fried country ham mixed with black coffee. Red-eye gravy is often served over ham, grits or biscuits.
A common practice is to dip the inner sides of a split biscuit into the gravy in order to add flavor and keep the biscuit from being too dry when a piece of country ham is added between the two halves, sometimes called the Southern "ham biscuit". (The Appalachian ham biscuit is simply a biscuit with
country ham.) Another popular way to serve red-eye gravy, especially in parts of
Alabama, is with
mustard or
ketchup mixed in with the gravy.
Biscuit
A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be ...
s are then dipped ("sopped" in Southern English) in the gravy.
In
Louisiana,
Cajun cuisine-style gravy is made with a
roast beef instead of ham. Black
coffee is always used, and it is frequently a strongly brewed coffee substitute made from
chicory. The gravy is ladled over the meat on a bed of rice, staining the rice a dark brown color. Often,
French bread and some kind of beans, like
butter beans,
lima beans, or
peas, are served as side dishes.
Origin
Red-eye gravy's name comes from its distinct appearance. Prepared traditionally, with coffee and grease combined in the final step (see Preparation below), a heterogeneous mixture forms with the water-based coffee sinking to the bottom and the oil-based grease forming the top layer. In a round bowl the mixture looks much like a red human eye. Use of red pepper enhances the redness of the appearance.
Less traditional preparation techniques do not always result in the "red eye" appearance, leading to folk legends surrounding the origin of the name. For instance, one story is that former United States President
Andrew Jackson requested ham with gravy as red as his cook's eyes, which were bloodshot from drinking the night before, or that the black coffee in the gravy will keep people awake.
[Barrett, Elle. "Good gravy". ''Southern Living'', February 1999.]
Preparation
After a ham has been cooked, the grease is removed from the pan. Black coffee is then used to
deglaze the pan. The coffee and grease are then poured into the same container in a one-to-one ratio.
Other recipes exist, using water instead of coffee, or adding coffee with grease still present in the pan. When the coffee is added to the grease in this manner, a heterogeneous mixture may result that lacks the "red eye" appearance.
Florida Crackers referred to
tomato gravy as red-eye gravy, and prepare it in much the same way by adding flour and tomatoes to bacon grease. This is served with fried catfish or other fish.
See also
{{portal, Coffee, Food
*
Coffee sauce
Coffee sauce is a culinary sauce that includes coffee in its preparation. It is sometimes prepared using instant coffee. Coffee sauce has been used in American cuisine since at least 1904. Coffee sauce may be sweet or savory.
Sweet preparations ...
*
List of coffee dishes
*
List of gravies
*
Red gravy
*
Sawmill gravy, which is sometimes confused with red-eye gravy.
References
External links
Track That Word! listing for 'red-eye gravy'on the ''
Do You Speak American?
''Do You Speak American?'' is a documentary film and accompanying book about journalist Robert MacNeil's investigation into how different people throughout the United States of America speak. The book and documentary look at the evolution of Am ...
'' website
Coffee dishes
Cuisine of the Southern United States
Sauces