Ham and red-eye gravy are a classic Southern staple that many have forgotten about. My version is “toned down” for those of you who are a little timid!
I guess ham and red-eye gravy is on everyone’s mind lately for some reason. Beth of {Local Milk} wrote an article about ham and red-eye gravy over at Food52 just a few days ago…I promise I was already planning this post when I saw her Instagram photo where she proclaimed that she was working on this too! I wonder what is is about this time of year that is apparently awakening the need for this Southern classic?
I remember reading about red-eye gravy in one of my Little House on the Prairie books…I’m sure Ma was making it for Pa on the banks of Plum Creek or something. I was slightly obsessed with Little House back in the day (never the show, really, but the books…totally) and there was a Little House cookbook in my school library. I checked it out over…and over…and over. This, of course, was back in the days before everything was electronic, so my name was written on that checkout card about a hundred times (that’s not really even an exaggeration) with the due date stamped next to it. Now that I am teaching at the elementary school that I attended, I really should go to the library and see if that book is there, with my name emblazoned so many times on the card.
Anyway, I always found the idea of red-eye gravy to be fascinating, but I had never tasted it. I recall seeing it on the menu at Cracker Barrel once but I honestly don’t know if it’s still there. Once Philip ordered something in a restaurant that was supposed to come with red-eye gravy, but the bowl of gravy that was plunked down with his ham and biscuits was the ubiquitous sawmill gravy.
For some reason, Southerners these days seem to be scared of red-eye gravy. Perhaps it’s all the proclamations (I read this in magazines, cookbooks, you name it) that red-eye gravy is “an acquired taste” or that “no one really likes red-eye gravy”. While I’m certain that, like many classic foods, red-eye gravy was born out of the need to use up everything on the table and to do everything you could to stretch a meal and add flavor where you could, I don’t see why something that contains (a) ham drippings; and (b) coffee seems so frightening or off-putting. Sounds like good eating to me.
Guess where my first red-eye gravy recipe came from? Everyday with Rachael Ray. I had a subscription years ago and thought that the recipe was intriguing. Grainy mustard added some tang and maple syrup balanced the mustard and the bitterness of the coffee with a little sweetness. While my recipe is my own, not Rachael’s, her influence is evident-I do like the mustard and maple combo. Thickening red-eye gravy is not traditional, but I like it that way. Anyway, trust me…there is nothing to be afraid of here.
Have you ever had ham and red-eye gravy? What did you think?
If red-eye gravy isn’t your thing….how about cream (aka sawmill) gravy?
And if you make ham and red-eye gravy….you need biscuits. Period.
Mary
Yield: 2-4 servings
5 minPrep Time:
15 minCook Time:
20 minTotal Time:
Save Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 ham steak
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brewed coffee
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup (or more to taste)
- chicken stock or water
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Melt one tablespoon of the butter in a medium pan (I used a cast iron skillet) over medium heat. Cook the ham steak in the butter for 3-5 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and warmed through. Remove from skillet and keep warm (I wrap mine in foil).
- Melt the second tablespoon of butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for about a minute.
- Whisk the coffee into the roux. Cook, whisking, until thickened. Add a splash or two of chicken stock or water if the gravy is too thick. Whisk in the mustard and the maple syrup along with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately (with biscuits for sopping!).
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