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Ham and Red-Eye Gravy

September 18, 2013

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!
ham and red-eye gravy // chattavore

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.
ham and red-eye gravy // chattavore
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.

ham and red-eye gravy // chattavore

Mary

Yield: 2-4 servings

Ham and Red-Eye Gravy

5 minPrep Time:

15 minCook Time:

20 minTotal Time:

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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

  1. 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).
  2. Melt the second tablespoon of butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for about a minute.
  3. 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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https://chattavore.com/ham-and-red-eye-gravy/

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! | recipe from Chattavore.com

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Filed Under: Breakfast & Brunch, By Course, By Main Ingredients, Main Dishes, Pork, Recipes Tagged With: main dishes, pork, sauces, Southern By Mary // Chattavore 5 Comments

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Comments

  1. C.D. says

    September 19, 2013 at 7:59 am

    Who'd have thunk a yankee like Rachel Ray doing red-eye gravy! I love the stuff over grits but the rest of the family thinks it's too strong- like you posted, it's probably an acquired taste for most folks. They'd be more likely to like your recipe. Most folks make it without thickener but I'm with you and like it thickened but with corn starch instead. Use country ham trimmed of almost all of fat, corn starch and coffee. Nothing else. Don't use a non-stick skillet- you want the fond for flavor. Use a tad of rendered ham fat for frying. I also use a round cast iron trivet which has holes in it over the ham to hold it flat and get uniform browning and lots of fond (great for skillet steaks also). Fry both sides on pretty low heat, remove, add coffee, scrape up fond and cook and stir to dissolve fond. Stir in a coffee & corn starch slurry and cook while stirring a minute or two. Adjust thickness as needed- will thicken some as it cools. I always make too much on purpose to have leftovers: Chop up left over ham, thin gravy a bit and mix both with leftover grits. To reheat, microwave and stir. Add water or coffee if too thick- will likely be due to corn starch. If I make it for myself, I don't use any salt when making the grits- the country ham typically has plenty.
    Reply
    • Chattavore says

      September 19, 2013 at 9:33 pm

      The irony of a girl from Tennessee learning to make red-eye gravy from a New Yorker was not lost on me :)
      Reply
  2. Sally Cook says

    September 19, 2013 at 9:09 am

    Having cooked country ham and red eye gravy for 40 plus years after growing up eating it, I can not imagine putting corn starch in it. We bought a whole ham the first month we were married (1070) and have never been without. True southern red eye gravy is the pan drippings from frying the ham. (no additional grease is necessary) and a mixture of coffee and water added once the ham is removed. It is best with some of the ham scraps added back to the "broth". Poured over "homemade buttermilk biscuits" is good , but even better served in a bowl with the biscuits broken up and added back to the bowl. But as they say "to each, his own" Enjoy your reviews on local places and appreciate your efforts to share.
    Reply
  3. Kathryn says

    February 19, 2018 at 6:17 pm

    Rachael Ray, bless her heart maybe cooking up some sauce here, but not red eye gravy. Take your cast iron frying pan, cook you up some slices of country ham (and a pot of grits). Remove cooked ham from skillet, and pour in a about 1/2 cup coffee. Simmer a minute or two, add pepper,, and if you need it a bit of salt. Watch the salt as country ham is very salty. Scrape up any little bits of ham leavings on bottom of skillet. Pour over your grits and enjoy. Biscuits are a good accompaniment. This is more an au jus rather than a thickened gravy. If you’re really Southern (I am) you can do the same thing with hotdogs, ergo “hot dog gravy”. Is it good ? Debatable. Possible and done.. taught to me by a Southern older lady in the 1970s who smoked her own meats, made biscuits using lard and a wooden bread bowl and no recipe. She cooked cabbage collards. She was the real thing.
    Reply
    • Mary // Chattavore says

      February 19, 2018 at 8:34 pm

      Well, this isn't Rachael's recipe - this is mine. I know it isn't authentic red eye gravy but it's red eye gravy "inspired". :) Not too sure about hot dog gravy. I am truly Southern, born and raised in Tennessee, but I am, to put it mildly, "weird" about hot dogs! What are cabbage collards? Not familiar!
      Reply

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About Chattavore

Hi, I'm Mary! Welcome to Chattavore, a destination for people who want to feed themselves and their families well every day! Life can be crazy, which means that getting dinner on the table can be a challenge (more often than not!) and my mission is to take all your favorite recipes and figure out how to serve them on a Tuesday.

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Want recipes from scratch & restaurant reviews in your inbox weekly?
Subscribe below to get Chattavore's weekly newletter AND a free set of recipe cards to help you learn to cook from scratch!
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.
 

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