Red-eye gravy
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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 and red ham gravy. The gravy is made from the drippings of pan-fried country ham that has been mixed with water or black coffee, sometimes thickened with flour. It is often served over ham, cornbread, grits, biscuits, or chicken fried steak.
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: the Southern "ham biscuit." Another popular way to serve red-eye gravy, especially in parts of Alabama, is with mustard or ketchup mixed in with the gravy. Biscuits are then "sopped" in the gravy.
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[edit] Origin
One folk legend surrounding the origin of the "red-eye" name credits former United States President Andrew Jackson with requesting ham with gravy as red as his cook's eyes, which were bloodshot from drinking the night before.[1]
Another circulating explanation is that the black coffee in the gravy will keep people awake.[2] A more empirical account of the name's origin is that "red-eye" describes the oily fat circles that appear in the gravy.
[edit] Preparation
The basic recipe for red-eye gravy is quite simple. Begin by pan-frying a fatty piece of ham. When the meat is cooked, remove it, and add water and/or black coffee to the pan, which must still contain the ham grease. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer until reduced to the desired thickness, all the while stirring and scraping the pan so that the ham drippings dissolve in the gravy.
[edit] References
- ^ Stradley, Linda. "History of County Ham and Red-Eye Gravy". What's Cooking America.
- ^ Barrett, Elle. "Good gravy". Southern Living, February 1999.
