I recall my grandparents having a smokehouse when I was a kid. A hog would be killed in the dead of winter, when the temperature was considerably below freezing, and nothing would be wasted. The fresh hams were then wrapped, sprinkled with dry salt, and hung to cure for a while. They were cut into slices and pan-fried in a hot, black iron skillet, occasionally with a tiny bit of lard. Red eye gravy was made by deglazing the skillet with hot, typically breakfast coffee. The gravy’s look after the coffee has settled to the bottom gives Redeye Gravy its name. Serve with grits or biscuits.
| Prep Time: | 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 11 mins |
| Total Time: | 16 mins |
| Servings: | 1 |
| Yield: | 1 slice ham |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 slice salt-cured ham
- ¼ cup strong black coffee
Instructions
- Melt butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add ham; cook until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove ham from skillet, reserving fat. Pour coffee into the pan, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil. Serve gravy over the ham.
- Oil or1 tablespoon lard can be substituted for the butter.
Reviews
Red eye gravy is yummy on grits!! Trying this recipe soon.
1.13.20 … https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/261136/georgia-country-ham-and-redeye-gravy/ … I heard of, but hadn’t had or know what redeye gravy was, but now I do & I’m quite happy about it. 😀 ‘Pretty cool when magic happens with something simple. It doesn’t taste like salty coffee; nothing like white or traditional gravy; a different kind of good. Thanks!
I am not familiar with redeye gravy so I have nothing to compare this recipe to. It did have a reddish tint to it when you dumped in the coffee but I think it was mostly from the bits that came off of the ham. That part sinks to the bottom of the pan when you are trying to dish it out and the butter takes over. It is thin and as I said, hard to spoon out over the biscuits. The recipe didn’t call for flour. Maybe it’s not supposed to be in there but me and the hubs both agreed that thickening it up would have been better. The way it was you were just basically watering down and sogging up the biscuits. The flavor was good so I plan on trying this one again but I’m adding flour to the drippings next time.