Red Eye Gravy Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is red-eye gravy made of? ›

Traditionally, red eye gravy is made by frying up a thick slice of country ham, then mixing the ham drippings with strongly brewed black coffee to deglaze the pan. The mixture is then simmered for several minutes, reducing down to a dark brown gravy.

Red-eye gravy is made from ham grease and black coffee

Unlike most gravies, red-eye gravy doesn't require flour to create a roux. A resourceful and low-waste sauce, the former Cracker Barrel gravy is made with just two ingredients — ham drippings and strong black coffee (per Southern Living).

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.

According to Wikipedia, red eye gravy is a dish typically served in the Southern United States. It is made using pan drippings left from cooking country ham or bacon. Normally black coffee is used to deglaze the pan.

The gravy costs $3,650 and is infused with a bottle of Louis XIII cognac — probably to make those indulging forget just how much they paid for gravy. You could purchase your own bottle of the stuff to infuse the turkey gravy you make at home, but at $3,500 a bottle, it may still be a bit much for one meal.

Its earliest origins have been tracked all the way back. to Andrew Jackson asking his cook to " make gravy. as red as his eyes." This southern gravy is made from.

Red-eye gravy is traditionally served over ham, grits, or biscuits. It can also be served over potatoes or cornbread.

The term "sawmill gravy" comes from early logging camp food and old-time sawmills. It was originally made with cornmeal, bacon drippings, milk, and seasonings. This resulted in a somewhat gritty gravy; in fact, rumor has it that the loggers would accuse the cooks of putting sawdust in the recipe!

As reported by Mental Floss, the removal of the red-eye gravy occurred in 2017, right around the time the chain added shepherd's pie to the menu. The restaurant never provided clarification for the menu adjustment, which left lots of people scratching their heads (and missing their favorite fried ham accompaniment).

In the South, country gravy and white gravy are used interchangeably and both for the same type of thick, creamy gravy made with butter, flour, and milk. You may also hear these gravies called sawmill gravy, and some people use this recipe but add sausage for a sausage gravy.

Why do New Yorkers call spaghetti sauce gravy? ›

Like everyone else, he had a theory. “For Italian Americans to use the word gravy for tomato sauce might have come from the idea of belonging,” he said. “To an Italian, the word sauce could easily have sounded exactly like the Italian word salsa, the way it would be pronounced casually—salsa, sauce. …

Here's the gist: the two ways Italians say “sauce” in Italian are salsa and/or sugo. Both words translate as “sauce” but never as “gravy.” Ragù doesn't even translate as “gravy” but comes close enough since it involves meat which is what people really mean when they say “gravy” (my personal opinion).

It may sound unusual, but it's quite tasty, with a bitter coffee flavor contrasting the ham fat's sweet-saltiness. Easy to cook and a fun way to spruce up an old-fashioned Southern meal, red-eye gravy is often served over ham and sopped up with buttermilk biscuits.

The dish consists of soft dough biscuits covered in white gravy (sawmill gravy), made from the drippings of cooked pork sausage, flour, milk, and often (but not always) bits of sausage, bacon, ground beef, or other meat. The gravy is often flavored with black pepper.

Country gravy, also called sawmill gravy or white gravy, is a staple of hearty Southern cooking. It can be used as a creamy blanket for chicken fried steak or to accompany a plate of freshly baked biscuits at breakfast time.

A co*cktail made with beer and tomato juice has several names depending on what region you're ordering it in. Popular names include Red Eye (what we call it), Red Beer, Spicy Beer, Michelada, or Chelada. In theory, a Red Eye is a take on a Bloody mary.

Red gravy is hearty and can stand up to meatballs, Italian sausage, pigs' feet and beef, Impastato said, while marinara is better suited for pasta and vegetables, such as eggplant or squash. A general consensus may exist on the definitions of marinara vs. red gravy, but there are still differences of opinion.

We do know that "gravy-eyed" meant "bleary-eyed" as far back as 1785.

Red eye gravy is a classic thin Southern sauce made with leftover coffee. You might think the term “red eye” has to do with the caffeine in the coffee. But it was actually named for the appearance of the gravy.