red-eye gravy

English

Alternative forms

• redeye gravy

Noun

red-eye gravy (countable and uncountable, plural red-eye gravies)

1. (cooking) A thin sauce found in Southern US cuisine, made from the drippings of pan-fried country ham mixed with black coffee.
   • 2003 August 25, Adam McClellan, Uniquely Tennessee, Capstone Classroom, →ISBN, page 30:

     Some folks put a slice of ham and a ladle-full of red-eye gravy on them. Red-eye gravy comes from the juices of cooked ham boiled with coffee or water. Red-eye gravy gets its name from the red, greasy "eye" that forms on top […]

   • 2019 February 8, Gary Allen, author of Sausage: A Global History, Sauces Reconsidered: Après Escoffier, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 120:

     In Louisiana, a variation of red-eye gravy is made with slow-cooked beef, and the coffee will, as likely as not, contain chicory. A Texan variant of Louisiana red-eye might be sweetened with honey instead […]

   • 2021 August 2, Highlander, One Wore Gray One Wore Blue: An Appalachian Grandmother’s Favorite Generals, Archway Publishing, →ISBN:

     "However, I do enjoy the flavor of red-eye gravy made with ham drippings."