Market basket: Make magic and more memories with Southern redeye gravy
One quick whiff is all it takes sometimes to transport you back to another time and table. A pan of chicken spaghetti takes me to my childhood home after church on Sunday. Baking bread takes me back to college where I was determined to master it. And then there’s gravy.
I’m not talking about just any gravy, although I haven’t found one I don’t enjoy. The culinary transportation vehicle I’m referencing is redeye gravy. In one instant, I am sitting at the finest table that I ever graced — the breakfast table of my grandmother at her house in Ecru, Miss. I experienced so much magic there, and this simple yet divine gravy is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Southern to its very core, redeye gravy has been around as long as this area of America. Unknown as to the exact origin, rumors and folklore abound. My favorite tale is that Andrew Jackson’s cook had been sipping the corn whiskey a bit much and when he served this particular “sauce” his eyes were as red as the gravy.
Many other names can be found, from poor man’s gravy to bottom sop but redeye (one word not two!) is most recognizable. So what are the ingredients that make up this biscuit topping? You have to begin with ham. Purists like myself will tell you it has to be country ham rather than city ham. The salt in country ham keeps the ingredients to a minimum.
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After ham slices are fried in a skillet, the drippings become the base as they do with any gravy. Then equal amounts of water and hot coffee are added to the hot skillet. This mixture is reduced slightly but not thickened like other gravies. It is served from a pitcher onto split biscuits along with pieces of that fried ham. Yum!
You asked for it
Joanne Hunter of Bay St. Louis asks what temperature her refrigerator and freezer should be. “I am about to purchase thermometers for each but am not sure what they should read.”
Joanne,
Your freezer temperature should be zero degrees. The refrigerator should be no higher than 40 degrees.
Tammy Algood is the author of five cookbooks and can be seen on “Volunteer Gardener” on PBS stations in Tennessee. Follow her at www.hauteflavor.com
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Market basket: Make magic and more memories with Southern redeye gravy
