The Art of Making Red Eye Gravy: A Family Tradition

As I sit down to write about my favorite gravy recipe, I'm reminded of the countless hours spent cooking for my ranch family years ago. It's a tradition that's been passed down through generations, and one that I'm proud to share with you today. The key to making this delicious gravy lies in the roux, which is essentially a mixture of flour and fat that's cooked until it reaches a rich, dark brown color.

I start by heating up about 2-3 tablespoons of flour in a skillet over medium heat. As I stir the flour, I'm careful not to create lumps, using a spatula with holes in it to ensure an even mixture. The goal is to get that roux to just simmer, allowing it to develop a subtle sheen and aroma. It's not uncommon for folks to think of this step as merely scraping up drippings, but I assure you, the flavor that comes from cooking those pan juices is worth the extra effort.

Now, here's where things get interesting: I add about 1 cup to 1.5 cups (12 ounces) of coffee to the skillet, stirring constantly to avoid any lumps forming. This may seem like an unusual addition, but trust me, it's a game-changer. The bitterness of the coffee balances out the richness of the fat and flour, creating a smooth, velvety texture that's simply divine.

As I stir the gravy, I'm mindful of the color – we're aiming for that perfect golden-brown hue. If the mixture starts to darken too quickly, I adjust the heat or add a bit more coffee to bring it back into balance. And speaking of balance, don't overdo it on the coffee just yet; you can always add more later.

Once the gravy has thickened slightly, I remove it from the heat and let it cool for a minute or two before returning it to the skillet. This step is crucial in incorporating all those delicious drippings that we scraped up earlier – it's like adding an extra layer of flavor to the mix. Stirring everything together gently helps to distribute the fat evenly, giving us that smooth, silky texture we're aiming for.

Now, here comes the fun part: I pour the gravy into a bowl and let it cool completely before serving. This step allows the flavors to meld together in harmony, making each bite a masterclass in Southern comfort food. And speaking of biscuits – oh boy, do I love sopping up that red eye gravy! It's like a warm hug on a cold day, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

As I look back on my years of cooking for the ranch family, I realize just how lucky I was to have such wonderful help. Duke, my trusty beagle sidekick, may be lazy, but he always knows when it's time to chow down. And Shane, my faithful partner in crime, brings a critical eye (and taste buds) to the table. Together, we make this recipe shine – and I'm grateful for every minute of it.

So there you have it, folks: my beloved red eye gravy recipe that's sure to become a staple in your household as well. Whether you're a seasoned chef or just starting out, don't be afraid to experiment and make it your own. And remember, the most important ingredient is always love – share this recipe with your friends and family, and watch how it brings people together.

**Recipe: Red Eye Gravy**

Ingredients:

* 2-3 tablespoons flour

* 1 cup to 1.5 cups (12 ounces) coffee

* 1 tablespoon butter or bacon grease

* 1 teaspoon salt

* Optional: pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat the flour in a skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly.

2. Cook until the roux reaches a dark brown color and has a rich aroma.

3. Add coffee, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly.

4. Remove from heat and let cool for 1-2 minutes.

5. Return to the skillet and stir in butter or bacon grease, salt, and pepper (if using).

6. Pour into a bowl and let cool completely before serving.

**Additional Tips:**

* Use high-quality ingredients, especially when it comes to coffee – you can't skimp on that flavor!

* Experiment with different ratios of flour to fat; some folks prefer a slightly thicker gravy.

* Don't overcook the roux – we want that beautiful golden color and smooth texture.

* If using butter or bacon grease, be sure to whisk them in gently to avoid creating lumps.

**A Note from the Author:**

As I sit here sipping on my favorite coffee blend (thanks for asking!), I'm reminded of just how much joy this recipe brings me. It's a testament to the power of tradition and community – sharing meals with others is what makes life worth living, don't you think? So go ahead, grab a biscuit, and dig in – your taste buds will thank you!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey we're going back in time we are looking through the history book and what are we coming up with gravy what red eye gravy i'm talking with ham steak what's it made with coffee yeah you heard me right coffee is going in there with it going to give it a rich red color come on i'll get the pot bowling and i'm going to teach you a history lesson as well hey thank y'all for stopping by camp and whoo what a glorious day it is because what we going back in history we are i do love these whole historical pieces you don't have to watch the history channel turn that knob over yep go back yep cowboy kent rollins right there on youtube i want you to know everything that we're using today everything you need to know andy and shannon always got you fixed up there's a little link right down there where you can find out from the clothes i wear to the equipment i use so some of y'all been asking will you be getting your shirts and your boots can y'all do that on your kitchen table make sure your feet's clean for you do ariat good folks at ariat they keep me looking good there is a link to where you can go cowboy kent rollins page over there on ariat you can look like me swab and debonair every day but let's get back to history i'm talking hard times was upon a lot of people when you was having red eye gravy now some of you is already i can hear you out there saying well red-eye gravy and sawmill gravy that's the same thing sawmill gravy which came along later than this was made in the old logging camps and the cook would make it because i was running them all day and you get that pile of sawdust that's flawless right down under them logs well if that gravy they was having that morning was really thick they had to claim to cook and done put a bunch of that sawdust in there well red-eye gravy is totally different now let's talk about let me see go way back turn the pages rewind rewind rewind 1812 yep that's where we're starting we are colonel andrew jackson or old hickory as we called him he was there in camp and he had a cook who had got into corn squeezings also known as moonshine and sometimes known as the mule because it done kicked it and who he come walking in there that morning and ask old hickory what would you be liking for breakfast well legend has it that old andrew looked over there at him and the cook's eyes was bloodshot so bad and he said i'll have some gravy as red as your eyes with some ham but another means that it come about and you can see it sometimes the coffee and the grease that is coming off that ham tend to separate and the coffee sort of makes a red circle in the middle and when you look down in there hey something looking back at you sort of like the twilight zone it scares me it does i was a little bit skeptical because all them old-timers used to ask me for it on ranches and i just didn't like to make it but folks i'm telling you this stuff is fit to eat because i don't put me some biscuits in there it is good so y'all meet me over here at the fire and we'll get to going can y'all hear that sound that is a good sound it is that is some ham steak and you've seen me go ahead and cut them edges just a little that's so it don't go to try to curling up now there's different kinds of ham steak these fresh and they secured now this is cured and it's got a little salt cure to it and a little smoke cure both back in the day civil war days especially everything was salt cured now that'll ham be really salty and it would probably make more grease back then than it does now so we're going to go ahead and fry this ham about four to five minutes each side because i want it to get some really good color and try to leach out some of that good flavor back into that skillet because we got to have it when we go to making that roux now folks we cook this about four to five minutes aside now remember this is a salt cured smoke cured ham that's already been cooked so really we're just browning it back through so it's time for it to come over here to the cool side it is and we're gonna get it out there because we we gotta let our skillet cool and we gotta let this ham steak sit over here and cool just a little bit because it's gonna make a little more liquid now normally back in civil war time there have been a whole lot of them drippings just remained in that skillet and guess what all that i had to do was add flour and coffee that's it red eye gravy you're through but folks we have changed it up just a little because we don't have enough grease in there and i want to make me a better roost so guess what we're going to add us some butter because who don't like some butter and some bacon grease take your wooden spatula well you ain't got one well y'all know where you can find one and folks you know gravy is always made with milk right i don't think there was a milk cow nowhere close by when red eye gravy come about so what was it again coffee hey you're going to love it it is good for breakfast but also it makes good red eye gravy it does make sure you got some brewing and you got to have it so make sure it's hot because it's going to help 2 to three tablespoons of flour and ask you just to sift you're in there somewhere we're gonna call that probably pretty close to three and guess what andy it happens every video i've got to be gone to get something well remembering them gravy making videos i told you you'd be needing one of these uh it's not a fly swatter it is a spatula with holes in it because you can get them lumps in it now see the color that that roux is already turning i want you to let that roux come to just a little simmer i do and you may have to rotate your skillet around a little to even out the hot spots on your fire but if you're in the house you ought not be having no problem but make sure you get all them drippings scraped up back in there because that's where we're getting a lot of this flavor it needs some coffee because i have got me some simmering going on here and you begin to see that shimmer so we don't want to lose that now it calls for about a cup to a cup and a half which would be about 12 ounces if he's using a cup and a half so we're just gonna start with a little and just go from there just keep stirring bring that back to a bowl you can see as it begins to thicken up a little just add you some more in there a little more with that because folks there's a lot of flavor coming out of there and i'll guarantee you on them ranches all them old-timers used to ask me every morning i can't you gonna fix some red-eye gravy i say no i ain't that fond of it well folks i'm telling you now i'm really fond of it because this stuff time you pour it back on a piece of that ham get you some biscuits cause it was always called what sopping you know how to sock don't you shin you take a biscuit turtle in half put it down in there what's that called yes it ain't dipping it is sopping now however you like the consistency of your gravy but i'm gonna let this thicken up just a little that's smoother than frank sinatra right there but at this point you remember them drippings that we had i need you to be pouring them in there because folks that is some of that their great flavor that we need go ahead and stir her back in there let her come back to a bowl you ever seen nobody pour gravy like that i mean that's what you call the pour back and forth and folk look at that good color don't that look delicious i like to just go ahead and cut whoa finally showed up did you dookie well folks the bee has been out here the whole time so i guess i better feed my help first before i even do anything else thank you big for always helping duke you're pretty lazy buddies but you go ahead on there we appreciate you so let me get my butt hmm oh my gosh going to the hoot to nanny going to the ho ho a nanny now folks i'm going to tell you maybe all them old timers was right so many years ago when i was cooking for them ranches because let me tell you that is divine right there it is because you'd be thinking bitter burnt coffee taste sort of when you got it in there you know with all them good ham drippings that's in there and then you take that butter and that bacon grease and fold her back in there make you a roux a little pepper's all it need because like i say it has got plenty of salt now it's time to do a little sopping that's what it was called a lot of times with sopping y'all need a little sopping what do you think beast is too hot to wag tails well folks it's a done deal it is and i hope you all enjoyed it because we sure did but as always i tip my hat to all our service men and women all the veterans who have kept that old flag of flying in camp wherever me and shane and the beagle and duke may be we appreciate you one and all and folks i want to thank y'all because we've had a lot more people tuning in here lately subscriber count has jumped up i appreciate you sharing them videos with all your friends and neighbors because that's what it's about folks let's share the good time the fellowship the food and let's all be happy because remember that song chad be happy don't worry so gravy eat red eye gravy now folks remember my ariott clothing and the recipe it's all listed right down there below so whoo i'll see you next week when you're tuning in down the what the red eye gravy trail nanny i hope nanny well i just don't know and duke wants a bite whathey we're going back in time we are looking through the history book and what are we coming up with gravy what red eye gravy i'm talking with ham steak what's it made with coffee yeah you heard me right coffee is going in there with it going to give it a rich red color come on i'll get the pot bowling and i'm going to teach you a history lesson as well hey thank y'all for stopping by camp and whoo what a glorious day it is because what we going back in history we are i do love these whole historical pieces you don't have to watch the history channel turn that knob over yep go back yep cowboy kent rollins right there on youtube i want you to know everything that we're using today everything you need to know andy and shannon always got you fixed up there's a little link right down there where you can find out from the clothes i wear to the equipment i use so some of y'all been asking will you be getting your shirts and your boots can y'all do that on your kitchen table make sure your feet's clean for you do ariat good folks at ariat they keep me looking good there is a link to where you can go cowboy kent rollins page over there on ariat you can look like me swab and debonair every day but let's get back to history i'm talking hard times was upon a lot of people when you was having red eye gravy now some of you is already i can hear you out there saying well red-eye gravy and sawmill gravy that's the same thing sawmill gravy which came along later than this was made in the old logging camps and the cook would make it because i was running them all day and you get that pile of sawdust that's flawless right down under them logs well if that gravy they was having that morning was really thick they had to claim to cook and done put a bunch of that sawdust in there well red-eye gravy is totally different now let's talk about let me see go way back turn the pages rewind rewind rewind 1812 yep that's where we're starting we are colonel andrew jackson or old hickory as we called him he was there in camp and he had a cook who had got into corn squeezings also known as moonshine and sometimes known as the mule because it done kicked it and who he come walking in there that morning and ask old hickory what would you be liking for breakfast well legend has it that old andrew looked over there at him and the cook's eyes was bloodshot so bad and he said i'll have some gravy as red as your eyes with some ham but another means that it come about and you can see it sometimes the coffee and the grease that is coming off that ham tend to separate and the coffee sort of makes a red circle in the middle and when you look down in there hey something looking back at you sort of like the twilight zone it scares me it does i was a little bit skeptical because all them old-timers used to ask me for it on ranches and i just didn't like to make it but folks i'm telling you this stuff is fit to eat because i don't put me some biscuits in there it is good so y'all meet me over here at the fire and we'll get to going can y'all hear that sound that is a good sound it is that is some ham steak and you've seen me go ahead and cut them edges just a little that's so it don't go to try to curling up now there's different kinds of ham steak these fresh and they secured now this is cured and it's got a little salt cure to it and a little smoke cure both back in the day civil war days especially everything was salt cured now that'll ham be really salty and it would probably make more grease back then than it does now so we're going to go ahead and fry this ham about four to five minutes each side because i want it to get some really good color and try to leach out some of that good flavor back into that skillet because we got to have it when we go to making that roux now folks we cook this about four to five minutes aside now remember this is a salt cured smoke cured ham that's already been cooked so really we're just browning it back through so it's time for it to come over here to the cool side it is and we're gonna get it out there because we we gotta let our skillet cool and we gotta let this ham steak sit over here and cool just a little bit because it's gonna make a little more liquid now normally back in civil war time there have been a whole lot of them drippings just remained in that skillet and guess what all that i had to do was add flour and coffee that's it red eye gravy you're through but folks we have changed it up just a little because we don't have enough grease in there and i want to make me a better roost so guess what we're going to add us some butter because who don't like some butter and some bacon grease take your wooden spatula well you ain't got one well y'all know where you can find one and folks you know gravy is always made with milk right i don't think there was a milk cow nowhere close by when red eye gravy come about so what was it again coffee hey you're going to love it it is good for breakfast but also it makes good red eye gravy it does make sure you got some brewing and you got to have it so make sure it's hot because it's going to help 2 to three tablespoons of flour and ask you just to sift you're in there somewhere we're gonna call that probably pretty close to three and guess what andy it happens every video i've got to be gone to get something well remembering them gravy making videos i told you you'd be needing one of these uh it's not a fly swatter it is a spatula with holes in it because you can get them lumps in it now see the color that that roux is already turning i want you to let that roux come to just a little simmer i do and you may have to rotate your skillet around a little to even out the hot spots on your fire but if you're in the house you ought not be having no problem but make sure you get all them drippings scraped up back in there because that's where we're getting a lot of this flavor it needs some coffee because i have got me some simmering going on here and you begin to see that shimmer so we don't want to lose that now it calls for about a cup to a cup and a half which would be about 12 ounces if he's using a cup and a half so we're just gonna start with a little and just go from there just keep stirring bring that back to a bowl you can see as it begins to thicken up a little just add you some more in there a little more with that because folks there's a lot of flavor coming out of there and i'll guarantee you on them ranches all them old-timers used to ask me every morning i can't you gonna fix some red-eye gravy i say no i ain't that fond of it well folks i'm telling you now i'm really fond of it because this stuff time you pour it back on a piece of that ham get you some biscuits cause it was always called what sopping you know how to sock don't you shin you take a biscuit turtle in half put it down in there what's that called yes it ain't dipping it is sopping now however you like the consistency of your gravy but i'm gonna let this thicken up just a little that's smoother than frank sinatra right there but at this point you remember them drippings that we had i need you to be pouring them in there because folks that is some of that their great flavor that we need go ahead and stir her back in there let her come back to a bowl you ever seen nobody pour gravy like that i mean that's what you call the pour back and forth and folk look at that good color don't that look delicious i like to just go ahead and cut whoa finally showed up did you dookie well folks the bee has been out here the whole time so i guess i better feed my help first before i even do anything else thank you big for always helping duke you're pretty lazy buddies but you go ahead on there we appreciate you so let me get my butt hmm oh my gosh going to the hoot to nanny going to the ho ho a nanny now folks i'm going to tell you maybe all them old timers was right so many years ago when i was cooking for them ranches because let me tell you that is divine right there it is because you'd be thinking bitter burnt coffee taste sort of when you got it in there you know with all them good ham drippings that's in there and then you take that butter and that bacon grease and fold her back in there make you a roux a little pepper's all it need because like i say it has got plenty of salt now it's time to do a little sopping that's what it was called a lot of times with sopping y'all need a little sopping what do you think beast is too hot to wag tails well folks it's a done deal it is and i hope you all enjoyed it because we sure did but as always i tip my hat to all our service men and women all the veterans who have kept that old flag of flying in camp wherever me and shane and the beagle and duke may be we appreciate you one and all and folks i want to thank y'all because we've had a lot more people tuning in here lately subscriber count has jumped up i appreciate you sharing them videos with all your friends and neighbors because that's what it's about folks let's share the good time the fellowship the food and let's all be happy because remember that song chad be happy don't worry so gravy eat red eye gravy now folks remember my ariott clothing and the recipe it's all listed right down there below so whoo i'll see you next week when you're tuning in down the what the red eye gravy trail nanny i hope nanny well i just don't know and duke wants a bite what\n"