Red-eye gravy is a thin sauce often seen in the cuisine of the Southern United States and associated with the country ham of that region. Other names for this sauce include poor man's gravy, bird-eye gravy and red ham gravy. The gravy is made from the drippings of pan-fried country ham that has been mixed with water or black coffee. The same drippings, when mixed with flour, make the flavoring for a white gravy. Red-eye gravy is often served over ham, cornbread, grits, or biscuits.

A common practice is to dip the inner sides of a split biscuit into the gravy in order to add flavor and keep the biscuit from being too dry when a piece of country ham is added between the two halves: the Southern "ham biscuit." Another popular way to serve red-eye gravy, especially in parts of Alabama, is with mustard or ketchup mixed in with the gravy. Biscuits are then "sopped" in the gravy.

In Louisiana, Cajun-style gravy is often made with a roast beef instead of ham. Black coffee is always used, and it is frequently a strongly brewed chicory coffee. The gravy is ladled over the meat on bed of rice, staining the rice a dark brown color. Often, French bread and some kind of beans are also served as a side, like butter beans (lima beans) or peas.

The Mississippi variation uses red wine in the place of coffee.

Red Eye Gravy's name likely comes from the appearance of the gravy. Prepared traditionally, when coffee and grease are not combined until the end (see Preparation, below) the coffee and grease form a hetrogeneous mixture, with the water-based coffee sinking to the bottom and the oil-based grease forming the top layer. In a round bowl, therefore, the mixture looks much like a red eye, the coffee giving the red hue and the grease looking like a human iris. ^[1]

Less traditional preparation techniques do not always result in the "red eye" appearance, leading to folk legends surrounding the origin of the name, such as that of former United States President Andrew Jackson with requesting ham with gravy as red as his cook's eyes, which were bloodshot from drinking the night before.^[2] or the explanation is that the black coffee in the gravy will keep people awake.^[3]

The basic recipe for red-eye gravy is quite simple. After the ham has been cooked, the grease is removed from the pan. Black coffee is then used to deglaze the pan. The coffee and grease are then poured into the same container in a one to one ratio.

Other recipes exist, using water instead of coffee, or adding coffee with grease still present in the pan.

• Track That Word! listing for 'red-eye gravy' on the Do You Speak American? website