Meanings
plural red-eye gravies · alternative redeye gravy
- countableuncountablecookingA thin sauce found in Southern US cuisine, made from the drippings of pan-fried country ham mixed with black coffee.
"However, I do enjoy the flavor of red-eye gravy made with ham drippings."
2021 August 2, Highlander, One Wore Gray One Wore Blue: An Appalachian Grandmother’s Favorite Generals, Archway Publishing, →ISBN2 more examples
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[…]
2003 August 25, Adam McClellan, Uniquely Tennessee, Capstone Classroom, →ISBN, page 30In 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[…]
2019 February 8, Gary Allen, author of Sausage: A Global History, Sauces Reconsidered: Après Escoffier, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 120
Cite this entry
red-eye gravy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/red-eye%20gravy
“red-eye gravy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/red-eye%20gravy. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “red-eye gravy,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/red-eye%20gravy.
Source: red-eye gravy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.