4 slices country ham, cut 1/4 inch thick

1 cup strong cold coffee

Rub bottom if cast iron skillet with Crisco to grease. Heat skillet until it is very hot. Add the ham slices, and cook them on both sides on medium heat so that they brown evenly.

Pour the coffee into the skillet. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer gently for about 10 minutes or until ham is tender. Most of the gravy will evaporate, but there should be enough to moisten the ham or biscuits.

Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, when served a portion of country ham and the rich, dark gravy by a cook who had obviously been tippling at the whiskey barrel, commented, “That gravy is as brown as the cook’s red eyes!” Traditionally, that is how the red-eyed gravy got its name.

Recipe by Doris Jean Ferguson

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