Use Stale, Leftover Coffee to Make Red-Eye Sauce
I grew up in a caffeinated home. My father drank a whole pot before anyone else even open her eyes, and my mother and sister drink throughout the day is much more than their tiny bodies should be able to handle (with an increase of five feet four inches, I being the highest). When I’m around them, I feel like I love coffee too, but when I come home alone, the cup of coffee that I leave to languish in the pot every single day proves the opposite.
Obviously, this is not such a terrible tragedy. Coffee throwers like me can freeze leftover coffee in ice cubes or chill it to get a low-brow cold coffee, but I think the last stale nugget is best used when making red-eye sauce.
The red-eyed gravy is very different from its thick and creamy southern cousin , strewn with sausages . It’s runny, salty, and (because of the coffee) a little bitter. It is usually eaten with ham biscuits, although you can also whip it into cereals or drizzle with lima beans on top (best beans). Unlike most sauces (sausage included), there is no dressing, cornstarch, or real thickener to speak of – just butter, coffee, a little broth (or water), and all the great toasty nibbles left over from the grilled ham. Like coffee itself, it wakes you up with its assertive flavor, dangerously close to “too salty” just to be cut off by a buttery cookie. Although unconventional, I like to add a little maple syrup to top it off. To make it you will need:
- 1 ham steak, cut into 4 pieces
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1/2 cup leftover coffee
- 1/4 cup broth or water (I like to add a teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon ham flavored if I’m out of stock).
- A little maple syrup (optional)
- Your Favorite Serving Cookies
Add the first tablespoon of butter to the skillet and melt over medium to high heat. Once the butter starts bubbling and sizzling, add the ham and cook until each side is pretty and lightly browned. Set aside on a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Reduce heat to medium, add coffee and water, and remove frosting from skillet by scraping off any browned pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula. Let the liquid reduce to about half, then add the remaining butter and beat until emulsified, drizzle with syrup if using, and beat again. (Some division is fine, in fact, that’show the gravy gets its name .) Divide the cookies, dip one (or both) halves in the gravy and fill with the grilled ham (I like to cut the ham into pieces before adding it to the biscuits) …