A Southern Breakfast: Eggs, Grits, & Red-Eye Gravy

A delicious, Southern breakfast sets the perfect mood for the day ahead. With homemade biscuits, fresh eggs, country ham, bacon, sausage, red-eye gravy, and stone ground grits, you can't go wrong. The aromas waft through the kitchen, tempting everyone to gather around the table and enjoy a hearty start to the morning. Flaky, buttery biscuits provide the perfect base for the savory country ham, which adds a rich and smoky flavor to each bite. The red-eye gravy, made from the flavorful remnants of the ham, adds a tangy and slightly bitter note that complements the other ingredients perfectly.

A Southern BreakfastPhoto byDown South Today

There are basics. No genuine Southern breakfast is complete without creamy stone ground grits. A personal favorite is produced by Georgia’s Logan Turnpike, near Blairsville. The Dekalb Farmer’s Market is my local source.

Breakfast traditions for many began at home during childhood. Blessed with a mother who knew her way around the kitchen, I cannot recall any morning without breakfast. Early morning breakfast, still a personal favorite, took me to places where ham and eggs have been served in some cases since the days of George Washington.

Breakfast with a View at The Dillard House.Photo byDown South Today

The Dillard House, located in Rabun County, Georgia near the North Carolina border is on land that was awarded to Lieutenant John Dillard for his service in the Virginia Revolutionary Army. For decades, guests ranging from U. S Presidents, celebrities and hungry tourists have enjoyed an amazing breakfast of local, fresh eggs, country ham, red-eye gravy, homemade biscuits, grits and hot coffee. A shrine of authentic Southern cooking, it remains family-owned and managed.

I’ve journeyed throughout the South over much of my life, and often stumbled over a remarkable restaurant that served memorable breakfasts. Some were in the countryside in small towns, others in urban centers like Atlanta.

Silver Skillet is an Atlanta landmark.Photo byDown South Today

On several occasions, I was honored to join the late Congressman John Lewis for bacon, eggs and pancakes at The White House Restaurant on Atlanta’s Peachtree Road. It remains popular as does the Silver Skillet in nearby Midtown.

The late Frank Spence, a masterful raconteur, once held front office executive positions with the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Falcons. Spence could reliably sniff out a good breakfast location. He once observed that Matthews, a landmark restaurant in Tucker, Georgia was “the safest place to eat breakfast in Georgia,” a reference to its popularity with hungry police officers and other first responders who gather mornings beginning at 5 a.m. to enjoy fellowship and eggs.

Savanah native James Paige’s Soul Food masterpiece, Collard Green Cafe, near Stone Mountain, Georgia, serves a coastal favorite, fried fish with grits and other popular breakfast items throughout the day.

Frank Spence, on left, with Collard Green Café owner James Paige.Photo byDown South Today

Just north of Atlanta, The Red Eyed Mule, a hugely popular restaurant in Marietta, serves a traditional Southern breakfast to a packed house.

Eggs Sardou, a New Orleans Breakfast Classic.Photo byDown South Today

The breakfast tradition thrives throughout the South. Mother’s Restaurant in New Orleans, serves up ham-based “debris” gravy, a culinary cousin to Red Eye Gravy, that adds magic to biscuits and grits. Brennan’s, a French Quarter landmark, introduced me to Eggs Sardou and I dream about the the flavors in this classic regularly, usually around sunrise.

Red Eye Gravy made with Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Ham.Photo byDown South Today

Allan Benton’s highly regarded Smoked Bacon and Country Hams are made in the lovely village of Madisonville, Tennessee. Here’s his recipe for red-eye gravy made with Benton’s Smoky Mountain County Ham.

INGREDIENTS:

2 to 3 ounces white fat trimmed from country ham

12 ounces center-cut country ham slices (sometimes labeled as biscuit cuts)

1/2 cup strong brewed black coffee 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

Serve with biscuits and/or hot grits

DIRECTIONS:

Cook the fat in a large, heavy skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-low heat until it renders, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. There should be enough fat to cover the bottom of the skillet.

Increase the heat to medium-high and when the rendered fat begins to bubble, add one small piece (about 3 inches square) of country ham and cook it until it is dark and crisp, and then discard the solids. The sacrifice of this one small piece of ham is to increase the ham flavor in the rendered fat.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and, working in batches to keep the ham in a single layer, cook the remaining ham slices only until barely warm, flipping once, and then remove them to a plate, about 20 seconds per side. Allan cautions against over-cooking country ham to avoid it turning tough.

Stir the brown sugar into the pan drippings, and then add the coffee and stir to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook until it bubbles and reduces a little, about 2 minutes.

To Serve:

Arrange split biscuits on serving plates. Drizzle very lightly with about a tablespoon of gravy. Or, add to grits as desired.

NOTE: We are looking for other local breakfast legends in the South. Send me a note or comment and educate me. I’ll respond.