Cooked kidney beans
Bean sauce

I presume this is cooking juice from the beans.

Fat pork
Flour
Water
Salt
Spices
Pepper
Sugar

It looks good, also in a country sort of way.
Still, it doesn't seem to jibe with what I've
been served or seen described under the name.

I was a bit shocked to see others adding *coffee* to it! A more

Quite different, isn't it. Coffee beans aren't
bean beans after all.

accurate label for 'red eye gravy' in my area of the world, was one
with crackings and the center bone from the ham, and red beans. The
bone made the 'eye' and the beans made the 'red'. Red Eye Gravy.

That's interesting. We should do a batch of your
red-eye vs. other people's red-eye and take a vote.
I'm willing to bet your version tastes better but is
not a salvage food, which the other red-eye is.

Seems i'm the only one who makes the spicy bean type in this echo.
Shrug, doenwt bother me any but watch out if you go to the mountain
side of SC because evidently the 'red eye gravy' is *quite*
different! Just as tastey, but a differnt taste.

where are your forebears from - it might be worth
a field trip to check it out. Of course it's a
day's drive, but it might be worth it.

Ours is a bean gravy with a bit of fat and lots of spices. The ones
posted here are fat and coffee with some flour and maybe some few
spices.

Often no flour and no spices at all - it's very
basic.

I wonder if historically the difference wasnt that the one I post
comes from before coffee was much avalaible (folks in the backlands
drank chicory) but beans and fatty meats were relatively abundant.

Possibly. Were your people the ones who called
green peppers by the name mangoes?

Got curious and looked through some more of the old letters. From
Elizabeth Cooper to Elizabeth Cooper (same name, first one is
grandmother to second one).
Breakfast Gravy
Take a goodlie amount of well cooked beans that are soft and in the
sauce Add to a hot pan after cooking the meat (later its clear she
means fat pork) Stir and add some flour and water Add salt and if you
have it, spices such as pepper. If no spices, add sugar.
Cook a few moments til hot, then mash it. Stir and add water til it's
gravy.

Really sounds worth a try.

Smile! That was fun. Had to assume some words and some of it had to
do with when to add more wood to the fire. It reads in such a way
that I am sure it was made over the fireplace, quickly, after the
rest of the breakfast was ready and before it cooled. Comes with
advise on feeding men, and what to feed them first. From: Carol
Shenkenberger Date: 14 Mar 98

Red-Eye Bean Gravy
categories: sauces, Southern, foodservice
servings: about 30

1 pk Santiago[r] refried beans - any type
2 bn green onions, very thinly sliced
1 1/2 lb bacon, diced
2 qt coffee, decaffeinated
1 1/2 qt water, boiling
2 c ketchup

Cook bacon until crisp.

Stir in coffee, water and ketchup.

Stir in beans, return to a boil stirring frequently.
Lower heat to simmer and cook stirring occasionally
until mixture is thickened, about 20 min. Garnish
with green onions.

Serve with biscuits over mashed potatoes or hashbrowns.

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