Red-eye gravy

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Red-eye gravy is a thin sauce often seen in the cuisine of the Southern United States. The gravy is made from the drippings of pan-fried country ham that has been mixed with water or black coffee, sometimes thickened with flour. It is often served over grits, biscuits, or chicken fried steak. A common practice is to dip the inner sides of a split biscuit into the gravy in order to add flavor and keep the biscuit from being too dry when a piece of country ham is added between the two halves: the Southern "ham biscuit." Another popular way to serve red-eye gravy, especially in parts of Alabama, is with mustard or ketchup mixed in with the gravy. Biscuits are then "sopped" in the gravy. In parts of the South, red-eye gravy is also used on grits.