Country Ham, Red-eye gravy & Cat-head biscuits

I don't consider myself necessarily a pure Southerner...more like a South-Westerner. That's why I've never heard of Red-eye gravy & Cat-head biscuits. It just wasn't a "thing" I saw or heard about in South Texas. Even country ham was spotty. Smoked ham was more our thing and beef rules here. I need to try this...the gravy has coffee in it.

Good stuff. My kids cure hams as a 4-H project

Redeye gravy made with yesterday's coffee and the sticky in the bottom of the skillet from frying the ham, and tall, flaky catheads, is simply divine. Now if you just had some cheese and jalapeno grits alongside it or some cold grits fried in bacon grease, a couple of over easies with some Pace on them, and a bloody mary, it would be complete. Finish off with chicory cafe au lait and Bananas Foster. Yup, we like to have desert with breakfast here in New Orleans.

Slash McCoy said:

Yup, we like to have desert with breakfast here in New Orleans.

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Sounds more like, "yup we like to have breakfast with desert."

What is a "Cat Head Biscuit?"

Is that different the a regular southern biscuit?

Boy I haven't had that in awhile. Definitely needs a couple over medium eggs and some grits to complete this awesome breakfast.

langod said:

What is a "Cat Head Biscuit?"

Is that different the a regular southern biscuit?

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It should be about the size and thickness of a cat's head! LOL no joke!
We all know this in Alabama...
It's like Little Debbie= Snack cakes
Gimmie some sugar= Kiss me baby!
Going down to the crick= Going parking/making out with girlfriend.

Oh, and we don't have to have the coffee to make Red-Eye Gravy. It can be made without it.

langod said:

What is a "Cat Head Biscuit?"

Is that different the a regular southern biscuit?

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'Pends whereya from. I call all biscuits catheads. The name comes from gulf shrimp boats. A horizontal gypsey on a trawl winch is called a cathead. They are round, large, and since they are made out of iron they are hard as iron. Shrimp boat biscuits can vary from sublime to mesolithic depending on the cooking skills of the Rig Man, who does all the cooking, usually. Sometimes during the season opener the Captain cooks breakfast while the Rig Man and Headers are getting the last drag knocked out, and getting everything ready to set over again at sundown. Really bad biscuits were compared to catheads, and the name was born. Some people call drop biscuits catheads. Usually a cathead is a lightly kneaded, rolled, and cut biscuit made with baking powder for the only leavening agent, and no sourdough starter or yeast or buttermilk or soured milk with baking soda. If it has anything but baking powder to make it rise, it's not a cathead.

I feel that calling them cathead biscuits is actually kind of redundant since they mean the same thing. But YMMV.

In the UK they confuse the issue by calling cookies, biscuits. I guess they call biscuits cookies. Or catheads.

DCRIII said:

Boy I haven't had that in awhile. Definitely needs a couple over medium eggs and some grits to complete this awesome breakfast.

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Man you're killin' me!!! My mouth is waterin'! Yes, I am Southern born and Southern proud!

And Southern is ALWAYS capitalized!

That looks scrumdiliscious! I'll be right over. Love me some country ham and red-eye.

dionesius3 said:

It should be about the size and thickness of a cat's head! LOL no joke!
We all know this in Alabama...
It's like Little Debbie= Snack cakes
Gimmie some sugar= Kiss me baby!
Going down to the crick= Going parking/making out with girlfriend.

Oh, and we don't have to have the coffee to make Red-Eye Gravy. It can be made without it.

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Never use coffee in mine, caramelized goo in the fryin' pan from the ham, get it HOT and add water, and stand back.

DoctorShavegood said:

View attachment 633492

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I'm slobberin' all over myself.

TobyC said:

Never use coffee in mine, caramelized goo in the fryin' pan from the ham, get it HOT and add water, and stand back.

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Try some apple juice next time! it is amazing!

its not redeye without the leftover coffee. Its just gravy.

dionesius3 said:

Oh, and we don't have to have the coffee to make Red-Eye Gravy. It can be made without it.

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Slash McCoy said:

its not redeye without the leftover coffee. Its just gravy.

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This could turn into a "beans or no beans" in chili discussion.

Slash McCoy said:

its not redeye without the leftover coffee. Its just gravy.

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It's called red-eye because it looks like one.

I can no longer have this meal due to giving up red meat, but it is one of my favorites. Country ham is a truly divine thing.

Slash McCoy said:

Redeye gravy made with yesterday's coffee and the sticky in the bottom of the skillet from frying the ham, and tall, flaky catheads, is simply divine. Now if you just had some cheese and jalapeno grits alongside it or some cold grits fried in bacon grease, a couple of over easies with some Pace on them, and a bloody mary, it would be complete. Finish off with chicory cafe au lait and Bananas Foster. Yup, we like to have desert with breakfast here in New Orleans.

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Good golly! I've got a smile on my face just reading this. If I ever make it down there I'm eating everything posted here

I spent five years in Nashville, and my wife was raised in North Carolina.

I was raised on sugar cured ham. The first time I had country ham, I thought I was going to go blind from sodium shock. The second time, I became an addict.