In this age of cutting back on fat whenever and wherever we
can (and by “we” I mean “you”), we forget that throughout most of history, this
was the complete opposite. Fat was a concentrated, powerful fuel that literally
kept people going, and this red eye gravy is a little taste of those times.
The challenge in tough times is to make those greasy pan
drippings more palatable, more interesting, and more delicious. It’s not like
families struggling through the depression had pots of demiglace reducing on
the stove, or bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon sitting around to deglaze their
cast iron skillets – heck, they probably didn’t even have a decent Merlot. So
they used what they had; like a splash of leftover coffee.