History

Tennessee country ham, salt-cured for 6 to 12 months, has been a regional pantry staple since the 1800s. Frying a slice releases drippings that, deglazed with leftover coffee, make redeye gravy. The Loveless Cafe on Highway 100 in Nashville has plated the dish since 1951 and remains the canonical reference. Biscuits at Loveless are made from scratch every 20 minutes; the recipe stayed unchanged through ownership transitions in 2003 and 2014.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 300g all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 100g cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 240ml cold buttermilk
  • 8 thin slices country ham
  • 120ml strong black coffee, hot
  • Black pepper

Method

  1. Heat oven to 230C (450F). Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
  2. Cut in the cold butter with your fingertips until pea-sized pieces remain.
  3. Pour in buttermilk and stir until just combined. Turn out onto a floured surface; fold twice.
  4. Pat to 2.5cm thick. Cut with a 6cm round cutter. Place on a baking sheet, touching.
  5. Bake 14 minutes until tops are golden brown.
  6. Meanwhile, fry the country ham slices in a heavy pan over medium heat for 2 minutes per side. Remove ham.
  7. Pour hot coffee into the pan; scrape up the fond. Reduce 1 minute. Grind in black pepper.
  8. Split biscuits, layer with ham, drizzle redeye gravy over.

Tip from the editors. Do not twist the cutter; it seals the layers and the biscuits will not rise. Press straight down and lift.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat biscuits with redeye gravy

Biscuits with redeye gravy in Nashville

Loveless Cafe ★ 4.2

Country breakfast with biscuits$13-22south-nashvilleMon-Thu 08:00-21:00, Fri-Sun 07:00-21:00OpenTable

Loveless Cafe on Highway 100 in Nashville has served scratch biscuits, country ham and redeye gravy since 1951, anchoring the Natchez Trace's tourist circuit.

Order: Country ham with redeye gravy and biscuits

Tip: Lines build by 09:00 weekends; put your name down and shop the on-site Hams & Jams Country Market while you wait.

8400 Hwy 100, Nashville, Tennessee 37221

Biscuit Love ★ 4.3

All-day biscuit sandwich brunch$12-18the-gulchDaily 07:00-15:00Walk-in only

Karl and Sarah Worley's Gulch biscuit counter in Nashville opened 2012 and pioneered the city's all-day biscuit sandwich format. Now ships nationwide via Goldbelly.

Order: Bonuts (biscuit doughnuts with lemon curd)

Tip: Bonuts are the order; East Nashville location at 1024 Woodland gets through the queue faster on weekends.

316 11th Avenue South Nashville, TN 37203

Monell's Dining and Catering ★ 4.4

Meat-and-three$$germantown

Monell's family-style Southern dining in Germantown, Nashville has run since 1995, seating strangers at communal tables in a Victorian house north of the Capitol.

Signature: Family-style Southern lunch, Skillet fried chicken

Order: The full family-style spread: fried chicken, country ham, mac and cheese, greens.

Tip: Reservations available; tables seat ten. Sunday brunch is the marquee meal, books a week ahead.

1235 6th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37208 Book →

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