‘Country ham’ belt links Carolina to Missouri

America’s “country ham” belt is the geographic region that extends through North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri. 

There is a small group of great country ham producers concentrated in eastern North Carolina. 

Stevens Sausage Co. in Smithfield is one. The business was launched after the Korean War (post-1953), when Army veteran Needham Sloan Stevens Jr. returned to Smithfield. He and his parents formed the company as an extension of the family farm. 

“Junior” remained active in the business until his death in 2013. Today, the company is operated by the third generation – brothers Mike, David and Tim Stevens. 

Dr. Dana Hanson, an associate professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, is a renowned meat specialist. 

Dr. Hanson said: “Today, most ham is sold pre-sliced ready for the skillet. The key to success when preparing this product is knowing when to quit. Country hams do not like to be overcooked and dried out. Lightly fry it…slap it on a warm biscuit…and breakfast is served.” 

Dr. Hanson recommends “supporting American food heritage” by patronizing the country ham producers in eastern North Carolina. He suggests Westwater Country Hams of Warsaw in Duplin County; and WayCo Country Hams in Goldsboro and Nahunta Pork Center near Pikeville, both in Wayne County.

In the western mountain region, a major player in the country ham business is Goodnight Brothers of Boone. The family business has a long-standing relationship with the Dan’l Boone Inn restaurant in town as its exclusive country ham supplier. The inn serves up platters of country ham biscuits to hungry diners who come to enjoy family style meals. 

Since 1977, Goodnight Brothers country ham customers have included two familiar North Carolina fast-food groups – Hardee’s and Bojangles’ restaurants. 

Crystal Light Faulkner, who grew up in Asheboro, N.C., and is known for her blog, MrsHappyHomemaker, prefers to separate her homemade country ham and buttermilk biscuits on a plate, so she can “drench the biscuits in savory and salty red eye gravy.” 

“Red eye gravy is a very thin gravy made from country ham drippings. It’s incredible and so easy,” she said. Remove the ham, and “add in 1 and 1/4 cups of water as well as 1/2 cup of strong, black coffee. Stir it up and scrape all the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.” 

Some folks use a cola soft drink instead of coffee, and others use a 50-50 coffee-cola blend. 

How did red eye gravy gain its distinctive name? 

Eric Troy of the CulinaryLore website said the name can be traced to Gen. Andrew Jackson, who was an American field general from 1814-21, known as “Old Hickory,” which was a preferred wood for the smoking and flavoring of country ham. 

Troy said that one day Jackson asked his army cook to make lunch. “The cook had been helping himself to liberal doses of moonshine, Southern corn whiskey or ‘white mule.’ Observing the cook’s bloodshot eyes, General Jackson instructed him “to bring some country ham with a gravy as red as his eyes.”

Troy said: “The ham drippings form numerous small droplets which, some say, resemble little red eyes. As the gravy sits, however, the fat forms a single translucent circle on top, surrounded by a darker, liquid non-fat part on the bottom, making the whole thing look like a big red eye.”

 

No biscuits? No problem, ladle some of that salty gravy into a serving of creamy grits.