Roan Mountain Corn Gravy

“The Spiral Bound Bible of Southern Cooking: A Community Cookbook from the Southern Foodways Alliance,” released in fall 2010, pulls together recipes collected from alliance members and oral history subjects. The alliance documents, studies, and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the changing American South through symposia on food culture, documentary films, writing, and the preservation, promotion, and chronicling of our region’s culinary standard bearers. Sara Roahen and John T. Edge edited the charming and educational SFA cookbook, which was published by the University of Georgia Press. The table of contents for the 277-page book lists chapters dedicated to gravy, garden goods, roots, greens, rice, grist, yardbird (chicken and eggs), pig, the hook (seafood), the hunt (meats), put up (preserved foods) and cane (sweets). Each chapter opens with a page or two about the food item’s role in the South, and each recipe includes a snippet of history about where it came from. This book is a must for any foodie who has ever ordered up grits, country ham, okra, red beans and rice, catfish or pound cake. 

Roan Mountain Corn Gravy

This recipe can be traced to Carter County, Tennessee. That’s where, in the early years of the twentieth century, the late Florence Graybeal perfected it. 

More recently, her daughter, Margaret Propst, was the cook with her hand on the skillet full of corn gravy. In 2005, she passed away. Mrs. Propst worked as a teacher most of her life, instructing high school students, alternately, in chemistry and home economics. She reportedly served corn gravy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and she preferred white corn such as Silver Queen, although she occasionally fell back on yellow or even canned. 

Makes 4 to 6 servings

• 4 large, fresh ears of white corn, preferably Silver Queen
• ½ cup tepid water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black or white pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups whole milk
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cold water

Cut the top halves of the corn kernels from the cobs into a large saucepan. Use the back of a knife or a small spoon to scrape the remaining corn and milk into the saucepan. If the cobs are juicy, squeeze the remaining milk into the pan as well. Stir in the tepid water, sugar, salt, pepper, and butter. Cook over medium heat until the corn is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the milk. In a small bowl, stir together the flour and cold water, mixing until smooth. Bring the corn mixture to a boil and gradually stir in the flour slurry. Cook, stirring, until the raw flour taste is gone and the gravy thickens, about 10 minutes. The gravy should be slightly thick, but not as thick as cream-style corn. Serve hot on top of homemade biscuits.

Originally published Jan. 1, 2011.