For those of us, including myself, who do not live in the Deep South of the United States some foods just never got mentioned or eaten at our table growing up. I had to look up collard greens just to figure out what they were and up until recently grits remained a point of confusion. They just weren’t typical dishes served in our area. Today, food remains one of my favourite things about travel. I get to discover foods that I may never have heard of before only to discover they’re a new favourite that I have to try to replicate when I get home.
Southern cooking has fascinated me for quite some time. It’s big on flavour yet always feels very comforting and it’s super tasty. Southern Living puts out a magazine that is full of traditional southern recipes as well as crafts and other things. So, I thought that this week we’d take a look at four truly traditional southern foods using some of their recipes for Fried Chicken, Fried Green Tomatoes, Shrimp & Grits, and Pecan Pie. This week we’ll look at the traditional ways to make them and next week we’ll look at ways to make them a little more heart friendly since many southern foods are fried.
1) Fried Chicken
I’m not sure it gets more southern than fresh, homemade fried chicken. This recipe is truly delicious and goes well with fresh biscuits and mashed potatoes although a salad is probably a good idea.
- 1 (3- to 4-pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups buttermilk
- Self-rising flour
- Vegetable oil
Place chicken in a shallow dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add buttermilk and seal with plastic wrap. Let it soak for a minimum of two hours. Remove the chicken from the buttermilk, discard buttermilk and dredge the chicken in the flour. If you like a bit of spice try adding some spices to the flour.
Pour oil to a depth of 1.5 inches in a deep pan or Dutch oven. Heat the oil to 360 F. Doing only a few pieces at a time, add chicken to the pan, cover and cook for 6 minutes. Turn chicken over, cover, and cook for another 6 minutes. Uncover it and continue cooking chicken, turning it occasionally to keep it browning evenly, for another 5-9 minutes. Drain it on a paper towel.
2) Fried Green Tomatoes
I tried these for the first time this past summer when my own tomatoes were taking forever to ripen. My friends tell me they’re even better with some red pepper flakes added to the cornmeal mixture.
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup self-rising cornmeal mix
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 medium-size, firm green tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch-thick slices (about 1 1/4 lb.)
- Vegetable oil
Whisk your egg and buttermilk together and set aside. In a shallow dish combine cornmeal, salt, pepper and ¼ cup of flour and set aside. In a separate dish place remaining ¼ cup of flour. Take your tomato slices and dredge them in the plain flour, then dip them in the egg mixture, and then dredge them in the cornmeal mixture.
In a cast iron pan, heat ½ inch of oil to 375 F over medium-high heat. Cook a few tomato slices at a time, placing them in the oil and cooking for two minutes per side. They should be golden in colour. Drain on paper towels and season with additional salt.
3) Shrimp & Grits
To make this recipe, you first need to make cheese grits. The shrimp and grits recipe follows the one for cheese grits.
Cheese Grits:
- 1 (14-oz.) can low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
- 1 cup fat-free milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits
- 3/4 cup (3 oz.) shredded 2% reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
Bring the chicken broth, milk, salt and 1 1/3 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Gradually whisk in the grits. Reduce heat and simmer. Stir it occasionally and cook for about 10 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Shrimp & Grits:
- 2 bacon slices
- 1 pound unpeeled, medium-size raw shrimp
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
- 2 teaspoons canola oil
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
- Cheese Grits
Cook the bacon in a large skillet for 10 minutes over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon and reserve 1 tsp of the drippings Drain bacon on paper towels and crumble.
Peel shrimp, season with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.
Combine reserved drippings with canola oil and mushrooms and fry until tender, about five minutes. Add green onions and cook for another two minutes. Add shrimp and garlic and continue cooking until shrimp are lightly browned, about two minutes. Stir in chicken broth, hot sauce and lemon juice. Continue to cook for two more minutes. Serve on fresh cheese grits.
4) Pecan Pie
This is the ultimate southern dessert as far as I am concerned. It reminds me a bit of the butter tarts we make up here in Canada. Feel free to make your own pastry.
- 1 1/2 cups pecan pieces
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup light or dark corn syrup
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 (9-inch) deep-dish frozen unbaked pie shell
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread pecans out on a baking sheet. Cook them for about 8 – 10 minutes until toasted. Mix together the remaining filling ingredients and add them to the pie shell. Bake for 55 minutes or until set. After the first 20 minutes, shield the top with aluminum foil to prevent it from browning too much. It taste great whether it’s served warm or cold.
Cover photo: http: alsqkd.blogspot.com
Add Comment