Read A Love Affair with Southern Cooking Online
Authors: Jean Anderson,Jean Anderson
TIME LINE: the people and events that shaped Southern Cuisine
1847 | | Desperate to cool his feverish patients, an Apalachicola doctor named John Gorrie invents a primitive ice-maker—a forerunner of kitchen iceboxes. |
| | The Carolina Housewife |
| | Unable to mass-produce his mechanical reaper on the family’s Virginia farm, Cyrus McCormick relocates to Chicago. Soon after, his two brothers join his new company. |
| | A Louisiana slave named Antoine masters the art of grafting and cultivating pecan trees, a breakthrough that enables farmers to grow this all-American nut on a commercial scale. |
1848 | | South Carolina commercial tea production is no longer confined to the Lowcountry. Dr. Junius Smith harvests significant quantities of it at Golden Grove Plantation near Greenville. |
FIELD PEA RELISH
MAKES
4
SERVINGS
Although Walter Royal created this colorful side dish to accompany his Roasted Rack of Lamb, I also like it with roast pork and baked ham. Note:
Black-eyed peas are the most readily available field pea; that’s why I call for them here.
½ cup peanut or corn oil
2 medium red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
2 medium celery ribs, trimmed and finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
One 1¼-pound smoked ham hock
One 16-ounce package solidly frozen black-eyed peas (see Note above)
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
½ teaspoon hot paprika
¼ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste, crushed
¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
1 large whole bay leaf, preferably fresh
2½ cups rich chicken stock or broth
1
/
3
cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped Italian parsley
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled
Fried chicken is perhaps Georgia’s best known dish, but field peas come a close second and a delicately flavored little white pea we call lady peas.
—
CARSON M
C
CULLERS
,
ON HER GEORGIA CHILDHOOD
Heirloom Recipe
LIVER MUSH
Cut into medium pieces one hog hashlet (liver, lights, and heart) and 1½ lbs. fat meat (from hog’s head). Cover with water and cook until tender. When cooled, put through meat chopper. Place the ground meat back into broth in which it was cooked. Season with salt and sage to taste. Let boil and add cornmeal a little at a time, stirring constantly. When the mixture turns loose from the sides of the pot it is ready to take up and pack into pans. Slice and fry to serve.
—Mrs. Mack Oliver, Iredell County, North Carolina
ROAST VENISON WITH JUNIPER-CURRANT SAUCE
MAKES
6
SERVINGS
Although white-tailed deer overrun the South (they graze my lawn at dawn and dusk), and although hunters go after them in season with gun or bow and arrow, wild venison is a rarity unless you bag it yourself or befriend someone who does. The venison available to chefs and home cooks is ranch-raised, tender of flesh and delicate of flavor. This recipe, one I enjoyed some years ago in the Barbadoes Room of the elegantly restored Mills House in Charleston, was given to me by Chef Lindner there. I’ve tweaked it over the years to make it less daunting for hobby cooks. Note:
Begin the recipe a day ahead because the venison must marinate for 24 hours; the sauce, too, is begun in advance.
Tip:
Because venison is exceptionally lean, ask your butcher to pique it (insert short, thin strips of larding fat over the surface).
One 5-to 6-pound rack of venison, piqued (see Tip above)
4 cups (1 quart) milk
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup water
Juniper-Currant Sauce
2 tablespoons bacon drippings
4 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped
1 small celery rib, trimmed and thinly sliced (include some leaves)
1 tablespoon juniper berries
2 large whole bay leaves (preferably fresh)
½ cup dry red wine
¼ cup water
5 cups chicken stock or broth
6 black peppercorns, crushed
½ cup firmly packed red currant jelly
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Venison pan drippings
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
3 tablespoons flour blended with ¼ cup cold water
Optional Garnishes
Pickled Peaches or Bourbon’d Peaches
Watercress
CRISPY BATTER-FRIED CHICKEN
MAKES
4
SERVINGS
Mark Twain was right: “The North seldom tries to fry chicken and this is well; the art cannot be learned north of the line of Mason and Dixon.” Even south of the Mason-Dixon, few cooks can agree on the best way to fry chicken. Some say that an initial milk (or buttermilk) bath is essential to make the bird succulent. Others insist that salting the bird is more effective because it closes the pores and seals in the juices. Some Southerners salt and pepper the chicken before “battering” it. Others mix the seasonings
into the batter, sometimes adding a pinch of paprika to enrich the color. Some cooks shallow-fry the chicken in a big iron skillet; others prefer to deep-fry (to trim cooking time and keep the orders coming, many fast-food restaurants now pressure-fry). Even the skillet school of frying is divided: Some cooks cover the skillet part of the time to keep the bird moist; others don’t. And some even add a little water toward the end of cooking, again to make the bird juicy. Finally, gravy is a must in many parts of the South; it goes over the biscuits, not the chicken. Elsewhere, the chicken is fried, drained, and served as is. No gravy or, horrors, sauce of any kind. This recipe and the two that follow will produce exceptionally good fried chicken. I don’t think anyone will quarrel with that. Note:
It’s essential that you choose a small chicken for deep-fat frying—about 2
½
pounds but definitely no more than 2
¾.
Heftier chickens will overbrown before they’re done inside (170° F. on an instant-read thermometer) and may need half an hour or more in the oven—a sure-fire recipe for tough, dry chicken. Even small chickens tend to be bosomy these days, so if the breasts seem oversize, halve them crosswise so the chicken will cook evenly.
Tip:
If self-rising flour is unavailable (beyond the South, it’s rarely a supermarket staple), use all-purpose flour and increase the baking powder and salt each to 2 teaspoons.
One 2½-to 2¾-pound broiler-fryer, cut up for frying (see Note above)
1½ cups buttermilk or milk
Vegetable oil for deep-fat frying (you’ll need about 6 cups or 1½ quarts)
1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour for dredging
Batter
1½ cups sifted self-rising flour (see Tip at left)
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
¾ cup milk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil