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The Deep South is famed for its food and its high sugar
and fat content - this is no place to start a diet! Savoury
dishes are often sweetened sugar or honey and desserts are
legendary like the pecan pie and Mississippi mud
pie (actually made from sticky chocolate!). Fried Chicken
from Kentucky is a popular dish of Creole origin, and corn
on the cob, okra (ladies fingers) and black-eyed peas
are traditional staples, as is 'grits' a tastless
corn porridge. Barbecue ribs or other meat smoked on
the fire and served with a hot and sweet southern sauce is
great summer food fayre. Soul Food and Creole
cuisine are rich legacies of the African-American slave tradition,
dishes include chitterlings (pig's tripe), catfish,
crawfish and Gumbo soup. Cajun food is from
a poor, white man's tradition and a jambalay, spicy
rice with assorted seafood and veg in a hot tomato sauce is
about the most hearty meal you could desire.
Southern Breakfast
If you're uninitiated and planning on going for the traditional
Southern fried breakfast then make like a boy scout and be
prepared, perhaps by working up an appetite for a day or two
beforehand. You could treat it a bit like climbing a mountain,
because the Southern breakfast certainly comes piled high.
The full Southern breakfast consists of eggs, 'grits' - a
hot cereal of ground hominy seasoned with butter and salt
- breakfast meat; bacon, ham or beef, and biscuits-and-gravy
(that's the American biscuit - the English 'scone'), all for
around about $6 with juice and coffee (not including the bucket).
Mullet
Oysters, shrimp, catfish and mullet are seafood specialities
of the Deep South. Mullet in particular was popular during
the Second World War when it came in as a substitute for meat,
which was scarce, and it subsequently became known as 'Biloxi
Bacon'. Today, upstanding residents of the Gulf Coast hold
an annual mullet festival to honour the southern staple and
local mascot, which includes a mullet tossing competition.
Oyster Hangover Cure
The oyster hangover cure is really a bloody Mary mix with
Tabasco and egg. It made seem strange to drink more spirits
to sober up, but the theory is to have a bit of the snake
that bit you as an immunity cure, and the tomato is rich in
vitamins and free radicals which soak up the excess of alcohol
in your stomache.
If you're in Alabama you probably won't be using this
as many counties are 'dry'; it is illegal to sell any alcohol
and drunk driving is a serious felony offence. In fact, drinking
alcohol outdoors is generally prohibited all over the Deep
South, notable exceptions being festivals, on Beale St
in Memphis and on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, where
alcohol is tolerated. Don't even try it if you're under 21,
or you'll be in deep in trouble in the Deep South.
Prairie Oyster Hangover Cure (just
in case!)
Ingredients
1 ¼ - 2 ounces vodka (optional)
1 whole egg or 6 oysters
3 ounces tomato juice (or V-8)
Worcestershire sauce, squirt of lemon or lime juice, Tabasco
sauce, salt and black pepper to taste.
The egg should be swallowed whole, the oysters can be mixed
in the glass. If made without alcohol, place ingredients in
a shot glass and swallow all at once. (Note: raw eggs may
contain salmonella and should definitely not be taken by pregnant
women). |
