A recipe for Cajun seafood gumbo: This is a dark roux gumbo with shrimp, fish and either crab or some smoked fish.
Southern Recipes
There's more to Southern recipes than fried things, although good fried food like buttermilk fried quail is hard to beat. Here's my collection of Southern classics, mostly focusing on fish and wild game.
That's not to say you can't use them for supermarket meats, too. Pheasant and dumplings works just fine with a chicken, and Brunswick stew doesn't absolutely need squirrel.
I've taken a lot of inspiration from some of my friends and colleagues in the South, like Ronni Lundy and her book Victuals, and John Currence with his fantastic book Pickles, Pigs and Whiskey.
I have Louisiana classics like Creole okra gumbo, and venison sauce piquante, as well as Lowcountry specialties like chicken bog and pickled shrimp.
Appalachia is represented by recipes like sour corn, burgoo and squirrel hand pies, which are a bit like English pasties or Latin empanadas.
In all, there are almost 50 Southern favorites here. Enjoy!
The Latest
Fried Red Snapper Bites
Easy, but damn good: Snapper or any other white, firm fish, soaked in egg, mustard and seasoning, dusted in Saltines and fried.
Lowcountry Shrimp Perloo
Shrimp perloo, also spelled purloo or pilau, is a Southern rice recipe that’s a lot like jambalaya. Rice, shrimp, bacon and vegetables in a one-pot dish.
Wild Hog BBQ
Wild hog BBQ is a little bit different from regular pulled pork because a wild pig takes longer to barbecue. Here’s how to make your own wild hog pulled pork.
Jesse’s Fried Snipe
Crispy, sweet, spicy, garlicky fried birds. Addicting. I use snipe, but doves and quail work, too.
Cajun Dirty Rice
Dirty rice is basically Cajun fried rice, and is the easiest way to start eating the giblets of the birds you bring home. Try it and you’ll be hooked.
Southern Fish and Grits
Tripletail is a fish I’ve been chasing for years. I finally got one in Alabama recently, so I figured I had to cook it Southern style.
Blackened Catfish
Blackened fish is so 1980s, I know, but I still love it. Here I use catfish, a Cajun staple, but you can blacken any fish sturdy enough for this ferocious cooking process. Blackened redfish is the classic example. Alongside the fish is Cajun succotash, called maque choux.