Best Southern Delicacy

[Delano]

Poll question: Best Southern Delicacy

Best Southern Delicacy

[freetobegay]

1. Other

How could you forget polk Salad!?

[Delano]

5. I put pokeweed salad.

Pretty sure it's the same thing.

[freetobegay]

9. As a southerner I have to disagree with that!

Not that I'm trying to mince words. :)

ON EDIT: spelling

[rucky]

11. you put minced words in your poke salad?

that doesn't sound very traditional

[Syrinx]

23. not sure why, but...

That made me fall down laughing... and I was sitting at the time.

[Delano]

13. It's "poke" not "polk"

It's made from the pokeweed, which is poisonous if not blanched, apparently.

My grandma grew it and made it all the time. I never took much of a liking to it, though...

[freetobegay]

18. see post # 12

It grows wild by the rail road tracks & is served with wild onions & hard boiled eggs. Polk In S.E. Kentucky!

[RebelOne]

37. I have those things in my back yard

but I never thought about eating them.

[GumboYaYa]

36. Down in Louisiana, where the alligators grow so big,

There lived a girl that I swear to the world,
Made the alligators look tame,
Poke Salad Annie......

My foot's tappin and I'm hungry.

[RoyGBiv]

57. The roots are poisonous...

And the dish and plant are in fact called "polk" salad, as is the plant, at times.

Poke salad, polk salad, and pokeweed are correct.

"Polk salad," from the song:

POLK SALAD ANNIE
Tony Joe White
(words & music by Tony Joe White)

(Recitation)

If some of ya'll never been down South too much...
I'm gonna tell you a little bit about this, so that you'll understand
What I'm talking about
Down there we have a plant that grows out in the
woods and the fields,
looks somethin' like a turnip green.
Everybody calls it Polk salad. Polk salad.
Used to know a girl that lived down there and
she'd go out in the evenings and pick a mess of it...
Carry it home and cook it for supper, 'cause that's about all they had to eat,
But they did all right.

Down in Louisiana Where the alligators grow so mean
There lived a girl that I swear to the world Made the alligators look tame

Polk salad Annie polk salad Annie
Everybody said it was a shame
Cause her mama was working on the chain-gang
(a mean, vicious woman)

Everyday 'fore supper time She'd go down by the truck patch
And pick her a mess o' Polk salad And carry it home in a tote sack

Polk salad Annie 'Gators got you granny
Everybody said it was a shame
'Cause her mama was aworkin' on the chain-gang
(a wretched, spiteful, straight-razor totin' woman,
Lord have mercy. Pick a mess of it)

Her daddy was lazy and no count
Claimed he had a bad back
All her brothers were fit for was stealin' watermelons out of my truck patch
Polk salad Annie, the gators got your granny
Everybody said it was a shame
Cause her mama was a working' on the chain gang
(Sock a little polk salad to me, you know I need a mess of it)

[Syrinx]

7. it's actually poke salat

But I don't eat that crap. :)

[freetobegay]

12. Here

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kyharlan/Festival.html :)

[Delano]

16. Um, they spell salad "sallet"

and you want to consult them for spelling?

[Syrinx]

22. I'm not sure on the origins of the name

But I don't think it really has anything to do with salad. It's served more like turnip greens. I don't care much for turnip greens either. But this stuff is toxic, and it'll kill you if you don't prepare it correctly.

[physioex]

2. Although most southern food is fatting and unhealthy..you forgot BBQ

[Bryan]

24. You fool? What have you done?

"BBQ" isn't a single category! Now the battle line will be drawn as aficionados of dry-rub cross swords with devotees of vingar-base, brother will turn against brother, entire cities will be put to the torch, and blood will darken the streets! It'll be like the Ford/Chevy riots all over again!!!

[physioex]

29. LMAO...EOM

[Sandpiper]

3. Gumbo and Jambalaya are unique to Louisiana

And not really typical of the South as a region.

If I had to pick one thing though, it would be pulled pork barbecue.

The thing I miss most about the south is the barbecue.

[PartyPooper]

8. Exactly. The best food in the South is in New Orleans.

:9

[Sandpiper]

10. Hard to argue with that

I do enjoy good Cajun food.

[Redhead488]

40. Or Creole food

[Syrinx]

25. Well, you have a strong Cajun contingent down around Mobile

And Bayou La Batre.

Mobile Mardi Gras preceded the New Orleans version by many years. (Definitely not as big today though.)

[GumboYaYa]

41. syrinx, do you ever make it to the Flora/Bama club?

I spent a lot of time in that place in my younger wilder days.

[Syrinx]

51. a few times, and I love it!

Hoping to make it down sometime this summer. I love the beach! And wild-ass roadhouses. :)

[trof]

72. Are you speaking of The Flora~Bama Lounge and Package Store?

Here ya go:
www.florabama.com
I was there when they opened in '63.
I'm about 20-30 minutes away.

[Syrinx]

76. none other!

That's the world-famous Florabama. You lucky duckie. ;)

[mede8er]

83. Mullet toss......

Dayum I miss that place....left 6 years ago for South Florida...

[soothsayer]

31. get yourself a Weber Smokey Mountain (smoker) and make yer own!

You will turn out the best pulled pork EVER! It's amazingly good when you make it at home.

[soothsayer]

32. It's a little like religion and alot like sex, and you never know when...

...you're gonna get it next.

from Jimmy Buffet's "I will play for gumbo"

[rucky]

4. Smothered Pork chops

or crawfish etoufee

[Delano]

6. and beignet - mmmm.

n/t

[Sandpiper]

14. You left off Fried Vegetables

Fried okra, fried squash, fried green tomatoes (even if tomatoes are a fruit).

[RoyGBiv]

58. Fried Okra.....(drool)

I'd be perfectly happy of movie houses would sell that rather than popcorn.

[Don_G]

67. I Have To Go With Fried Green Tomatoes Too

Love them; keep the okra and squash!

[jeff30997]

15. French Fried Frog legs?

You mean Liberty Fried Frog legs.:)

[leftofthedial]

17. fried okra

greens

squash

black-eyed peas

cornbread

if it's Sunday, a slice of ham.

[Delano]

19. how could I forget black-eyed peas!

Cornbread - wonder how many choke to death on THAT every year! ;)

[leftofthedial]

20. my Grannymade cornbread in a cast iron pan

with so much bacon grease that you couldn't choke to death.

[angee_is_mad]

53. sweet cornbread and Pound Cake

[NMDemDist2]

62. i thought that was the only way to make it

but when my Washington state hubby watched me do it the first time, he was ready to commit me, til he tasted the finished product with red beans with hamhocks and rice

[RoyGBiv]

60. If I choked to death on cornbread....

I'd die happy.

I lived on cornbread and beans for about a month of my life several years ago.

My friends didn't like hanging out around me, though. Dunno why. :-)

[JVS]

21. Fried Baby

[AlFrankenFan]

26. Crawdads anyone? n/t

[Redhead488]

42. What are those?

Oh, you mean CRAWFISH. Friggen Yankees....

[AlFrankenFan]

55. Crawfish is the Yankee term

Crawdad's what all my family in the south (whom I grew up by) call em.

[trof]

74. You get a line and I'll get a pole

and we'll go down to the crawdad hole.
unh-hunh

[lolly]

87. Honey, Sugar Baby Mine

One of about 3 songs my mother could play on the piano . . .

Haven't heard that in decades.

[No2W2004]

80. Crawdad Bisque!

:)

[NJCher]

27. it's a beverage

but what about swate tay?

Bryan, that was one of the funniest posts I've read in a long time.


Cher

[jus_the_facts]

28. Oyster Po'boys....

....mmmmm mmmmm goooooood! :9

[tcfrogs]

30. Chicken Fried Steak

Never heard of it until I moved to TX, great guilty pleasure!!!!

[no_hypocrisy]

33. Barbeque. Pig on a spit over a pit 24 hours or more. Sauce.

You can't beat the "pulled pork" from the deep south.

[SCDem]

34. Shrimp and Grits with tomato sauce

I am not from the south but moved here 8 years ago. I do not like grits and still don't like them except Shrimp and Grits with tomato sauce.... it sounds disgusting but I think it is the best southern delicacy.

[GumboYaYa]

43. Do you have a recipe for that?

It sounds awesome to me.

[SCDem]

45. Here ya go.... after you make it once I am sure you can play with

it a little to make it just suit you

Ingredients
2 cups uncooked grits
5 cups water
1 cup milk
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 pound raw shrimp
Cook grits in water and milk. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring.

In skillet add butter, shrimp, and tomato sauce. Cook until shrimp are done.

Spoon grits on a plate and add shrimp sauce on top. Hot pepper sauce (Tabasco) can be added on top for a spicier flavor.

[GumboYaYa]

47. Thank you. I know what's on the menu this weekend

at the YaYa house.

BTW, it is obviously authentic as it calls for real grits instead of those "quick grits" whatever that is supposed to be.

[SCDem]

48. If you remember let me know if you like it

so I'll know to pass the recipe on again or find another one to pass on!

[neoteric lefty]

59. no, no, no... its cheese grits w/ sugar and cajun shrimp

get it right :)

[democratreformed]

35. It's all good

brisket, Boston butt, steak, fried potatoes, brown beans, on and on....

[GumboYaYa]

38. I had to vote for my namesake, just b/c its my namesake, but

my compliments to the chef. What a fine list of food. I'm ready for lunch now.

A minor nit, but I would like to see biscuits and gravy added to the list, but hey you only have ten slots and you did a damn fine job of picking those ten.

BTW, if anyone has a good recipe for Divinity please give it to me. My grandma made it all the time but her recipe died with her.
Families really should keep cookbooks of all the family recipes.

[dbt]

39. Cornbread. It is the Food of the Gods!

White meal, yellow meal, sugar or not, the humble Skillet of Cornbread is the common denominator of the South. Serve it up with a table full of purple hull peas, fried potatoes and cold sliced tomatoes and you don't need a lick of meat!

Crumble you up some cold cornbread in a glass and pour on sweet milk or buttermilk and eat it with a long-handled iced tea spoon. Break you off some and nibble on it while you swig some tea. You'll be barefoot before you know it.

Cornbread Shall Inherit The Earth!

:loveya:
dbt

[NashVegas]

44. Other: Georgia PEACHES!

drip baby, drip!

[supernova]

69. Hmmm. Pickled peaches

I'll have to make some of those after I've had my fill of fresh peaches, peach ice cream, and peach cobbler. ;-)

[johnnie]

46. Southern fried steak

Love that stuff. I love going south just to get some good cookin'. But I have to say, they have some good cooks up north here. A lot of people I know brought some of those recipes up here from their family's traditions. So, once in a great while I get some up here. But I love going down there and eating. I miss the catfish, greens, fried corn on the cob.

[DrDan]

49. How could . . .

biscuits and gravy
sweet tea
grits ("grits? whats a grit?" - My Cousin Vinny)

all be left off the list??????

[ACK]

50. Southern Pulled Pork BBQ, Gumbo, Po' Boys, and biscuits

Brunswick stew, cornbread, collard greens, and mustard greens.

_

[angee_is_mad]

52. greens w/ham hocks

ohhh, that's soul food, and what about deepfried catfish?

[ForrestGump]

54. supernova

:D

Exit, stage left, even...

[supernova]

68. You bad!

:spank: :D

Well, I AM the most delicious dish in the South, afterall. :D

[ForrestGump]

84. Me good

Especially with whipped cream and strawberries... :o :P

[supernova]

90. Now there's a thought

......

[Laszlo_Hollyfeld]

56. Cheese Grits

[NMDemDist2]

63. best hangover cure ever served with soft fried eggs mashed in

yummmmmm

[trof]

79. In Alabama we call that a "lob-lolly".

[trof]

75. JALAPENO Cheese Grits.

oh yeah

[RoyGBiv]

61. DAMNIT!!!!

Now I'm hungry.

I have the ingredients for just about everything mentioned in this thread. It's after 1am. I have no business eating anything, but damit I'm tempted.

You're evil. :-)

[solinvictus]

64. BBQ

Chopped or sliced, inside or outside meat, with sauce, a dill pickle, on a bun. Grits are great too, along with biscuits, batter fried chicken or cube steak, and milk gravy.

[JCMach1]

65. Fried Chicken you fools!!!

[skip fox]

66. Other: Roadkill.

But it takes three of them to eat it. (One to eat, and two to watch for cars.)


(Hey, don't yell at me. . . I'm Southern--Louisiana. Just saw a chance for a good joke.)

[blindpig]

70. boiled peanuts

most of the rest of that stuff sucks. And please remember, before there was KFC Maryland fried chicken was popular throughout the South.

[Tom_Foolery]

71. Sweet Potato Pie with a thick brown sugar crust on top! MMMMMMMMMMMMM

[scarlet_owl]

73. Chicken fried steak is my favorite.

I make it all the time. Also: banana pudding, fried okra, sweet potato fries; now I'm hungry.

[slackdude]

77. Biscuits and sausage gravy!!!!!

It's artery-clogging delish! I had it for breakfast every day at Cracker Barrel on my cross country move.

[Mr.Green93]

78. Country Ham

[Lydia Leftcoast]

81. Barbecued ribs and

blackbottom pie. :-)

[mac56]

82. The slaw dog.

100% beef hot dog on a bun, smothered with cole slaw.

Best food item ever to emerge from the South.

- Mac56 in Athens, GA.

[Shopaholic]

85. Co-cola and a moon pie

[IronLionZion]

86. cajun chicken po' boys

Vancleave specials, crawfish, gumbo, jumbalaya, mmmmm.... I wish I was in Na'rlins

[lolly]

88. Hush Puppies

Where are the hush puppies?

Those things are worse than potato chips . . . you can't stop eating them!

[chaska]

89. I remember when I was young and poor and still Southern (?)....

We went down to the Congaree river in Columbia, SC (where I grew up)and caught a mess a catfish, and picked some wild pokeweed and cooked it all up in a catfish stew. Only time I ever ate poke. Don't remember how it tasted. The Congaree was very polluted in those days ... not that great now, actually.