if you've ever lived in the American South you'll know that the food down there has its own unique identity and it's absolutely delicious too if you haven't tried these well bless your heart these are the southern comfort foods you absolutely need to try one of the most popular dishes to have come out of New Orleans are beignets these airy treats are made with usually square pieces of yeast dough that are fried in hot oil until they puff up they're then generously dusted with powdered sugar and eaten straight away preferably accompanied by a mug of cafe au lait arguably the best place to enjoy a beignet is in New Orleans preferably at the Cafe Du Monde in the city's French Quarter but if getting around is proving a little difficult right now then you're in luck because they're not difficult to make at home either just make sure to turn them often in the oil and be careful not to overcook them biscuits and gravy is a hearty breakfast dish that you'll find in restaurants and homes across the south the soft flaky biscuits are smothered in white gravy which is made from pork sausage drippings milk and flour the gravy is seasoned with black pepper and typically includes pieces of the breakfast sausage to making it even more flavorful the good news is that sausage gravy is easy to make at home and there are plenty of different recipes available online failing that you could pick up some of the Ready Mix packets at the grocery store although you'll really want to try the homemade stuff at least once as for the biscuits if making them from scratch just isn't feasible the pillsbury once you pop open and bake will work just fine just don't let a southerner catch you taking those shortcuts ok so boiled peanuts sound kind of bland compared to roasted peanuts but don't judge a book by it's cover these are actually really good they're made by taking raw peanuts and boiling them for hours and salty water over a fire until the shells turn soggy these peanuts are then sold at roadside stands all over the South where residents and tourists alike enjoy them often with bottles of coke or sweet tea for what it's worth it's usually best to munch on boiled peanuts outdoors so you can easily spit out their soggy shells because it's nearly impossible to crack them open with your hands of course some people opt to eat these peanuts whole shells and all but that's one heck of an acquired taste ok for centuries people have been making use of their stale bread by creating their own kinds of bread pudding often made with bread cream eggs sugar spices and raisins modern bread pudding is the hardiest comfort foods and should do wonders for warming you up on a cold and dreary day so how do you make bread pudding even better just add bourbon in the south people often add a few dashes of bourbon to a number of different recipes and bread pudding is one of them the Bourbon combines with the cream and sugar to create a thick warm sauce that is drizzled over the warm bread pudding right before serving Brunswick stew is a hearty tomato-based stew that's hugely popular in the south it typically features lima beans corn and other vegetables along with some sort of meat the base includes barbecue sauce and a little hot sauce for some heat too early versions of this do you squirrel meat but if you're not brave enough to keep it authentic you can always substitute the squirrel with rabbit chicken or just about anything else Virginians claim the stew originated in their Brunswick County while Georgians will tell you it was first made in the city of Brunswick Georgia wherever it came from however it's a truly delicious comfort food that will easily take the chill out of a wintry day grab some cornbread or loaf of any crusty bread for that matter to stop up all the southern goodness fried catfish is a simple dish that's available at most restaurants that serve fish in the south and the good news is that catfish is pretty good for you since its high in omega-3 fatty acids and low in mercury if you can't find it at a restaurant near you however your grocery store may offer farmed catfish which is also typically clean and nutritious catfish is easy enough to prepare dip it in milk dredge it in seasoned cornmeal and fry it in hot oil it only takes a few minutes to get a golden brown on the outside and beautifully flaky on the inside add a squirt of lemon and a side of rice then start chowing down pure of less for a truly comforting meal there's nothing like a bowl of chicken and dumplings if you aren't in the south where you can find them at most sit-down restaurants you can try making these at home by dropping biscuit dough into cooking soup and though they aren't difficult to make dumplings are a kind of art form and they can take some time to perfect you don't want your dumplings undercooked and wet inside but you also don't want them so overcooked that they start falling apart in the broth stick them with a toothpick and if it comes out clean you're good to go chicken-fried steak sometimes called country fried steak is made from a tenderized cube steak which is battered like fried chicken pan-fried and topped with white gravy while you can find chicken-fried steak in an array of southern states its most closely associated with Texas and as with most things it's always bigger in Texas too in fact Lulu in San Antonio you can find a 21 ounces of this dish and it's not a coincidence that Lulu's is also home to the famous three pound cinnamon roll – that's just how they roll down there as it were for your next Superbowl party why not forego the wings and serve up a batch of southern fried chicken gizzards instead believe it or not your guests might thank you for it okay so you probably don't want to think too much about what a gizzard is but that'll be easy enough to do once you realize how good it tastes you can cook gizzards in a number of ways but it's best to boil them first and then coat them before deep-frying throw in a little hot sauce and soon you won't be able to get enough of these tender little morsels chicken pot pie is an iconic southern comfort food that went down right simply can't be beaten and done right doesn't mean grabbing a pie from your grocers freezer section a flaky golden-brown homemade crust is essential for the southern specialty inside the chicken needs to be moist and plentiful the vegetables must be neither too firm nor too mushy and the gravy creamy but not goopy is it a challenge to find a good chicken pot pie yes but it really is worth it and if you don't trust restaurants to get it right you could always experiment with different recipes at home it might take some time to perfect but once you land on just the right method you'll never want to cook anything else ambrosia didn't actually originate in the south but you'll still find it at plenty of southern potlucks this variety of fruit salad typically contains mandarin oranges mini marshmallows pineapple chunks and shredded coconut mix with some sort of dairy ingredient some people use mayonnaise while others use cream cheese plain yogurt or whipped cream you might also find some pot lockers add in bananas cherries and nuts too because why the heck not right think of it like a banana split without the ice cream and then maybe throw in some ice cream anyway if you live north of the mason-dixon line you've probably never experienced chitlins before and you are most definitely missing out chitlins are made from the large intestines of a hog and they need to be carefully cleaned and prepared before cooking for obvious reasons typically the intestines are soaked in baking soda and water rinse several times turned inside out and clean by hand before being boiled for several hours and just in case you're doing this at home be warned chitlins smelled truly disgusting while they are boiling so put some onion and lemon in the water to tone down the odor after they are boiled batter and deep-fry them then serve them up with a little hot sauce though Pennsylvania has its own tchau tchau it's actually completely different from the southern variety in the south Chacho is a cabbage based type of pickled relish that incorporates onions peppers tomatoes and a whole lot of seasoning this stuff is often used as a topping for hot dogs and hamburgers but you could also use it to top your cornbread fish cakes beans and even your mashed potatoes in fact you can put it on just about anything it'll taste great no matter what colored greens are a leafy green vegetable not completely unlike turnip or mustard greens and they're most often associated with soul food they can be bitter and tough if not cooked properly but if they're done right then they'll make the perfect side dish to any southern meal after washing them well chop the leaves until inch long pieces then simmer them in water people often throw a hambone into the pot along with garlic and onion for a little extra flavor but one of the best addition to collard greens has got to be bacon you can never go wrong with bacon red-eye gravy is made with the grease and drippings of pan-fried ham and black coffee and yeah okay that might sound kind of gross but this stuff really is amazing the coffee is first used to deglaze the pan but is then combined with the grease on a one-to-one ratio resulting in a highly unusual yet genuinely delicious gravy you can pour the simple gravy over your ham potatoes rice or grits but many folks use to simply stop it up with biscuits crawfish crayfish crawdads or Mudbugs whatever you call them in your neck of the woods these freshwater crustaceans are some of the tastiest seafood out there of course you can eat crawfish meat dipped and drop butter just like you would with lobster but if you ever find yourself in the Cajun areas of Louisiana do yourself a favor and seek out crawfish etouffee this is when crawfish meet in a spicy roux is poured over rice for an amazing dish with a seriously deep flavor as simple as it sounds you don't want to make fried chicken and waffles at home instead hop on over to one of the South's many awesome waffle establishments or diners the places that really get it right if you have an experienced chicken and waffles before it might seem like an unusual combination but it really does work crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside perfectly seasoned fried chicken makes a heavenly partner for a plate of buttery waffles this is also an incredibly versatile dish and should work great for breakfast lunch dinner or late-night snack fried green tomatoes is a simple southern side dish that packs a big punch the key when making fried green tomatoes is to avoid them turning into a soft soggy mess check your unripened Tomatoes are suitably for then cut them into 3/8 to 1/2 inch slices and soak them for an hour in a mixture of buttermilk and hot sauce dredge the tomatoes in a combination of cornmeal and corn starch then fry them in bacon grease over medium-high heat until they're crispy on the outside but I'd be careful not to overcook that you can dip them in just about anything but a remoulade with Mayo hot sauce horseradish and cajun spices would be the ultimate authentic accompaniment I missed the smell of coffee and bacon fry Oh what I wouldn't give for a plate of fried green tomatoes if you're looking for something a little out of the ordinary to fill you up consider jambalaya a favorite in Louisiana jambalaya is a mix of sausage chicken seafood and vegetables cooked in the same pot with rice and stock Crale jambalaya contains tomatoes while the Cajun version does not both of course are extremely tasty in Cajun jambalaya in rural Louisiana you might also find a variety of game meats used as well as alligator crayfish and even turtle all southerners know that everything's better when you fry it and okra is no exception to make these golden nuggets of veggie goodness for yourself slice your okra dip it in buttermilk and then coat it in cornmeal and season before deep-frying the best thing here is that okra is seriously good for you since it's low in calories and contains a great deal of fiber potassium calcium and vitamins the hot brown sandwich originated at the restaurant and the brown hotel in Louisville Kentucky in the 1920s and it's still served there today the hot brown is traditionally an open-faced turkey sandwich with tomatoes covered in mornay sauce which is baked topped with bacon and then broiled some people say it was originally created with peaches rather than Tomatoes others swear it's a great hangover cure pretty much everyone agrees however that it's a genuine bona fide once-in-a-lifetime sandwich if you've ever eaten that long john silver's you've probably had their hush puppies but the ones you can get out of southern restaurant or fish fry are a heck of a lot better than the Long John variety hush puppies are basically balls of fried cornmeal batter that are often served alongside fried fish or shrimp though hush puppies aren't exactly complex they're kind of like potato chips and that it's virtually impossible to eat just one southern pecan pie made with a splash of high-quality bourbon is hard to be if you don't have a restaurant in your area that makes a killer pecan pie though it's not too difficult make it home however you'll want to experiment with the amounts of corn syrup brown sugar and bourbon you're using until you find just the right combination and sure you might end up having to bake a load of pies to get it right but who's gonna complain about that if you aren't from the south then there's a chance you aren't too familiar with pimento cheese basically pimento cheese is a mixture of cheese mixed with mayo and pimento peppers it can be spread on crackers stuffed into celery and scooped onto chips some people add it to scrambled eggs or grits while others use it as a relish for brats burgers and hot dogs in Louisiana they spice it up by adding hot sauce or cayenne pepper into the mix but the possibilities for pimento cheese are endless and once you start incorporating it into your recipes you're never going to want to stop potlikker is the liquid that's left behind after you boil green vegetables so what do you do with it other than pour it down the sink well some people save pot liquor and use it in place of stock in their next Dew or soup while others pour it over rice or potatoes but the best thing to do with pot liquor is drink it it might seem a little odd but that way you can reap all the nutrients that have boiled out of the greens red beans and rice is a staple dish in Louisiana Creole cuisine traditionally families took the ham hocks bones vegetables and beans that were left over from Sunday dinner and use them to create a scrumptious dish of spicy beans that were served with rice the next day cayenne pepper Tabasco sauce and other seasonings can turn up the heat on this hearty meal while some people like to add in sausage or other meats here's a tip though if you boil bones to make a broth for the base don't get exactly the flavor you want without having to add anything else gumbo is sometimes confused with jambalaya but it's not the same thing at all the key difference is that with jambalaya the rice is cooked with the rest of the ingredients with gumbo however the rice is cooked separately gumbo is a stew created with a strong robust stock sausage shrimp other shellfish and the Holy Trinity of vegetables bell peppers celery and onions the most important aspect of home cooking of great gumbo is perfecting the roux that's used as its base or you could just head down to New Orleans and get someone to make it for you your call everyone knows that real macaroni and cheese doesn't come out of a box nor does it come with a packet of powdered cheese real good old-fashioned southern mac and cheese is a completely separate dish altogether it's often created with the combination of cheeses and you can use anything from smoked cheddar and Monterey Jack to guerrier in Velveeta southern recipes usually feature heavy whipping cream evaporated milk or both and the dish is baked in the oven until the sauce is creamy and the top is crispy no matter how much you love macaroni and cheese you've never really tried it until you've had it in the south you might have seen sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving dinner and passed it by but it's time to stop sleeping on this delicious dish though some folks love it topped with charred marshmallows others prefer a topping made with brown sugar and pecans give it a go and you'll soon realize that this often overlooked Thanksgiving side dish deserves a place on your dinner table all through the year check out one of our newest videos right here plus even more mass videos about your favorite foods are coming soon subscribe to our YouTube channel and at the Bell so you don't miss a single one [Music]
