Soul Food

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When thinking of southern cooking, most often people think of soul food. It is the essence of down home comfort food. Souse, hush puppies, collard greens, fried chicken, and white gravy are all integral parts of the soul food menu.

Fried chicken is a staple of soul food.

Soul Food Origins

Plantation owners often gave the least desirable parts of meat and vegetables to the slaves. Turnip and beet greens, offal, feet and heads were given to the slaves for use as food. The slaves took these discarded parts and, using their native cuisines that they had brought with them from Africa, created the spicy base of what would evolve into Soul food.

The slaves often supplemented the food given to them with wild game such as raccoons, possums, turtle and rabbit or with catfish.

The term “soul food” wasn’t applied to this food style until the 1960’s when the label “soul” was applied to African-American culture.

The Basics

Although it is not absolutely necessary, a good 12-inch cast iron skillet comes in handy. It is the best tool for making such dishes as corn bread or fried chicken, and with just a minimum of care, cast iron skillets last for generations.

Whether you use cast iron or not, a lot of soul food involves either frying or very long, slow cooking methods. As far as frying goes, enjoy the following:

Fried Green Tomatoes

Mix one-cup flour and one-cup cornmeal on a plate. You may need more depending on how many tomatoes you have.
Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.
Scramble an egg in a bowl.
Slice the green tomatoes about an 1/8-inch thick.
Coat the tomatoes with the egg then coat them in the flour mixture.
Heat about an inch of oil in a skillet, then carefully add the coated tomatoes and brown on both sides about five minutes each.

Fried Chicken

Broiler/fryer chicken, cut into eight pieces
2 cups low fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Flour for coating
Vegetable shortening, for frying (to reduce fat you can use vegetable oil)

Place chicken pieces into a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. Melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/8-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies, raise heat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Drain chicken in a colander. Combine salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season chicken with this mixture. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

Place chicken skin side down into the pan. The oil should come half way up the pan. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature of the chicken pieces should be right around 180 degrees.

Hush Puppies

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons hot sauce
1/4 cup minced onions
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk

In a mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, hot sauce, and onions together. Stir in the eggs and milk. Mix thoroughly. Fry 1 tablespoon of the batter at a time. Fry the hushpuppies for 2 to 3 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Health Issues

Soul food is not health food; although, it can be made somewhat healthier by using vegetable oil rather than shortening for the frying. In some cases, the cooking methods can be altered a bit for a more health conscious meal. You may want to try baking rather than frying.

In other instances, soul food does offer some health benefits. Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of beta carotene. Black-eyed peas and other legumes found in Soul food are a great source of protein as well as vitamins and minerals. Collared greens, as well as the other greens often found served as sides, are good sources of vitamins.