OT: How Southern Are You? A Quiz

[SVCBeercats]

Came across this on Twitter.. I scored a 26

Sho'nuff Southern with a 33. I had many of these foods in the first 21 years of my life living in PA. Some had different names such headcheese instead of souse. I am guessing the pickled pigs feet at the Slovak and Polish clubs' bar were different. Frankly ambrosia salad sounds much more appetizing than congealed salad. I have never eaten Burgoo, Oyster Casserole, Hoppin' John, Liver Mush (and never will!), Brunswick Stew, and Poke Salad. At one time my sales territory included Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas. We lived in Missouri for 27 years. We also had a dear friend who grew up in south. She always tried to surprise me with a new southern dish at each dinner.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Just inched over the Yankee line with 6.

No, you did not!

 

[garddog]

Brunswick stew is basically Beef stew but with pork or chicken or wild game.

Tomato base, beans, corn, potatoes, okra, carrots, and meat.

Surely most of you have had stew.

 

[Volup1]

Simply put, “fatback” comes from each side of the pig’s back. It is cured with salt. You may know it as “salt pork.” My mama in south Alabama used small chunks of it to season and salt turnip greens, green beans, and black-eyed peas. It also can be sliced similar to bacon. When sliced, it is referred to as “streak o’ lean.” Whereas good bacon consists of lean smoked meat interspersed with streaks of fat; streak o’ lean is sliced salted fat with a streak or two of lean meat in it.

I am sure this is waaaay more info than any of you want.

 

[militarydog]

Simply put, “fatback” comes from each side of the pig’s back. It is cured with salt. You may know it as “salt pork.” My mama in south Alabama used small chunks of it to season and salt turnip greens, green beans, and black-eyed peas. It also can be sliced similar to bacon. When sliced, it is referred to as “streak o’ lean.” Whereas good bacon consists of lean smoked meat interspersed with streaks of fat; streak o’ lean is sliced salted fat with a streak or two of lean meat in it.

I am sure this is waaaay more info than any of you want.

Salt pork is one of the best breakfast foods ever created. Period.

 

[triaddukefan]

A story on Collard Green Sandwiches..... you can fast forward to the 2:55 mark if you just want to see how they prepare them. As they say.... you gotta have fatback on it. Also noted in the video.... they fry their collards... and they talk about Chow-Chow ... another food I associate with the South.

 

[IWearShoes]

Came across this on Twitter.. I scored a 26





View attachment 52441

What does 33 make me???

 

[Bigboote]

A couple of things to add:

I'd say the primary difference between Brunswick stew and your garden-variety beef/pork/chicken stew is the presence of tomato. To me that's akin to the difference between a file gumbo and an okra gumbo.

Burgoo is also just a stew, but made with game rather than farm-raised meat. I had a friend from Kentucky who cooked it, so I may have unwittingly had squirrel once or twice.

I guess poke weed is more common in the south than the north, but around here in Maryland (and I assume where SVC grew up in PA), it really does grow as a weed. I've encouraged some in our yard, as my wife LOVES the stuff. We don't make a salad from it, but cook it as greens. Be careful, you can only eat the small leaves, bigger ones can make you so sick you'll have to die to get better. (Actually they can kill you, but that's really unusual, and if you've been eating it all season, it would've made you sick a few times, at which point if you keep eating it, it's your own fault).

 

[Ozimoto]

While vacationing on the Outer Banks several years ago we ran across a book entitled " Cooking" in a small hole in the wall bookstore on Ocracoke Island. Suffice to say that I crew up eating several of the dishes that were in that book being raised in the Appalachian mountains of Maryland...

 

[garddog]

While vacationing on the Outer Banks several years ago we ran across a book entitled " Cooking" in a small hole in the wall bookstore on Ocracoke Island. Suffice to say that I crew up eating several of the dishes that were in that book being raised in the Appalachian mountains of Maryland...

Does that make you almost West Virginian?

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Some of the things on that list are not necessarily Southern, however.

 

[Mdoggie]

18

 

[Crazyhorse]

What does 33 make me???

 

[triaddukefan]

We have had some new members joined since originally posted, and its the off-season so.....

 

[RowdyFan]

We have had some new members joined since originally posted, and its the off-season so.....

I just came back from a road trip to Raleigh/Durham. My count now stands at 30. And I'm now a member of the Lick Bar and Lounge, in Lizard Lick, NC.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Wow. 12. And I've never lived in the south and don't even eat much meat. But I do love a meat + three when the meat can be chicken!

 

[shiverz45]

15 for this Southern

 

[PoppaBear]

26. Did i miss fried catfish? That's a quentisental southern food in my opinion.

And although Texan, my wife loves calf fries. Not sure if that counts as southern though.

 

[cancontent]

I bet there were a few items you had to google to see what they were

I'm still googling as we speak. Give me another week to get caught up. What a list.

One question - is red beans and rice really considered a southern meal? My family background is Caribbean and this is something we'd eat frequently.

 

[Zanzman]

I'm still googling as we speak. Give me another week to get caught up. What a list.

One question - is red beans and rice really considered a southern meal? My family background is Caribbean and this is something we'd eat frequently.

southern carribean ?

 

[Sifaka]

It's almost fiddlehead season, I scored 7, so I guess I'm not quite southern.

 

[cancontent]

southern carribean ?

Family comes from a small island called Dominica, which is part of the West Indies. Some immigrated to Canada, others to the UK and US.

In reading the list, some of these meals caught my attention as they're considered staples back home. For example souse is another meal I wouldn't have considered to be a southern thing. While it's not something I personally enjoy, it's made on a weekly basis in my family.

 

[skilz]

30! Born and raised New Orleans. Anyone have Hog Head Cheese?

 

[SoFla Steve]

8 -- Transplanted Connecticutian living in Florida for the last 25 years.

 

[Bigboote]

Family comes from a small island called Dominica, which is part of the West Indies. Some immigrated to Canada, others to the UK and US.

In reading the list, some of these meals caught my attention as they're considered staples back home. For example souse is another meal I wouldn't have considered to be a southern thing. While it's not something I personally enjoy, it's made on a weekly basis in my family.

A lot of it is the US-centric way that people in the US tend to look at things. The red beans and rice that's alluded to is a Cajun dish originally popular in Louisians that's crept a little further afield. It's very different from the Caribbean or Central American beans and rice that I've had. It has a lot of gravy, including onions and peppers in addition to the Cajun spices. Souse/head cheese is another one that grew out of New Orleans/Louisiana, which have a heavy French cultural influence, whence the souse.

Neither head cheese nor red beans and rice are common in the northern reaches of the US, so they're considered "Southern." I'm sure if they weren't popular in the south they'd be considered "world cuisine" or something.

Deviled eggs being considered Southern still has me shaking my head two years later. All branches of my family, all from New England, some 12 generations in New England, make deviled eggs.

 

[JordyG]

26. Did i miss fried catfish? That's a quentisental southern food in my opinion.

And although Texan, my wife loves calf fries. Not sure if that counts as southern though.

That's southern food around Louisiana. Ain't much catfish eaten in the Carolina's, Georgia an abouts.

 

[PoppaBear]

That's southern food around Louisiana. Ain't much catfish eaten in the Carolina's, Georgia an abouts.

You must not get too far from the coast. Alabama and Mississippi are the largest producers of farm raised catfish in the country. There are catfish restaurants galore in Georgia (western Georgia that is).

You Need More Than Just One Football Weekend In This Mississippi College Town

Oxford, Mississippi, has fantastic restaurants, a rich literary and cultural scene, and a charming downtown. Discover the best things to do during your trip to this college town.

www.southernliving.com

 

[militarydog]

You must not get too far from the coast. Alabama and Mississippi are the largest producers of farm raised catfish in the country. There are catfish restaurants galore in Georgia (western Georgia that is).

You Need More Than Just One Football Weekend In This Mississippi College Town

Oxford, Mississippi, has fantastic restaurants, a rich literary and cultural scene, and a charming downtown. Discover the best things to do during your trip to this college town.

www.southernliving.com

Belzoni, MS is the catfish capital of the world. I’m pretty sure that is literal. People eat fried catfish every Friday down here and there are lines out the door of catfish buffets on Saturday night and Sunday after church.

 

[JordyG]

You must not get too far from the coast. Alabama and Mississippi are the largest producers of farm raised catfish in the country. There are catfish restaurants galore in Georgia (western Georgia that is).

You Need More Than Just One Football Weekend In This Mississippi College Town

Oxford, Mississippi, has fantastic restaurants, a rich literary and cultural scene, and a charming downtown. Discover the best things to do during your trip to this college town.

www.southernliving.com

That's pretty much what I said.

 

[cancontent]

A lot of it is the US-centric way that people in the US tend to look at things. The red beans and rice that's alluded to is a Cajun dish originally popular in Louisians that's crept a little further afield. It's very different from the Caribbean or Central American beans and rice that I've had. It has a lot of gravy, including onions and peppers in addition to the Cajun spices. Souse/head cheese is another one that grew out of New Orleans/Louisiana, which have a heavy French cultural influence, whence the souse.

Neither head cheese nor red beans and rice are common in the northern reaches of the US, so they're considered "Southern." I'm sure if they weren't popular in the south they'd be considered "world cuisine" or something.

Deviled eggs being considered Southern still has me shaking my head two years later. All branches of my family, all from New England, some 12 generations in New England, make deviled eggs.

Appreciate the insight. Also helps to clarify things. Dominica has fair bit of French and British influence in our culture due to colonization. I can see how souse could have emerged from that.