Southern cuisine is influenced by African American, British, and Native American styles. Recipes should be followed without questioning, and some ingredients and methods cannot be substituted. Meat is not required for every meal, and beans can be a protein substitute.
Southern cooking roots in the United States are abundant and include styles from many different cuisines, such as African American, British, and Native American. One of the best tips for cooking real Southern cuisine is to not question the recipe. For people who didn’t grow up in the Southern United States or even visit, the ingredients and methods of Southern-style foods can sometimes feel like overkill or silly. Along the same lines, sometimes cooking methods and ingredients cannot be substituted; for example, slow-cooker barbecue is very different from pit barbecue. Finally, meat isn’t typically required for every meal, and many Southerners eschew it in favor of other protein sources.
Southern cuisine can be a healthy vegetable dish or fried red meat smothered in gravy. While somewhat a stereotype, some Southern dishes aren’t what a doctor would typically recommend. The cook shouldn’t be alarmed if a dish calls for more butter than intended. Also, sometimes spices and greens are used in apparent excess, but for the best Southern cooking, the recipe should be followed with minimal tweaking. Every kitchen is different and it can be a little unusual to cook at first.
It may be fine to cook a meat instead of cooking it in just one kitchen, but until a cook is familiar with Southern cooking, he or she will not have to substitute cooking methods or ingredients. For example, grilled pork and chicken are popular in the southern United States, but many people prefer a certain type of barbecue. Slow-cooked or oven-baked barbecue can taste and look very different from pit barbecue, and may also require different spices. Another example is green beans. Some people cook their green beans, while others fry them, and still others prefer to just microwave them until hot. Each method produces a different taste and texture.
Finally, a cook new to Southern cooking usually doesn’t need to add a meat to a dish with beans. Southern cooking often substitutes beans for meat; for example, a popular dish is called meat and vegetables. This dish essentially consists of one type of beans with a side dish of a variety of green vegetables. Substituting beans for meat isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Beans can be much cheaper while still providing a good amount of protein. They also typically have a long shelf life, unlike many meats, which must be used within a few months of freezing or else the quality declines.
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