The Big Jones Cookbook : Recipes for Savoring the Heritage of Regional Southern Cooking

You expect to hear about restaurant kitchens in Charleston, New Orleans, or Memphis perfecting plates of the finest southern cuisine—from hearty red beans and rice to stewed okra to crispy fried chicken. But who would guess that one of the most innovative chefs cooking heirloom regional southern food is based not in the heart of biscuit country, but in the grain-fed Midwest—in Chicago, no less? Since 2008, chef Paul Fehribach has been introducing Chicagoans to the delectable pleasures of Lowcountry cuisine, while his restaurant Big Jones has become a home away from home for the city’s southern diaspora. From its inception, Big Jones has focused on cooking with local and sustainably grown heirloom crops and heritage livestock, reinvigorating southern cooking through meticulous technique and the unique perspective of its Midwest location. And with __The Big Jones Cookbook__, Fehribach brings the rich stories and traditions of regional southern food to kitchens everywhere. Organized by region, __The Big Jones Cookbook__ provides an original look at southern heirloom cooking with a focus on history, heritage, and variety. Throughout, Fehribach interweaves personal experience, historical knowledge, and culinary creativity, all while offering tried-and-true takes on everything from Reezy-Peezy to Gumbo Ya-Ya, Chicken and Dumplings, and Crispy Catfish. Fehribach’s dishes reflect his careful attention to historical and culinary detail, and many recipes are accompanied by insights about their origins. In addition to the regional chapters, the cookbook features sections on breads, from sweet potato biscuits to spoonbread; pantry put-ups like bread and butter pickles and chow-chow; cocktails, such as the sazerac; desserts, including Sea Island benne cake; as well as an extensive section on snout-to-tail cooking, including homemade Andouille and pickled pigs’ feet. Proof that you need not possess a thick southern drawl to appreciate the comfort of creamy grits and the skill of perfectly fried green tomatoes, __The Big Jones Cookbook__ will be something to savor regardless of where you set your table. Intro Contents Preface Acknowledgments Breads Skillet Cornbread Sally Lunn Popovers Farmstead Biscuits Sweet Potato Biscuits Cheddar Biscuits Beignets Buckwheat Banana Pancakes Antebellum Rice Waffles Salt-Rising Bread Abruzzi Rye Bread Awendaw Spoonbread Inspirations from the Lowcountry Benne Oyster Stew She-Crab Soup Carolina Gold Rice and Boiled Peanut Perlau Pickled Shrimp Creamy Grits Shrimp and Grits Reezy-Peezy, ca. 1780 Mustard Barbeque Sauce Sea Island Benne Cake Roux Icing Sea Island Benne Ice Cream Coconut Cream Cake Cream Cheese Icing. South LouisianaCrawfish Boudin Fritters Gumbo Ya-Ya Cajun Seasoning Creole Boiled Rice Gumbo z'Herbes Crawfish Etouffee arbecued Shrimp Creole Seafood Seasoning Red Beans Voodoo Greens Brown Butter Roasted Palm Hearts Debris Gravy Remoulade Eggs New Orleans Poached Eggs Crab Cakes Bearnaise Potatoes O'Brien Bread Pudding Cherry Bavarian Cream The Appalachian Highlands Sauteed Ramp Greens with Benne Grilled Asparagus with Cottage Cheese and Lemon Pimiento Cheese Hominy Succotash Old Virginia Fried Steak, ca. 1824 Chicken-Fried Morel Mushrooms Sawmill Gravy. Turnip Greens with Potato DumplingsPan-Fried Ham with Redeye Gravy Buttermilk Pie Jelly Roll Cake Salty Sorghum Taffy Kentuckiana Chicken and Dumplings, ca. 1920 Sweet Tea-Brined Pork Loin Fried Chicken Duet of Duck with Bourbon Giblet Jus Potted Duck Rutabaga Confit Creamed Brewster Oat Groats with Parsnips and Hen of the Woods Braised Sausages with Sauerkraut and Parsnips Mashed Potatoes Charred Brussels Sprouts with Shallots and Pecans Black Walnut Sorghum Pie Short Crust for Sweet Pies Chocolate Pecan Tart Pawpaw Panna Cotta Persimmon Pudding Pie Salty Sorghum Ice Cream. The Delta and the Deep SouthCheese Straws Boiled Peanuts Fried Green Tomatoes Goat Cheese and Potato Croquettes Pecan Chicken Salad Crispy Catfish a la Big Jones Crowder Peas Sweet Potato Hash Mississippi Mud Pie Red Velvet Cake The Bar Sazerac Cocktail, ca. 1940 Chatham Artillery Punch Oleo-Saccharum The Consummation Sweet Leaf Blue Yodel No. 1 Bloody Mary Jones Death in the Afternoon Cherry Bud Bitters Rhubarb Julep Brandy Fix The Pantry Clarified Butter Basic Mayonnaise Green Goddess Standard Canning Instructions for Shelf-Stable Pickles and Preserves Chow-Chow. Bread and Butter PicklesPiccalilli Five-Pepper Jelly Okra Pickles Raspberry Preserves Elderberry Jelly Apple Butter Pickled Peaches Preserved Quince Kumquat Marmalade Savory Benne Crackers Worcestershire Sauce Basic Vinaigrette Bourbon and Brown Sugar Mustard The Whole Hog Andouille Boudin Boudin Rouge Chaurice Head Cheese Tasso Bacon Ham Pickled Pig's Feet Lard Crackling, aka Gratons Notes on Sources Index. You expect to hear about restaurant kitchens in Charleston, New Orleans, or Memphis perfecting plates of the finest southern cuisine—from hearty red beans and rice to stewed okra to crispy fried chicken. But who would guess that one of the most innovative chefs cooking heirloom regional southern food is based not in the heart of biscuit country, but in the grain-fed Midwest—in Chicago, no less? Since 2008, chef Paul Fehribach has been introducing Chicagoans to the delectable pleasures of Lowcountry cuisine, while his restaurant Big Jones has become a home away from home for the city’s southern diaspora. From its inception, Big Jones has focused on cooking with local and sustainably grown heirloom crops and heritage livestock, reinvigorating southern cooking through meticulous technique and the unique perspective of its Midwest location. And with The Big Jones Cookbook, Fehribach brings the rich stories and traditions of regional southern food to kitchens everywhere.
 
Organized by region, The Big Jones Cookbook provides an original look at southern heirloom cooking with a focus on history, heritage, and variety. Throughout, Fehribach interweaves personal experience, historical knowledge, and culinary creativity, all while offering tried-and-true takes on everything from Reezy-Peezy to Gumbo Ya-Ya, Chicken and Dumplings, and Crispy Catfish. Fehribach’s dishes reflect his careful attention to historical and culinary detail, and many recipes are accompanied by insights about their origins. In addition to the regional chapters, the cookbook features sections on breads, from sweet potato biscuits to spoonbread; pantry put-ups like bread and butter pickles and chow-chow; cocktails, such as the sazerac; desserts, including Sea Island benne cake; as well as an extensive section on snout-to-tail cooking, including homemade Andouille and pickled pigs’ feet.
 
Proof that you need not possess a thick southern drawl to appreciate the comfort of creamy grits and the skill of perfectly fried green tomatoes, The Big Jones Cookbook will be something to savor regardless of where you set your table. An original look at southern heirloom cooking with a focus on history, heritage, and variety. You expect to hear about restaurant kitchens in Charleston, New Orleans, or Memphis perfecting plates of the finest southern cuisine—from hearty red beans and rice to stewed okra to crispy fried chicken. But who would guess that one of the most innovative chefs cooking heirloom regional southern food is based not in the heart of biscuit country, but in the grain-fed Midwest—in Chicago, no less? Since 2008, chef Paul Fehribach has been introducing Chicagoans to the delectable pleasures of Lowcountry cuisine, while his restaurant Big Jones has become a home away from home for the city's southern diaspora. From its inception, Big Jones has focused on cooking with local and sustainably grown heirloom crops and heritage livestock, reinvigorating southern cooking through meticulous technique and the unique perspective of its Midwest location. And with The Big Jones Cookbook , Fehribach brings the rich stories and traditions of regional southern food to kitchens everywhere. Fehribach interweaves personal experience, historical knowledge, and culinary creativity, all while offering tried-and-true takes on everything from Reezy-Peezy to Gumbo Ya-Ya, Chicken and Dumplings, and Crispy Catfish. Fehribach's dishes reflect his careful attention to historical and culinary detail, and many recipes are accompanied by insights about their origins. In addition to the regional chapters, the cookbook features sections on breads, from sweet potato biscuits to spoonbread; pantry put-ups like bread and butter pickles and chow-chow; cocktails, such as the sazerac; desserts, including Sea Island benne cake; as well as an extensive section on snout-to-tail cooking, including homemade Andouille and pickled pigs' feet. Proof that you need not possess a thick southern drawl to appreciate the comfort of creamy grits and the skill of perfectly fried green tomatoes, The Big Jones Cookbook will be something to savor regardless of where you set your table.