A Love Affair with Southern Cooking (21 page)

FIELD PEA RELISH

MAKES
4
SERVINGS

Although Walter Royal created this colorful side dish to accompany his Roasted Rack of Lamb, I also like it with roast pork and baked ham. Note:
Black-eyed peas are the most readily available field pea; that’s why I call for them here.

½ cup peanut or corn oil

2 medium red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely chopped

2 medium celery ribs, trimmed and finely chopped

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

One 1¼-pound smoked ham hock

One 16-ounce package solidly frozen black-eyed peas (see Note above)

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon hot paprika

¼ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste, crushed

¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

1 large whole bay leaf, preferably fresh

2½ cups rich chicken stock or broth

¹
/
₃
cup cider vinegar

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped Italian parsley

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled

• 1.
  Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over moderately high heat for 1 minute. Add the bell peppers, celery, and onion and stir-fry for about 5 minutes or until limp. Add the garlic and cook and stir for 1 minute.
  
• 2.
  Add the ham hock, black-eyed peas, salt, paprika, crushed pepper flakes, black pepper, and bay leaf, and cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently, then simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes or until the peas are tender. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Discard the bay leaf.
  
• 3.
  Cut the meat from the ham hock into small pieces, add to the peas, and set aside.
  
• 4.
  Meanwhile, boil the reserved cooking liquid over high heat in an uncovered nonreactive saucepan for about 20 minutes or until reduced to ¼ cup. Add the vinegar, parsley, and thyme, then whisk in the remaining peanut oil. Pour over the black-eyed pea mixture and toss well. Taste for salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper, and adjust as needed.
  
• 5.
  Serve warm or at room temperature as an accompaniment to roast lamb, roast pork, or baked ham. Good, too, with roast turkey or chicken.
  

Fried chicken is perhaps Georgia’s best known dish, but field peas come a close second and a delicately flavored little white pea we call lady peas.

—
CARSON M
C
CULLERS
,
ON HER GEORGIA CHILDHOOD

ROAST VENISON WITH JUNIPER-CURRANT SAUCE

MAKES
6
SERVINGS

Although white-tailed deer overrun the South (they graze my lawn at dawn and dusk), and although hunters go after them in season with gun or bow and arrow, wild venison is a rarity unless you bag it yourself or befriend someone who does. The venison available to chefs and home cooks is ranch-raised, tender of flesh and delicate of flavor. This recipe, one I enjoyed some years ago in the Barbadoes Room of the elegantly restored Mills House in Charleston, was given to me by Chef Lindner there. I’ve tweaked it over the years to make it less daunting for hobby cooks. Note:
Begin the recipe a day ahead because the venison must marinate for 24 hours; the sauce, too, is begun in advance.
Tip:
Because venison is exceptionally lean, ask your butcher to pique it (insert short, thin strips of larding fat over the surface).

One 5-to 6-pound rack of venison, piqued (see Tip above)

4 cups (1 quart) milk

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 cup water

Juniper-Currant Sauce

2 tablespoons bacon drippings

4 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped

1 small celery rib, trimmed and thinly sliced (include some leaves)

1 tablespoon juniper berries

2 large whole bay leaves (preferably fresh)

½ cup dry red wine

¼ cup water

5 cups chicken stock or broth

6 black peppercorns, crushed

½ cup firmly packed red currant jelly

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Venison pan drippings

½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

3 tablespoons flour blended with ¼ cup cold water

Optional Garnishes

Pickled Peaches or Bourbon’d Peaches

Watercress

• 1.
  Place the venison in a large nonreactive bowl, pour in the milk, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours.
  
• 2.
  Meanwhile, begin the sauce: Heat the bacon drippings in a large, heavy saucepan over moderately high heat for 1 minute; add the carrots, onions, celery, juniper berries, and bay leaves and sauté, stirring now and then, for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
  
• 3.
  Pour in the wine and water and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and peppercorns, bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently. Simmer uncovered for 1 hour.
  
• 4.
  Smooth in the currant jelly and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or until the sauce reduces slightly. Strain the sauce through a large fine sieve, discarding the solids. Pour the sauce into a medium-size nonreactive bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
  
• 5.
  When ready to proceed, preheat the oven to 450° F. Lift the venison from the milk (it should be discarded), then rub the meat generously with the salt and pepper.
  
• 6.
  Stand the venison on its rib ends in a large shallow roasting pan and roast uncovered on the middle oven shelf for 15 minutes. Add the 1 cup water and continue roasting, basting often with the pan drippings. Allow 20 to 25 minutes for rare venison, 35 for medium rare; further roasting will toughen the meat. Remove the venison from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes.
  
• 7.
  Meanwhile, finish the sauce: Bring the chilled sauce to a simmer in a medium-size nonreactive pan, then blend in the cream, venison pan drippings (plus any browned bits), and salt to taste. Quickly whisk a little of the hot sauce into the flour-water paste, stir back into the pan, and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes until thickened and smooth.
  
• 8.
  To serve, arrange the venison on a large heated platter and garnish, if you like, with pickled or bourbon’d peaches and ruffs of watercress. Pour the sauce into a heated gravy boat and pass separately.
  

CRISPY BATTER-FRIED CHICKEN

MAKES
4
SERVINGS

Mark Twain was right: “The North seldom tries to fry chicken and this is well; the art cannot be learned north of the line of Mason and Dixon.” Even south of the Mason-Dixon, few cooks can agree on the best way to fry chicken. Some say that an initial milk (or buttermilk) bath is essential to make the bird succulent. Others insist that salting the bird is more effective because it closes the pores and seals in the juices. Some Southerners salt and pepper the chicken before “battering” it. Others mix the seasonings
into the batter, sometimes adding a pinch of paprika to enrich the color. Some cooks shallow-fry the chicken in a big iron skillet; others prefer to deep-fry (to trim cooking time and keep the orders coming, many fast-food restaurants now pressure-fry). Even the skillet school of frying is divided: Some cooks cover the skillet part of the time to keep the bird moist; others don’t. And some even add a little water toward the end of cooking, again to make the bird juicy. Finally, gravy is a must in many parts of the South; it goes over the biscuits, not the chicken. Elsewhere, the chicken is fried, drained, and served as is. No gravy or, horrors, sauce of any kind. This recipe and the two that follow will produce exceptionally good fried chicken. I don’t think anyone will quarrel with that. Note:
It’s essential that you choose a small chicken for deep-fat frying—about 2
½
pounds but definitely no more than 2
¾.
Heftier chickens will overbrown before they’re done inside (170° F. on an instant-read thermometer) and may need half an hour or more in the oven—a sure-fire recipe for tough, dry chicken. Even small chickens tend to be bosomy these days, so if the breasts seem oversize, halve them crosswise so the chicken will cook evenly.
Tip:
If self-rising flour is unavailable (beyond the South, it’s rarely a supermarket staple), use all-purpose flour and increase the baking powder and salt each to 2 teaspoons.

One 2½-to 2¾-pound broiler-fryer, cut up for frying (see Note above)

1½ cups buttermilk or milk

Vegetable oil for deep-fat frying (you’ll need about 6 cups or 1½ quarts)

1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour for dredging

Batter

1½ cups sifted self-rising flour (see Tip at left)

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon black pepper

¾ cup milk

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1.
  Arrange the pieces of chicken one layer deep in a large, shallow nonreactive baking pan. Pour the buttermilk evenly over all, then turn the chicken in the buttermilk so it’s evenly coated. Cover with foil and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes, pour the oil into a deep-fat fryer or large deep kettle, insert a deep-fat thermometer, and set uncovered over moderately high heat; it may take 30 minutes for the oil to reach the proper temperature (360° F.). Place the dredging flour in a pie pan and set aside.
  
• 2.
  When the temperature of the oil reaches 325° F., prepare the batter: Whisk the self-rising flour, salt, baking powder, and pepper together in a small bowl and make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Combine the milk, eggs, and oil in a 1-quart spouted measure or second small bowl, whisking until frothy. Pour into the well in the dry ingredients and whisk just until the batter is smooth. The batter will be thick.
  
• 3.
  Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and pat dry on paper toweling. Next, roll in the dredging flour, shaking off the excess. Dip each piece of
  chicken into the batter, letting the excess drain off, then place on a large rack set over foil (to catch the drips). Let the batter-coated chicken stand until the oil reaches 360° F. This standing makes the batter stick to the chicken.
  
• 4.
  Preheat the oven to 300° F. Spritz a baking sheet lightly with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
  
• 5.
  As soon as the oil reaches 360° F., ease in the four largest pieces of chicken—they will sputter wildly and the temperature of the oil will plummet to around 350° F. Fry the chicken for 8 to 10 minutes or until richly browned. Keep raising and lowering the burner heat as needed to maintain the temperature of the oil between 350° F. and 360° F.
  
• 6.
  Drain the browned chicken on paper toweling, then transfer to the spritzed baking sheet and set uncovered on the middle oven shelf. This not only keeps the chicken warm but also finishes the cooking, if necessary. (The internal temperature of the chicken should be 170° F. Be careful to insert the quick-read thermometer into the meatiest part of the chicken; it should not touch bone.)
  
• 7.
  Deep-fry the remaining chicken in batches the same way, doing the larger pieces first; drain and set in the oven. Even the small last-batch pieces need 1 to 2 minutes in the oven.
  
• 8.
  Serve hot with coleslaw, potato salad, and biscuits. Or, if you prefer, serve at room temperature.