Cuisine of The Southern United States - Traditional Southern Dishes

Traditional Southern Dishes

See also: List of foods of the Southern United States

A traditional Southern meal is pan-fried chicken, field peas (or black eyed peas), greens (such as collard greens or mustard), mashed potatoes, cornbread or corn pone, sweet tea, and a dessert that is usually a pie (sweet potato, chess, shoofly, pecan, and peach are traditional southern pies), or a cobbler (peach, blackberry, or mixed berry are traditional cobblers). At least a dozen soups also have their origins in the American South.

Some other foods and beverages commonly associated with the South are grits, country ham, hushpuppies, Southern styles of succotash, mint juleps, chicken fried steak, buttermilk biscuits (may be served with gravy or sorghum), pimento cheese, boiled or baked sweet potatoes, pit barbecue (especially ribs), fried catfish, fried green tomatoes, bread pudding, okra (steamed, stewed, sauteed, or pickled), butter beans, pinto beans, and black eyed peas.

Fried chicken is among the region's best-known exports, though pork is also an integral part of the cuisine, with Virginia ham being one renown form. Southern Maryland is known for its Stuffed ham. A traditional holiday get-together featuring whole hog barbecue is known in Virginia and the Carolinas as a "pig pickin'". Green beans are often flavored with bacon and salt pork, biscuits served with ham often accompany breakfast, and ham with red-eye gravy or country gravy is a common dinner dish.

It is not uncommon for a traditional southern meal to consist of only vegetables with no meat dish at all, although meat or meat products are often used in the cooking process. "Beans and Greens," which consists of either white or brown beans alongside a "mess" of greens has always been popular in most parts of the South. Turnip greens are generally prepared mixed with diced turnips and a piece of fatback. Another Southern staple is "Beans and Cornbread," consisting of pinto beans, stewed with ham or bacon, and cornbread. This is served sometimes with collard, turnip, or mustard greens.