Southern Cuisine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Southern Cuisine - Essay ExampleThe term barbeque, tally to Tar Heel Magazine, originates from the name of a North Carolina bar that operated in the 1800s. The establishment advertised its name as Bar-Beer-Cue-Pig because it had pool tables (Cue), served liquor and beer (Bar/Beer) and specialized in roasted pig. Pork was a main staple of Southerners diet during that time because pigs were easy to maintain, inexpensive, easy to transport and by all accounts, delicious. In the pre-Civil War period, Southerners ate, on average, five pounds of pork for every one pound of beef (Gray, 1982 27). Pigs dont need a fence like cows do they could be turned out to a forest then re-caught when the supply of food ran low. The slaughtering of a pig meant that it was time for a party. All of the neighbors, most supplying a side dish, would be invited or invite themselves to join in the feast. In the south, barbeque is pig slow smoked, chopped, and served on white bread or buns. stance dishes usuall y include slaw which is often packed in the bun with the barbeque and hush puppies small pieces of cornbread deep fried. Slaws vary from mild white to spirited red (Allison, 2007). Other sides include potato salad with mustard or mayonnaise base, baked beans and possibly a green bean casserole. Roasted corn-on-the-cob is popular oddly in South Texas. Watermelon is a popular dessert following a barbeque. The tradition of barbeque in the South emanated from these types of congregations and had been well-established by the beginning of the 1800s. It was in the fifty years before the Civil War that the traditions associated with large barbecues became entrenched. Plantation owners regularly held large and festive barbecues, including pig pickins for slaves (Hilliard, 1972 59). A church catch in the South, then as well