“Sweet tea, pecan pie, and homemade wine where the peaches grow.” Native Georgian Zac Brown knows that for southerners, food is not just something you eat. It is a way to make someone feel welcomed, loved and comforted. As if we needed more of a reason to indulge ourselves with our favorite down home foods, January 22 was National Southern Food Day, and several people shared their favorite southern eats in honor of it.

“I would have to say shrimp and grits is my favorite southern food. You just get all of the textures in there. The grits are super buttery and delicious, and the shrimp, on point,” Brooke Maryniak, Focus Missionary, said. Shrimp and grits is a southern staple. It is perfect for anytime of day, but it is even better for brunch. You can find an amazing recipe for shrimp and grits here.

Jackie Alcocer, freshman exercise science major, said her favorite southern food is “pecan pie because my tía [Spanish for “aunt”] makes it best, and she always makes it for me.” Pecan pie is an anytime-of-the-year sweet. You can have it for Thanksgiving, Christmas or on any given Sunday. You can bake your own perfect pecan pie with this recipe.    

Khalil Wright, senior information technology major, stated that his favorite southern food is fried chicken. “Get good fried chicken from the right person, your mama,” Wright said. He then continued to say he pairs his fried chicken with collard greens and cornbread. Wright also suggests adding hot sauce to the fried chicken and collard greens to give them an extra kick of flavor. If you feel like trying your hand at fried chicken, Paula Deen has you covered:

Southern Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• ⅓ cups of water
• About 1 cup of hot red pepper sauce
• 2 cups of self-rising flour
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• House seasoning
  • 1 cup of salt
  • ¼ cup of black pepper
  • ¼ cup of garlic powder
• 1 (1 to 2 ½ pound) chicken, cut into pieces
• Oil for frying (preferably peanut oil)

Directions:

In a medium size bowl, beat the eggs with the water. Add enough hot sauce so the egg mixture is bright orange. In another bowl, combine the flour and pepper. Season the chicken with the house seasoning. Dip the seasoned chicken in the egg, and then coat well in the flour mixture.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees F in a deep pot. Do not fill the pot more than 1/2 full with oil.

Fry the chicken in the oil until brown and crisp. Dark meat takes longer than white meat. It should take dark meat about 13 to 14 minutes, white meat around 8 to 10 minutes.

House Seasoning:

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Recipe and image courtesy of Food Network and Paula Deen.

Celebrating your roots should be an all-day, everyday occurrence, but now you have a reason to eat home-cooked comfort food. Pour yourself a big glass of sweet tea, crack open grandma’s cookbook and be thankful that you live in the south.

Feature image courtesy of Feast Magazine.