southern comfort

before i moved to hong kong at the age of 11, i lived in a small village in the provincial northwest of england.  we had a school, a pub, a church, and a small round tower from which we could apparently defend our cow fields and blackberry brambles.   

(i used to think when i was older i would live in this tower, clearly displaying delusions of rapunzel grandeur.  just, obviously, with shorter hair.)  foreigners in my village were few and far between, so until my family trekked to florida years later in search of mickey mouse, i’d never met a real american.  as such, i assumed that all americans had the earnest wholesome look of richie cunningham, spoke with the slow drawl of john wayne, and rode in rocking chairs strapped atop their jalopies, just like granny clampett.  of course, once i moved overseas and my horizons broadened somewhat, i realised there was a titch more to this giant, sprawling mass of a country than that.  and i might just have to look slightly further than sunday morning reruns to define it. 

though i have no ties to the south, having only lived in states that touch the pacific, i've always been fascinated by the southern cuisine.  something about the slow, leisurely style of cooking appeals to me.  there's a time and a place for the fast, instant gratification of asian stir-frying & whatnot, but i do love a recipe where you get things going, then go make a cocktail, sit on the porch, read a book, take a nap, and BOOM dinner's done.   it's also a great style of cooking for when you live in the time vortex that is having three young children and the hours disappear in the blink of an eye.  (unless, of course, they're whining and bickering, in which case time stands still.  stephen hawking, please to explain.)  

southernfest 2012 consisted of david chang's bbq pulled pork, a sweet potato spoonbread, and hugh acheson's collard greens.  i shan't talk to you about the spoonbread, as it was a titch stodgy, so needs some tinkering.  you have no time for reading about less than perfect, overly stodgy recipes.  you are busy, terribly important men and women of the world with schedules to keep, asses to kick, and names to be taken.  moving on.  BUT the pork and the greens were southern comfort at its best.  the pork is tangy to the extreme, simultaneously tart and sweet,  zingy and...  zappy?  i obviously need some more coffee to come up with better adjectives...  let's just say it was bloody marvelous.  the collard greens are one of the signature dishes of my chef boyfriend hugh acheson (he of the keen wit and the one eyebrow).  i love greens done pretty much every which way, but these are definitely up at the top of the list.  the flavour is so complex, people will never realise that you ignored them solidly for two hours; not, in fact, slaving over a hot stove, but instead sipping mint juleps on the porch and reading tennessee williams.

 

david chang's bbq pulled pork (adapted from food & wine magazine)

 

one 5-pound boneless pork shoulder, cut in half
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons hot paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves  (i omitted these.  childhood aversion to cloves.  gak.)
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon ground coffee (not instant)
1 cup water
kaiser rolls (i made sliders for my kids.  big hit)

 

season the pork with salt and pepper. brown all over in a large cast-iron pot, about 12 minutes total. transfer to a plate. add the tomato paste to the pot and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until deep red, 2 minutes. add the paprika, cloves (gak), allspice and brown sugar and cook until the sugar dissolves, about 30 seconds. add the vinegar and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. add the molasses, ketchup, ground coffee and water and bring to a simmer.

return the pork to the pot. cover and cook over low heat, turning the pork in the sauce occasionally, until very tender, about 4 hours. transfer the pork to a large bowl and let rest for 30 minutes.

meanwhile, skim the fat from the sauce. boil the sauce over moderately high heat until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes (took more like 15 for mine). using 2 forks, shred the pork; discard any large pieces of fat. stir the shredded pork into the barbecue sauce. mound the pork on the buns, top with coleslaw, if desired, and serve.

hughnibrow's collard greens (adapted from "a new turn in the south" by the delightful hugh acheson)

 

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, peeled and minced

4 pounds collard greens, cleaned and pulled into bite-size pieces

1/4 cup sherry vinegar (i had none, so used apple cider vinegar.  bit less sophisticated, but worked just fine.)

2 tbs sorghum or maple syrup (sorgwhothewhatnow?  i used maple syrup)

4 cups chicken stock

1 small smoked ham hock

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or more if you're like me and slather pretty much everything you eat in those little red flakes of goodness)

1 tbs butter

heat oil in a very large pot over medium heat. add onion and sauté until lightly colored, about 5 minutes.

add the collards and sauté until they are just starting to wilt, about 4 to 5 minutes. add vinegar and cook until reduced by half, 5 to 7 minutes.  add the syrup, stock, 2 cups of water, ham hock, salt, and red pepper flakes. 

cook, covered, for about 2 hours, until the collards are meltingly tender.  shred meat from ham hock and stir back into greens.   

add butter and dig in.  feel sorry for darling 7 month old son who valiantly tries to reach it as he is instead fed pureed broccoli.  remind children that good things come to those who wait...

 

y'all come back now, y'hear.