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Jul 21 2008, 6:30 PM EDT (current) abulhossain 463 words deleted, 1 photo deleted
Jun 27 2006, 2:34 PM EDT Anonymous 17 words added, 1 word deleted

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There is more to Southern cooking than just good barbecue. We also like to fry stuff. We will fry just about anything here in the South, and once it is fried, the law says that we have to cover it in gravy. Alligator tail, catfish steaks, frog legs, rabbit, and chicken are just a few of the things that we will cover in corn meal or flour and throw into a cast iron skillet full of hot grease--and not just any grease either! Lard is the preferred cooking substance, although Crisco brand shortening will work in a pinch. If it’s made out of meat, and you can cut it up small enough to fit into a pan, then God wants it fried. If it’s not made out of meat, fry it anyway. Add some Southern fried recipes here. If you’re health conscious, keep in mind that potatoes aren’t the only vegetables perfect for frying. Fried green tomatoes and fried okra are just two of our regional specialties. There are also fried onions, fried carrots, fried apples; you can even fry a dill pickle. Crazy for Cast IronOne of the primary tools you need to be a really great Southern cook is a good cast iron skillet. Good cast iron cookware is worth its weight in gold. It is often a family heirloom passed from generation to generation. (Check out Cast Iron Cookware). Now cast iron is essential, you can’t be substituting any of those fancy aluminum pans with those high tech non-stick coatings. They just don’t distribute heat as evenly. One of the only remaining manufacturers is Lodge, but you can find used ones at any garage sale in the country. Anyone know how to recondition an old cast-iron skillet? Add some tips to this page! Heat + Grease = FriedPut your cast iron skillet on the stove over medium heat. Fill that skillet with a good heaping bit of lard. Now let’s get ready to fry something. It’s pretty simple. Take a hunk of meat, or a hunk of non-meat vegetable substitute, and roll it in a flour or corn meal mixture. Some people like to coat the substance to be fried in egg batter in order to cover it better in floury goodness. Remember, whatever flour is left needs to be saved for making gravy. Mmmmmm, gravy! Some people are going to gripe about such minor inconveniences as cholesterol, blood pressure, and heart disease. Sure, some studies say that if you cut out fried foods and just eat nothing but tofu and fresh vegetables you will live longer, but they are wrong. It just seems longer. Add more classic Southern cooking tips here! (Just click EasyEdit and start typing) Combating Southern Fried Fat Soul Food Site