A cookbook and utensils.
The roots of South American cuisine are abundant and include styles from many different cuisines, such as African-American, British, and Native American. One of the best tips for cooking authentic southern cuisine is to not question the recipe. For people who didn’t grow up in or visit the southern US, southern-style food ingredients and methods can sometimes seem excessive or silly. Similarly, sometimes cooking methods and ingredients cannot be substituted; for example, slow roasting is very different from pit roasting. Lastly, meat is generally not required at every meal, and many Southerners skip it in favor of other sources of protein.
Many of the best southern dishes are fried, like liver and onions, topped with spices.
Southern cuisine can be a hearty dish with lots of vegetables or fried red meat with gravy. Although stereotypical, some southern dishes are not what a doctor would normally recommend. The cook should not be alarmed if a dish requires more butter than expected. Also, spices and vegetables are occasionally overused, but for the best southern cooking, the recipe should be followed with minimal adjustments. Every kitchen is different and it can be a bit unusual to cook at first.
In the southern United States, pulled pork is a favorite at backyard barbecues.
It may be nice to roast a meat instead of grilling it in the kitchen, but until a cook is familiar with southern cooking, they should not substitute cooking methods or ingredients. For example, grilled pork and chicken are popular in the southern United States, but many people prefer a certain type of barbecue. Slow-cooked or broiled barbecue can taste and look very different than pit barbecue and may even require different seasonings. Another example is green beans. Some people roast their green beans, while others fry them, and others prefer to simply microwave them until hot. Each method produces a different flavor and texture.
Lastly, a beginning cook in southern cuisine does not usually need to add meat to a bean dish. Southern cuisine often substitutes beans for meat; for example, a popular dish is called meat and vegetables. This dish basically consists of a kind of beans accompanied by a variety of green vegetables. Substituting beans for meat isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Beans can be much cheaper while still providing a good amount of protein. In addition, they tend to have a long shelf life, unlike many meats, which must be eaten a few months after being frozen, or else the quality declines.