y'all would be culture shocked to enter a BBQ joint in eastern NC... they base off vinegar. pulled pork in vinegar and tabasco or texas pete... or some variation thereof... the thing is, it isn't bad at all- it's actually pretty dang good- but it isn't and shouldn't be called BBQ by my reckoning (and I'll be careful entering public for saying that the next few weeks just in case anyone around here sees this)...
there is something primal and pleasing about tossing a piglet, gutted and cleaned but skin and all, on a grill that has an axle and a 2" ball receiver tongue- cooking it low and slow for up to 30 hours- dousing it with vinegar and hot sauce every hour- and then picking up a leg and the bone falling out... then shredding it in a mixture of more vinegar and hot sauce.... serving it with coleslaw and homemade macaroni with a chunk of cornbread and serving spoon or two of green beans... or collards... and i don't approve one bit of collards... it's the 'feed a lot of people quick and easy' thing for the warmer months... it flips over to low country boils in the cooler months- which is a massive pot poured out on a table and served on paper as you grab what you like... in the winter it's Brunswick stew- which is difficult to make properly- made in a huge pot or even a barrel, the oar used to stir it mush stand on it's own for it to be considered proper, and there can be zero scorch... that isn't easy to do i'm told- and people here love it... i don't.. i'll eat it, but won't seek it out.
the very best of the best local meal has been stolen and extorted from this area and far ranging distortions are offered worldwide... which is shrimp and grits. when done properly, they are incredible. the best of the best are at Chelsea's in New Bern NC. They add an ingredient that i can almost identify but haven't nailed down yet, and they aren't sharing what it is....
back home it was hotdogs and burgers... there isn't really a meal that represents the area, and that's a shame... well, unless it was ramps... and i don't eat those things... they used to have a festival when i was a kid, and right at the start of school--- the kids that attended and ate those things were excused for three days until the smell dissipated... they're a wild onion of sorts that grow underground and pigs used to be used to find them. Other than that, I can't think of a single meal that represents that area of Appalachia.
Memphis BBQ, StLouis BBQ, Texas BBQ... fried seafood on the coast of the carolina's and into fla... seafood with an italian flavor from VA north until Mass, then it turns to a British Scottish derived thing... i don't know what georgia is known for, but there is a decided Creole influence heading through bama, mississippi and Louisiana... jump texas and including texas and the SW spanish influence emerges, no? I really like that... i WILL go out of my way for a street taco done authentically- there are migrant workers here who's wives serve them out of their vans at work sites at lunch... and that for dang sure isn't below me.
question: If you broke the nation down in regions divided by the influence of foods (traditional), what would be on your MUST HAVE list?
