A Country Rag--Backwoods Recipes--Main Courses

A Country Rag Backwoods Recipes
Main Courses



CHICKEN

Chicken Barcelona

Chicken Fried Rice

Crispy Herbed Chicken



FISH

Catfish Finger Fries

Fried Catfish

Grilled Eel



GAME

Baked Coon

Baked Groundhog or Opposum

Duck Pot

Fried Deer Steak or Chops

Fried Squirrel or Rabbit

Squirrel Stew



MISCELLANEOUS

Better Bean Soup

Spaghetti Sauce

Spanish Rice

Tripe A La Lyonnaise

U.S. Senate Bean Soup

Vegetable Stew

Whale Chili





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More Kitchen Hints

Burn a lot of candles when you have a room full of smokers. The candles help cut down on smoke in the room.
If you drop an egg on the floor, sprinkle it heavily with salt; sweep up dried egg in a few minutes.
Freeze candles before burning to reduce dripping wax.
Remove candle wax drippings by placing a blotter or brown paper bag over spot and put a hot iron over blotter. The wax will be absorbed into blotter or paper after a few minutes.
Keep food warm in the over an hour or so by covering food with loose tent of foil or loosely set top -- not tight or the food will steam.
Clean blender by partially filling with hot water and a few drops of detergent. Cover and blend for a few seconds. Rinse and drain dry.
Sprinkle hot broiler pan with dry laundry detergent. Cover with dampened paper towels. Wait a few minutes before cleaning.
Rice and noodles will not boil over while cooking if a dab of butter or cooking oil is added to the water.
To assure a firm set when making gelatin, add 2 tablespoons vinegar.

Hints above courtesy of the 1999 Holiday Food Festival Cookbook, published and distributed as a fund-raiser for the Washington County (TN) Agricultural Extension Service.

Chicken

An easy-to-fix chicken entree...
Crispy Herbed Chicken --
1-1/4 c.soft whole-wheat bread crumbs; 1-1/2 T. minced fresh parsley; 1-1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind; 1 T. chopped fresh basil; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp. pepper; 3 T. nonfat buttermilk; 3/4 tsp. lemon juice; 6 (6-oz.) skinned chicken breast halves; vegetable cooking spray; lemon slices (opt.); fresh parsley sprigs (opt.).
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large, heavy-duty zip top plastic bag; seal bag and shake well. Combine buttermilk and lemon juice; brush both sides of chicken with buttermilk mixture. Place chicken in bag; seal bag and shake until chicken is well coated. Place chicken on a rack in a roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle any remaining bread crumb mixture over chicken. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until chicken is tender. If desired, garnish with lemon slices and parsley sprigs. Yield: 6 servings.

(Recipes courtesy of The Greater Shenandoah Valley's Finest Recipes. The perfect gift! A fund-raising cookbook chock-full of contributed country recipes, $10 a copy plus $2 shipping and handling. Contact the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Network, P. O. Box 937, Verona, VA 24482-0937, 540-248-3663.)

"As incomes of the better-off Americans rise in this age of prosperity, with the stock market and corporate profits booming, charities report that both individuals and companies are donating less to organizations that support the homeless, the young, the hungry than they did in leaner times. Leading charitable organizations like the Salvation Army and United Way say that as a result, they are struggling with a surging demand for their aid, and that the private donations they collect are falling far short of the need." Prosperity Yields a Lag in Charity Toward the Poor, Peter T. Kilborn in The New York Times, Dec. 12, 1999

Chicken Fried Rice -- A great use for leftover rice. You don't need a wok for this; any skillet will do. It's easiest to cut the chicken breast into pieces with kitchen scissors. Serves 4.
You'll need: 5 tblsps. vegetable oil, divided; 2 eggs, slightly beaten; 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in small pieces; 1 cup bean sprouts, rinsed and drained; 1 rib of celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal; 1 (2-1/2 oz.) jar of mushrooms, drained; 3 cups cooked white rice; 2 tblsp. soy sauce; dash of white pepper; 3 green onions, with tops, chopped.
In a separate skillet, scramble eggs in one tblsp. of oil until firm but still moist. Set aside. Heat a heavy skillet on medium high until very hot and add 2 tblsp. of oil. Swirl skillet so the oil coats it. Add chicken and cook until white. Add bean sprouts, celery and mushrooms and stir-fry for about a minute. Pour this out of the skillet and let it drain. Meanwhile reheat skillet, add another 2 tblsp. oil and swirl skillet so the oil coats it. Add the rice and stir-fry about a minute. Stir in soy sauce and pepper. Add eggs, chicken mixture and onions. Stir-fry until all is heated, no more than a minute.
(Recipe reprinted on-line from the bimonthly Country Kitchen Journal published by Shenandoah Seasons, 989 Black Bear Road, Maurertown, VA 22644-9722, Phone: 540-436-3117, Toll-free: 800-233-3836, E-mail: elizcot@shentel.net)

Chicken Barcelona -- You'll need 1 whole chicken, skinned and quartered, 1 large onion, chopped, 2 cloves garlic, chopped, 2 bay leaves, 1 cup olive oil, 1 cup flour, salt and pepper to taste, and 1/2 bottle Freixenet Sparkling Wine. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the onion, garlic and bay leaves. Mix salt, pepper and flour. Roll the chicken pieces in this mixture. When the saute is ready, add the chicken and fry 10 to 15 minutes, turning often. Then add the Sparkling Wine and cover to simmer for 45 to 55 minutes. Serve with a side of asparagus or other vegetables that are complimentary with a white wine sauce. (Recipe courtesy of Cornucopia! Baskets Full of Life's Pleasures. Copyright (c) 1996 jaamb. All Rights Reserved.)

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Fish

Eel, considered a delicacy in many parts of the world, navigate rivers throughout Appalachia and are sometimes caught by fisherfolk casting for more usual tablefare.
Grilled Eel --
Skin and clean eel; cut into three pieces. Slash each section to flatten and roll in fine breadcrumbs. Grill over a charcoal fire, salting as needed. Serve with a thin brown gravy spiced with mustard.

Plentiful in the Shenandoah River, catfish are caught mostly at night in deep water holes. Larger ones may be eligible for a citation, but the smaller ones make for the tenderest meal. Many country folks remove the skin from this whiskered and scaleless fish in a time-honored fashion: by nailing it to a tree and using pliers to rip the slick, tough skin from the meat. A quicker method is to fillet the fish; then dip the fillets, skinside down, in a skillet of boiling water for maybe 15 seconds. Cool under running water and the skin peels off easily.
Fried Catfish -- You'll need 4 skinned fillets, 2 cups powdered mashed potatoes mixed with 1 tsp. garlic pepper, 2 eggs. Dip fillets in egg, then into potato mix. Fry in hot peanut oil in skillet approximately two minutes each side. (Recipe courtesy of William R. Stewart (josborne@dp.net) of Fayette City, PA.)

Catfish Finger Fries -- Catch a catfish and cut the meat off the bones. Throw the remains out for the wild animals or bury them deep in your garden to feed next year's vegetable crop. Melt shortening to cover bottom of heavy skillet while cutting catfish fillets in finger-sized strips. Dredge in seasoned flour and fry quickly over medium heat. Drizzle on lemon juice and remove from pan. Serve with cocktail or tartar sauce. Melts in your mouth!

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Game

Here's a recipe for fixing a common country critter thanks to Steve in Alabama. "I won the Wild Game supper at our Church Association and the judges said it was the Best Deer Meat they had ever had. Then I broke the news to them. Most went back for seconds. Don't look past this one, it is the real deal. Tastes like duck, good duck."
Baked Coon --
Take 5 pounds coon and put it into a 1 gallon ziplock bag. Add meat tenderizer, Dales Sauce, and 2 cups diet coke. Let it stay in the bag for 8 hours at least and then transfer the carcass to the stock pot. Add one gallon of water, 1 stick of butter, 1 tsp. garlic, and salt to taste. After cooking one to one-and-a-half hours remove and let cool and remove bones. Chop up 10 pieces of bacon, one small onion, and salt to taste. Let bacon pieces fry until almost done and then add the coon meat. After cooking for 10 minutes serve with wild rice.

Probably a lot of people don't know that some of our country critters -- for instance, the groundhog and opossum -- are not only plentiful but, as historic tablefare, edible and good-tasting.
Baked Groundhog or Opossum
You'll need: one young groundhog or opossum, a large onion, a large apple, tblspn. vinegar, cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper.
Skin and cut up like you would a chicken. Soak in salt water overnight. Boil with onion, apple and vinegar until tender. (Depends on age, but it can be stored in the refrigerator when cooked until you're ready to bake it.) When done, roll pieces in a mixture (equal portions) of cornmeal and flour, salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (longer if it's been refrigerated). VARIATION: Or cover with bottled barbecue sauce. NOTE: Very young groundhogs can be fried in flour without having to be parboiled first.)
(Recipe courtesy of David Rhodes in the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank's cookbook, "The Greater Shenandoah Valley's Finest Recipes")

The following recipe is a pre-publication excerpt from a forthcoming book by John Traister, a prolific area writer, which reproduces his family's authentic Valley cooking.
Squirrel meat was usually the first wild game that appeared on Grandma's table in the fall. The meat was frequently fried (like fried chicken), but occasionally we'd get an old tough male with "drivers" as long as your thumb. This variety always went into either squirrel broth or a pot pie.
You'll need 1 squirrel, 1/4 cup pearl barley, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 3 sprigs parsley, 2 whole cloves, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1/2 cup diced carrot, 1/4 cup chopped celery, 1/4 cup chopped turnip. Dress squirrel in the usual manner; cut up into five or six pieces. Place meat in a large bowl. Prepare a solution of heavily-salted water (enough to completely cover all meat), and pour over squirrel. Make sure all meat is covered with the brine solution. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let squirrel meat soak in refrigerator until all blood spots are drawn from the mean (usually overnight). Remove squirrel from brine solution, and pat dry with paper towels before proceeding.
In a 4-quart Dutch over, combine the squirrel meat, barley, salt, parsley, cloves, bay leaf, and 5 cups of water. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered until meat is tender and is easily removed from the bones. Remove pieces of meat from the broth. Let cool for a few minutes and then remove meat from bones; discard bones. Cut meat into small pieces and return to the broth. Add vegetables and cook broth another 30 minutes. Before serving, remove bay leaf and cloves. Serves four.

This easy recipe creates tender game meat without parboiling. You'll need at least two squirrels or one rabbit per two adults. Fried Squirrel or Rabbit -- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Quarter legs from back. Dip pieces into egg, then into bread crumbs. Fry in hot oil until browned, approximately one minute each side. Remove from skillet and set on paper towel until oil has drained off. Place game pieces on rack in roasting pan and bake approximately one-and-a-half hours until tender. (Recipe courtesy of William R. Stewart (josborne@dp.net) of Fayette City, PA.)

If you're a hunter or lucky enough to know one, the season's in for fresh game meats. Fried Deer Steak or Chops -- The meat should be cut 1/4 inch thick. Use deer jerky mix according to directions for the pounds of meat to be cooked(or use Italian dressing). Marinate 12 hours turning once. Flour and fry in hot oil two minutes for rare, three minutes for medium, and four minutes for well done. (Recipe courtesy of William R. Stewart (josborne@dp.net) of Fayette City, PA.)

Duck Pot -- You'll need one duck (or chicken, if no duck is available), four apples, ten small potatoes, one bay leaf, three shakes of ready-mixed mild, sweet mustard sauce, one tin of creamed mushroom soup, two cloves, salt to taste. If your duck is a proper splay-footed wild duck, you are advised to drive over it a few times to soften it. A plump young duck (or chicken) is far more suitable. Cut the fowl into portions and brown it in the pot. Pack the pealed potatoes in a layer over the duck, followed by a layer of apples. Mix the other ingredients with the mushroom soup and pour over the contents of the pot. Simmer for 40 minutes and serve. (This recipe for a South African meal, traditionally cooked in an iron pot over glowing embers, was sent in by Walshie at jjwes@iafrica.com.)

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Miscellaneous

The popularity of one Italian dish remains. It's fairly cheap, easily subject to substitutions and enhancements, keeps well and is easy to fix. In other words, the last-minute-cook's dream.
Spaghetti Sauce--
You'll need 1 lb. ground beef, 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste, 1 (6 oz.) can water, Salt, pepper, 1 (1 lb. 13-oz.) can tomato puree, 1-1/2 T. minced onion, 2 tsp. Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/2 tsp. basil, 1 T. parsley, Garlic cloves, 1 T. sugar (opt.). Brown ground beef. Add other ingredients. Simmer 30-45 minutes. Pour over any one of the many varieties of pasta available, or mix pastas, or make your own. Sprinkle with grated cheese(s).

The Appalachian region, as with other areas, raises money for much-needed food pantry services through fund-raising projects including cookbook sales. The above recipe by Barbara V. Resan is courtesy of The Greater Shenandoah Valley's Finest Recipes; contact the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Network, P. O. Box 937, Verona, VA 24482-0937, 540-248-3663.

Beans are at least as American as apple pie, and as ancient as agriculture. Easy to cultivate and store, high in nutrition, they've helped many an Appalachian family through tough times and are served in tasty remembrance through good ones. For summer temps, this receipe's easily converted to crockpot or microwave.
U.S. Senate Bean Soup --
You'll need 1 lb. white beans, Ham bone with meat on it, 3 qt. water, 1 c. cooked, mashed potatoes, 3 onions, chopped, 1 sm. bunch celery, chopped, 2 garlic cloves, chopped, 1/4 c. dried parsley. Soak 1 pound beans overnight in cold water and cover. Drain beans and put them in a soup kettle with the ham bone and 3 quarts water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. Stir in the potatoes and add the onions, celery (include tops), garlic cloves and parsley. Simmer 1 hour more; remove ham bone; dice meat on it and return to the soup; discard bone. Serves 6 or more.
The Appalachian region, as with other areas, raises money for much-needed food pantry services through fund-raising projects including cookbook sales. The above recipe by Anne Moore and Hints below are courtesy of The Greater Shenandoah Valley's Finest Recipes. A perfect gift or kitchen addition of home-tested country recipes, $10 a copy plus $2 shipping and handling. Contact the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Network, P. O. Box 937, Verona, VA 24482-0937, 540-248-3663.

The war between American sheep and cattle raisers has been over for some time, and Appalachia has found an old/new agricultural source of revenue and tablefare in the raising of market lamb. Tripe A La Lyonnaise --
Ingredients: knuckles and trotters with meat; 2 lbs. peeled whole onions; 3-4 carrots; 2-1/4 lbs. tomatoes, peeled and chopped; 1-1/4 cups wine.
Take three sheep's tripe, two calves' feet, six sheep's trotters, cut them in pieces. Take some small onions, carrots and a good two pounds of tomatoes. Have at hand some garlic, milled pepper and corns, two laurel leaves. At the bottom of a tall earthenware stewpot put two plates side by side. Arrange successively; a row of tripe, a row of onions, one of the feet and carrots, a row of tomatoes, three to four cloves of garlic, salt, peppercorns, laurel. Add a large glass and half of dry white wine. Let it cook on a gentle heat for twelve hours. Skin the fat before serving.

tripe: stomach tissue of a ruminant; knuckle: tarsal or carpal joint with adjoining flesh; trotter: pig's foot
(Recipe courtesy of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in "L'Art de la Cuisine," a cookbook copiously illustrated with the author's drawings and paintings, c. 1966 Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Edita, Lausanne, Switzerland.)

Appalachia is famous for the homestyle entertainment, often accompanied with traditional bluegrass music, of tall tales and storytelling. From legendary monsters to fantastic meals, "Mountain Empire" imaginations create amusing and amazing worlds....
Whale Chili --
Heated controversy persisted whenever two chili cooks got together and they would invariably come up with at least three of the world's one and only best chili. Fiery argument persisted over whose chili was the hottest or most flavorsome. But there was never any dispute over who made the largest bowl of Chili.
That dubious honor always belonged to a tribe of Alaxsxaq indians that wandered around in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, having crossed the land bridge of the Aleutian Islands some 15,000 years ago. They knew that things would be tough at times so they brewed up enough chili at a time to serve the tribe's appetite in times of scarcity. Here is how they did it.
3 tons red chile pods
1 medium(50 ft.) Blue whale cubed to finger-tip size using razor shap ulus. Thus a few stray finger tips would not be noticed.
60 Oogruk (giant seals) cubed to finger -tip size
30 tons onions chopped fine with ulus
1 ton garlic minced
100 pounds sea salt
600 pounds oregano
400 pounds cumin
Then a bowl was chopped out of the ice 40 ft. long 20 ft. wide and 10 ft. deep. All ingredients were placed in bowl and mixed well with harpoons and oosicks. (An oosick, possessed only by the male walrus, is what makes the female walrus smile.)
Add water and fumarole heated boulders until the brew is nicely bubbling. After two weeks, reduce heat and enjoy. Leftovers may be placed in leather five-gallon buckets and stored in a glacier.
Recipe courtesy of Sheldon P. Wimpfen. Begin an excursion, virtual or real-time, of Appalachia's storytelling history and current events on-line at the Storytelling Network .

A cool weather standby, healthy and hearty -- Vegetable Stew
2 good sized eggplants, peeled, sliced 1/2 in. thick; 2 big zucchini, sliced 1/2 in. thick; salt; 3/4 c. olive oil; 2 lg. onions, peeled, thinly sliced; 4 cloves garlic, crushed; 2 lg tomatoes, peeled, seeded; 2 lg peppers, seeded, thinly sliced; Bouquet Garni of parsley, thyme, bay oregano, basil, or 1/2 tsp ea. dried.
Sprinkle eggplant and zucchini slices with salt; put into a colander and cover with a weighted plate for about an hour and let it drain excess liquid. Heat the oil over medium heat and saute the onions until soft; add the garlic and saute for another 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook, covered, over medium-low heat for about 1 hour. It should be very moist at this point. If you'd like it more dry, cook uncovered until it suits you.
(Recipe courtesy of Bob Pastorio, Different Drummer Restaurant, Harrisonburg, VA, in The Greater Shenandoah Valley's Finest Recipes.
Cooking With What You Have -- The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank provides not only food for those in need, but also recipes for creating flavorful and interesting meals. Here's one for using rice, an inexpensive carbohydrate that provides energy. And it's good too!
For SPANISH RICE you'll need: 1/2 lb. ground meat, 1/2 cup chopped onion, or 1 tbsp. dry minced onions, 1/4 cup chopped green pepper (optional), 1/2 tsp. oregano, 2 cups water 2 cups (16 oz.) tomatoes*, 1 cup (8 oz.) tomato sauce, 1/4 tsp. basil 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste, 3/4 cup uncooked white rice. (*For tomatoes, use whole peeled, stewed or chopped, or cream of tomato soup, or tomato sauce.)
Brown ground meat in a skillet. Drain off fat. Add chopped onion and green pepper. Add water, tomatoes, tomato sauce, seasonings and rice. Bring to a boil. Stir once then place lid tightly on skillet. Reduce to simmer and continue cooking for 20 minutes or until rice is done.
(Recipe courtesy of "Partners," newsletter for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, whose internet presence is in the works; meantime, reach their Main Office at 540-248-3663.)

~ About ~ The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank became a Virginia Corporation in December 1980 with four board members and a scant bank account. In 1981 the Food Bank received full certification as a member of the Second Harvest National Food Bank Network. In 1982 branch warehouses were opened in Winchester and Charlottesville. In 1985 a branch was opened in Lynchburg and a new facility, located in Verona, was purchased. Volume grew rapidly from 500,000 pounds the first full year of operation to nearly 5,000,000 pounds annually in 1995. The Food Bank's service area has grown to include 25 counties and 9 cities, and the Board of Directors has expanded to include 15 capable community leaders from throughout the area. The roll of member agencies that distribute food has grown to over 500.
~ It's a Perfect Gift! ~ For copies of "The Greater Shenandoah Valley's Finest Recipes" (162-pages, hardcover) send check or money order for $10.00 per copy plus $2.00 shipping and handling to: Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, P. O. Box 937, Verona, VA 24482-0937.

Better Bean Soup -- This delicious recipe uses dried lima and garbanzo beans, and dried yellow peas, altho other dried beans and peas would work as well. Plenty for 6-8 people as a side dish. Cover 1/2 cup limas and 1/4 cup garbanzos with generous amount of water, bring to boil, remove from stovetop, and soak for an hour. Drain. Add 1/2 cup dried peas, bits of fresh ham, 1/4 cup chopped onions, 1/4 cup tomato stuff (catup, barbecue sauce, paste), salt, pepper, parsley, water to cover twice, and instant mashed potatoes (enough to make one cup). Bring to boil and simmer for an hour.

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