When you think of Southern food, it might be the family-style dishes like biscuits and fried chicken, shared around a table. But the region is massive and diverse, with African, Indigenous, European, and Caribbean influences woven in. Several of these dishes are found within regions of the South and are celebrated with annual festivals.
If you’ve never had the chance to try these, give them a go during your next trip around the region!
Boudin
Boudin is a traditional Louisiana sausage, most closely associated with Cajun cuisine. It’s made from a mix of pork meat and liver pieces, seasoning, rice, onions, and peppers. It can be served in several ways, including steamed, grilled, smoked, and cooked into breaded “boudin balls.” Other versions include pork blood or seafood.
Brunswick Stew
Both Georgia and Virginia claim it, but in any case, Brunswick stew is built on a tomato base with lima beans, corn, and pulled pork in a pot with whatever vegetables are in season. Originally, it might have had squirrel or opossum. Today, you’ll find it on menus at barbecue restaurants around the region with a slightly sweeter taste, aided by barbecue sauce or ketchup.
Burgoo
Burgoo is a hearty Kentucky stew traditionally cooked outdoors in massive iron kettles at political rallies, church gatherings, and festivals, similar to Brunswick stew. The broth usually cooks overnight with whatever vegetables were in season, like onions, tomatoes, lima beans, and corn. It would have traditionally included game like rabbit or squirrel, but these days you’ll more likely have it with chicken or pork.
Country Captain
Country Captain is a classic Southern curry-style chicken dish, most closely associated with the Lowcountry area of Georgia and South Carolina. It dates back to the 19th century when British merchants incorporated flavors from abroad into locally grown rice in Southern port cities. You’ll find it with chicken simmered in a tomato sauce, with curry powder, onion, garlic, and peppers, especially at restaurants in Savannah.
Delta Tamales
If there’s one dish that is best associated with the Mississippi Delta, it’s tamales, also known as hot tamales. How exactly tamales came to the region is debated, but many believe Mexican migrant farmworkers introduced them, and with corn and cornmeal already central to Southern cooking, the dish naturally evolved by swapping masa for locally available cornmeal. They’re usually filled with beef, pork, or turkey.
Read this story for where to find the best Delta tamales.
Goetta
Goetta is a German-American sausage-and-grain dish most closely associated with Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. It’s made with ground pork, steel-cut oats, and spices, then mixed, chilled, sliced, and fried until its edges are crisp. You’ll see it cooked in battered croquettes, like the above, or served atop breakfast sandwiches.
Frogmore Stew
Whether you call it Frogmore Stew or Lowcountry boil, this dish is classic Lowcountry. Despite the name, it’s not a stew and doesn’t include frogs. Instead, shrimp are boiled with corn on the cob, smoked sausage, and potatoes, then drained and traditionally poured out onto a newspaper-covered table. The dish gets its name from the Frogmore community on St. Helena Island in South Carolina.
Hot Brown
The Hot Brown is an iconic open-faced sandwich from Louisville, Kentucky, created in the 1920s at the Brown Hotel. It’s made with sliced turkey on toast, topped with crispy bacon and a Mornay cheese sauce, then broiled until bubbly and golden. You might also find it with tomato sauce or paprika for flavor. You can still find it in the city, including at the historic hotel.
Livermush
Not so different from scrapple, found throughout the Northeast, livermush is mostly tied to North Carolina. It’s a type of pork-and-cornmeal loaf made with pig liver, head parts, and spices, mixed with cornmeal to bind it together, then cooked and cooled into a firm loaf.
According to our friends at NC Tripping, North Carolina livermush must contain 30 percent pig liver. Celebrated with an annual festival in Shelby, you can also try the griddled delicacy on biscuits.
Natchitoches Meat Pie
The Natchitoches meat pie derives its name from Louisiana’s oldest city, blending French, Spanish, and Creole influences into a handheld, deep-fried pastry with a savory meat filling. Similar to an empanada or a Cornish pasty, popular among Spanish soldiers in the 1700s, and later sold as street food. You can now enjoy it in restaurants, with both meat and seafood fillings.
Slug Burger
Don’t let the name fool you. Slug burgers are completely bug-free. Instead, the “slug” in question is a nickname for a nickel, the cost for the delicacy. The Depression-era recipe was a favorite of Elvis and is commonly found in northern Mississippi and Alabama. The traditional hamburgers are fortified with flour, bread crumbs, or potato and topped with pickles, onions, and mustard.
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