12 Soulful Recipes to Cook to Celebrate Black History Month

Posted: February 4, 2023 8:25 am

During Black History Month, people in the United States highlight Black culture and famous Black Americans. Black cuisine is part of the celebration, so dig into these wonderful soul food dishes!

1. Fried Chicken

No list of soul food would be complete without a fried chicken recipe. Crispy coating, succulent chicken, and savory seasonings make this dish a perennial favorite everywhere, not just in the Southern states. You need a deep fryer for this recipe, but it’s well worth the cost and effort. People will rave about your friend chicken for years to oome.

2. Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Black folks called this wonderful dish macaroni pie when they invented it Today, it’s made in a cast-iron skillet and baked. Usually, people use all kinds of cheese in it. Often, they toss in three, four, or even five different types of cheese. The spices and cream make this into the ultimate comfort food.

3. Collard Greens

Collard greens should come with a highly seasoned protein to compliment them. Often, this is either smoked ham hock or turkey. Sometimes, it’s ham or even great seafood. In any event, the flavors are spicy and sharp. You can make this dish as a side dish or a main, depending on what you put in it and how much you make. As with many soul food recipes, flexibility is part of both its charm and history.

4. Peach Cobbler

Not everything in Southern cooking is spicy. Soul food, especially, includes sweet and tangy desserts. Peach cobbler should remind you of bygone kitchens with the warm smell of cinnamon and vanilla permeating the air and the cutting board where you cut the peaches. With or without whipped cream, peach cobbler satisfies.

5. Baked Beans

Baked beans are usually a side. Usually, soul food baked beans are vegetarian. If you add meat to them, then they’re “cowboy baked beans.” Bacon is great to add, and its saltiness balances the brown sugar to make a wonderful dish. If you want to keep the dish vegetarian, then remember to use vegetable stock instead of chicken or beef. However you make the dish, baked beans are a winner.

6. Cornbread

Cornbread is just about the most popular soul food side dish there is. There are probably as many ways to make it as there are cornbread makers, but it should always be a balance of savory and spicy. Generally, the grittier it is, the better it is. You need a cast-iron skillet for this Southern treat. Usually, the 8-inch size is the best for it.

7. Fried Pork Chops

Fried pork chops are the South’s answer to German schnitzel. They’re breaded and pan-fried, not deep-fried. The flavor comes from the spices that you put into the coating, and the coating keeps the inside of the chop moist and succulent. As a main dish, they go very well with any of the sides on this list. For a different style of fried pork chop, use more butter than oil and do the chops 15 minutes a side on low heat.

8. BBQ Ribs

BBQ ribs give you a chance to show off your sauce-making chops. Done right, the meat falls right off the bone, and just the right BBQ sauce will make them savory, sweet, smoky, or any combination thereof. The bigger racks will feed a large family, so the recipe is as practical as it is delectable. Never neglect the rub for the ribs, either, because its flavor is distinct from that of the sauce.

9. Southern Seafood Boil

As we celebrate Black History Month, getting together in large groups to enjoy fellowship and friendship is a popular weekend pastime. For such groups, this recipe is top-drawer. It’s easy, too, because it’s a one-pot recipe. It’s also terrific because you can add “something for everyone.” In fact, it works very well as a “stone soup” party where everyone brings something to put in the one pot.

10. Buttermilk Biscuits

Comfort food should satisfy a craving, and biscuits are a real craving “stopper!” The best biscuits are slightly crunchy outside and soft and fluffy inside. They should soak up butter as if devouring it, and these are no exception. They’re a brilliant choice when you don’t have a lot of time because the ones in this recipe can be finished in fewer than 30 minutes.

11. Creamed Corn Casserole

Corn is naturally sweet when it’s fresh, so to balance out this recipe, you should use sharp flavors like onion, garlic, and Southern spices. This is a side dish that can be as hearty as a main dish. It’s outstanding for cold evenings in the fall and winter, especially with fried chicken or pork chops.

12. Southern Fried Catfish

When it comes to seafood, catfish is perhaps the most famous of the soul food dishes. If your catfish is wild caught, be sure to soak it in milk first to remove the “wild” taste, which has been compared to mud. Just the right combination of spices and sauce will ensure that your next catfish fish fry will be one to remember.

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