1Fried Catfish
PHOTO: JOSEPH DE LEO; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISONJust like with fried chicken, you're going to want to marinate this catfish in buttermilk before dredging and frying. It'll permeate the fish with flavor and make sure it stays nice and juicy after it's fried. As for the dredge, there's a lot of debate about whether you should use flour or cornmeal—we think you should use both!
Get the Fried Catfish recipe.
2Biscuits & Gravy
PHOTO: ROCKY LUTEN; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISONHomemade, buttery biscuits pooling with peppery sausage gravy is hard to beat, and honestly, we aren’t interested in trying. Topped with our thick gravy, our biscuits are wonderfully crispy on the outside, making each bite truly perfect.
Get the Biscuits & Gravy recipe.
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3Louisiana-Style Red Beans & Rice
PHOTO: DOAA ELKADY; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISONAll Creole cuisine packs a flavor punch that keeps you coming back for seconds, but red beans and rice are in a league all their own. The red beans soak up the smoky, porky, spicy, and earthy flavors and release some starch to create a rich gravy that’s perfect for spooning over steamed white rice.
Get the Louisiana-Style Red Beans & Rice recipe.
4Southern Collard Greens
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5Chicken & Dumplings
This recipe is as hand-me-down as it comes (it's literally our editor's grandma's, and she said one spoonful instantly reminded her of her childhood). This easy comfort food recipe is perfect on a cold night, and simple enough to whip up when you don't feel like making anything.
Get the Chicken & Dumplings recipe.
6Crawfish Étouffée
PHOTO: JOSEPH DE LEO; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISONThe word étouffée is French for “smothered,” which makes sense in this spin on shrimp étouffée. This brothy dish features crawfish and vegetables completely covered in a savory butter-and-flour-based gravy (aka a roux). Pro tip: Serve this over white rice to soak up all that flavor.
Get the Crawfish Étouffée recipe.
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7Southern Tomato Pie
PHOTO: ANDREW BUI; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GOREFillings for Southern tomato pies always include tomatoes, mayonnaise, plenty of cheese, and Dijon mustard, but our version's got a flavorful upgrade: chopped pimiento peppers, which lend the filling all the delicious richness of pimiento cheese dip.
Get the Southern Tomato Pie recipe.
8Corn Fritters
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9Pulled Pork
PHOTO: ANDREW BUI; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISONIf you're looking for the best pulled pork recipe to keep in your back pocket—this is it. Sandwiched between a soft potato bun, piled on top of a baked potato, or even eaten on its own, pulled pork is the versatile dish we crave year round.
Get the Pulled Pork recipe.
10Southern Fried Corn
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11Crispy Fried Chicken
PHOTO: ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISONTo complete the journey to fried chicken nirvana, we went through 5 whole chickens, 3 gallons of peanut oil, and over 20 iterations of the recipe so that you won't have to. We guarantee this is the only fried chicken recipe you'll ever need.
12King Ranch Chicken
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13Baked Beans
PHOTO: NICO SCHINCO; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISONWhen it comes to year-round American cuisine, baked beans could quite possibly be looked at as one of the most classic side dishes. They’re sweet, tangy, savory, and the best part, surprisingly easy to make. Not to mention, they’re a one-pot wonder!
Get the Baked Beans recipe.
14Jambalaya
PHOTO: ROCKY LUTEN; FOOD STYLING: TAYLOR ANN SPENCERSpicy, hearty, and incredibly flavorful, jambalaya is a New Orleans classic for good reason. Its complex flavor is informed by cuisines from around the world—Spanish, West African, and French to name a few. Our recipe combines three proteins and vegetable-packed rice for a flavor-packed dish that will warm you up all season long.
Get the Jambalaya recipe.
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15Southern Potato Salad
PHOTO: ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLING: LAURA REGE 16Fried Green Tomatoes
PHOTO: ERIK BERNSTEIN; FOOD STYLING: LENA ABRAHAMWhen green tomatoes are in season, this Southern staple is the first dish we think of. Nothing complements a juicy, tart green tomato quite like a crunchy, slightly sweet cornmeal crust. A classic remoulade is our condiment of choice, but if you don’t feel like whipping one up from scratch, making a simple two-ingredient spicy mayo will absolutely do the trick.
Get the Fried Green Tomatoes recipe.
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17Chicken-Fried Steak
PARKER FEIERBACH 18Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
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19Southern Fried Oysters
PHOTO: LUCY SCHAEFFER; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISONLong before the creation of fried oysters, oysters were considered a poor man’s food because they were so abundant in the waters off the East Coast of the United States. They were first breaded and fried in the Western Hemisphere in the mid-19th century and have since been upgraded with a crispy, crunchy cracker crust. TMYK!
Get the Southern Fried Oysters recipe.
20Sausage Gravy
PHOTO: ROCKY LUTEN; FOOD STYLING: BROOKE CAISONUnlike the gravy you’d see on a Thanksgiving table, this sauce is lighter in color and much thicker. Sausage fat takes the place of turkey drippings, and the sauce is intended to be super-thick, so there's no need to add stock. Pour it over some freshly baked biscuits, and you'll be in Southern food heaven.
Get the Sausage Gravy recipe.
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