Fix Me a Plate: Traditional and New School Soul Food Recipes from Scotty Scott of Cook Drank Eat

By Scotty Scott

Take an Amazing Soul Food Journey With 60 Authentic, Unique and Indulgent Recipes

Get ready to shake up your home cooking with the most soul-satisfying dishes you’ve ever encountered. From hilarious and beloved chef Scotty Scott comes a deep dive into the delicious world of soul food, showcasing traditional recipes as well as awe-inspiring remixes on the classics. Learn the history behind how these iconic dishes came to be so embedded in soulful southern culture, and follow along as Scotty tells the heartwarming, sometimes side-splitting stories of how they were interwoven into his family history and childhood.

Start your morning off right with savory Southern Raised Biscuits with Spicy Sausage Cream Gravy or a big ol’ hearty plate of Catfish and Grits. Next, put some meat on your bones with staples like succulent Short Rib Grillades or Sea Island Red Peas and Carolina Gold Rice Hoppin’ John. Finally, dive into the Soul Remix with Scotty’s out-of-this-world elevations of classic recipes, like Fried Oyster Collard Green Salad, Duck Fat Shrimp Etouffee or Chicken and Brown Butter Sweet Potato Waffles with Maple Bourbon Sauce.

Capturing the very essence of family, history and hearty goodness, Fix Me A Plate delivers the best of down-home cooking with the funkiest of mouthwatering funky fusions. So dig right in, and you’ll soon be creating crowd-pleasing meals that will have your friends and family asking, “Can you Fix Me a Plate?”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Mar 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781645674511

Book preview

MORNIN’

One thing I love about soul food breakfasts is that there are no rules. Any kind of protein, paired with any kind of carb (a lot of times it’s grits) … as long as it’s good and hearty and will get you through the day. Because let’s face it, grown folks cannot subsist on flapjacks alone. One of my favorite recipes and one of the more quintessential soul food breakfast items is the biscuit. The biscuit is to Southern cooking as the bagel is to a New York deli. Rare is the bread that can break free of being a side item and become a meal in and of itself, but add a little bit (or a lotta bit) of gravy as in my Southern Raised Biscuits with Spicy Sausage Cream Gravy and you’ve got just that. Another favorite is the (Catfish and Grits). As someone who doesn’t eat pork (or eggs, but that’s a story for another day, see here), I’m always searching for a breakfast protein. Hearty and delicious, many times this was the leftover catfish from Friday night’s fish fry paired with some delicious grits for a great and satisfying breakfast.

SOUTHERN RAISED BISCUITS WITH SPICY SAUSAGE CREAM GRAVY

YIELD: 4 SERVINGS

Biscuits. Glorious, glorious, light and fluffy biscuits. Unfortunately, my lack of pig participation meant I’d missed out on some pork recipes that I had not been introduced to until after I’d sworn off the swine. (For the full story behind that decision, see here.) Sausage gravy was one such dish. I hadn’t really paid much attention to it until I accidentally got ahold of some a few years ago. It. Was. Incredible! Unfortunately, bubble guts ensued shortly thereafter. Determined to enjoy this delicious breakfast without my body betraying me, I decided to make my own pork-free sausage, which is actually fairly easy and can be made ahead of time and frozen. You can use straight ground pork or whatever mix you want. In my last batch, I used bison, lamb and elk. The bison is a bit richer than ground beef, and the lamb and elk give it a nice gamey undertone. Feel free to play around with your meat selection to suit your own taste; however, I would not use just beef, as I’ve found that it just ends up tasting like a spicy hamburger.

For the Sausage (see Note)

3 lbs (1.5 kg) ground meat (choose your own adventure)

2 tbsp (13 g) black pepper

2 tsp (12 g) salt

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp (3 g) paprika

½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

2 tsp (1 g) chopped fresh thyme

2 tsp (1 g) chopped fresh sage

1 tbsp (14 g) brown sugar

¼ tsp fennel

For the Biscuits

2¾ cups (624 g) unsalted butter

2 (½-oz [7-g]) envelopes active dry yeast

¼ cup (60 ml) warm water

5 cups (625 g) all-purpose flour

⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar

1½ tbsp (21 g) baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1¼ tsp (7 g) salt

2¼ cups (540 ml) cold buttermilk, divided

To make the sausage, in a large bowl, combine the ground meat, pepper, salt, garlic powder, cayenne, paprika, pepper flakes, rosemary, thyme, sage, brown sugar and fennel and mix together to combine with your hands. Yes, you can use a spoon; however, this is most effectively done with your hands. If the thought grosses you out, wear gloves, look away and think happy thoughts. Place the mixture in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for 8 to 9 minutes, or until browned, stirring occasionally and breaking up the large chunks. Remove from the heat, drain and set aside.

To make the biscuits, cut the butter into 1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes and place in the freezer. In a small bowl, combine the yeast and warm water and give it a little stir to combine. Set it aside while preparing the other stuff, ‘bout 5 minutes or until bubbly. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Remove the butter from the freezer and cut it into the dry ingredients with a fork until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add 2 cups (480 ml) of the buttermilk and the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and butter, mixing with a fork until the dry ingredients are, dare I say, moistened. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and lightly get your knead on three or four times. Cut the dough in half. Roll out each half until it is 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Cut the dough with a biscuit cutter (or mug, Mason jar or whatever you wanna use) dusted with flour and place on a lightly greased baking pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. Then, place the pan in the refrigerator for at least 1