South: Essential Recipes and New Explorations

by Sean Brock

New York Times Bestseller and James Beard Award Finalist

Named One of the Ten Best Cookbooks of 2019 by The New Yorker
 
Named a Best Book of 2019 by Publishers Weekly

Named the Best Cookbook of 2019 by Amazon
 
Named a Best New Cookbook of Fall 2019 by the New York Times , Food & Wine , Epicurious , Grub Street , Chowhound , Robb Report , and more

“ If Southern food is your comfort food and pantry cooking is the name of your game right now, this is an excellent book to order.”
—Epicurious

“I will keep this book forever in my collection because no one cooking today is doing more to help the Southern culinary flame burn brighter.”
— New York Times

Southern food is one of the most beloved and delicious cuisines in America. And who better to give us the key elements of Southern cuisine than Sean Brock, the award-winning chef and Southern-food crusader. In South , Brock shares his recipes for key components of the cuisine, from grits and fried chicken to collard greens and corn bread. Recipes can be mixed and matched to make a meal or eaten on their own. Taken together, they make up the essential elements of Southern cuisine, from fried green tomatoes to smoked baby back ribs and from tomato okra stew to biscuits. Regional differences are highlighted in recipes for shrimp and grits, corn bread, fried chicken, and more. Includes key Southern knowledge how to fry, how to care for cast iron, how to cook over a hearth, and more. This is the book fans of Sean Brock have been waiting for, and it’s the book Southern-food lovers the world over will use as their bible.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Reference, Nonfiction, Southern, Culinary

376 pages, Hardcover

Published October 15, 2019

Reviews

[Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sean Brock's South is an exciting collection of traditional Southern recipes with a twist. I loved the in-depth introduction from Brock explaining his life-long deep appreciation and exploration of Southern food and culture.

"Eating in the moment was the way we ate when I was growing up in the mountains of Southern Appalachia, although we were doing so because it was natural and made sense. This concept continues to be my guiding light when creating and cooking food for my guests." *

Striking photos by Peter Frank Edwards create a mood and atmosphere reflective of the recipes.

South is divided into nine sections and include many Southern staples like grilled/fried okra, fried green tomatoes, pimento cheese, and hot water cornbread. Brock offers some great tips in his recipes and also provides ingredient sources (compiled into a helpful list at the end of the book).

I eat seasonally so receiving an advance copy of this book in the summer has made for an incredible experience. So far I've tested the fried okra (it was seriously the quickest batch I've ever made - all the ingredients are mixed together in bowl, which saves so much time and made me wonder why I've never thought of it before), the cheeseburgers with special sauce, and fried green tomatoes.
(Photographs are included in my blog post on Roots & Reads)

I'm looking forward to chilled summer squash soup with buttermilk and sunflower seeds, pit cooked chicken sandwiches, and peanut butter chess pie in the near future!

Many of the recipes are time intensive and require planning ahead. Some ingredients will require more than a quick trip to the grocery store or to your garden. For beginners, a lot of these recipes could look intimidating with long ingredient lists, several of which are not commonly stocked in the average pantry.
While South will not be used often for quick weeknight meals, it will offer some unique dishes when you have time to devote to cooking.

Thanks to Artisan Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Sean Brock's South is scheduled for release on October 15, 2019.

*Quote included is from a digital advanced reader's copy and is subject to change upon final publication.

For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous, wonderfully written book that is sure to be the textbook for a lot of southern cooks, especially those in the restaurant business. Brock is passionate about southern cooking and has done his research, cooking with some of the region's best chefs and also drawing on great southern cooks in every region. It's refreshing not seeing southern food depicted as just battering and frying everything and tossing in lots of cream and butter, and the photos are stunning.

All that said, there are some reasons this may not be a great cookbook for some:

~ Brock believes in specific ingredients, and often specific brands of those ingredients. Many of the recipes call for at least one specific brand of something. A resource list in the back tells you where to buy these, but it's likely to be very frustrating for home cooks who don't want to have to special order a pantry full of ingredients.

~ Most of the recipes are pretty complicated and will take quite a long time. These are dishes to make to impress company, not to feed your family on a weekday evening.

~ Most of the recipes will also be pretty expensive to create, especially since Brock uses so many specialty ingredients. Even basic ingredients like rice, grits and paprika are supposed to be his preferred specialty brands since he says modern staples are junk (which is generally true). He also calls for lots of really expensive cheeses, seafood, etc., especially for those who aren't local.

~ For the most part, these are recipes for chefs more than home cooks. You really get to create what feels like a restaurant's secret dish, but be prepared for all the expense and work that goes into it. For instance, his pimiento ranch dressing calls for a ton of ingredients and two kinds of powdered cheeses. I much prefer a simple (but delicious) dressing you can whip up from basics in the cupboard. Likewise, while he sometimes uses foraged foods (yay!), he assumes you're buying them from some regional distributor and does not give any information about using the wild foods that are all around if you're lucky enough to live in the region. His copious use of ramps (with bulbs) will also annoy the ramp police (yes, it's a thing in the foraging community) since ramps are quite endangered in some places and it's important to be informed about the ethics of purchasing and foraging ramps responsibly.

~ While it's full of beautiful photography, there are not photos of all the dishes. For cooks who want a photo of each recipe, this may be a disappointment.

~ This is not a book suitable for vegetarians or especially vegans without heavy adaptations. Animal products are used in almost everything and in multiple ways. Expect to use lots of lard, heavy cream, etc. This is a disappointment, as some of the best chefs embrace the challenge of also cooking wonderful food for their vegetarian and vegan customers, and there are also some wonderful Southern vegan chefs.

~ This is probably not a good book for those who need to eat lighter or healthier. While fresh, whole foods are used, most of the dishes are high in calories and fat. No dietary information is provided. Paleo folks are likely to find a lot of recipes that they can use, though he uses lots of grains and oils like canola.

~ You need special equipment for some recipes like a steam juicer, an electric pressure cooker, etc. and some recipes must be cooked over coals or fire.

All that said, I loved the variety of recipes and how much information he packed into this book. This really is a primer on making all kinds of wonderful foods (including delicious staples) and for understanding Southern cooking. I do plan on ordering some of his recommended products and am looking forward to trying many of his recipes, while adapting them to my Minnesota kitchen.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for purpose of review.

[Benjamin Minor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful cookbook with tremendous philosophy on the heritage and culture of food - also great section on how to maintain and stock a pantry 👌👌

[Marguerite Hargreaves · Rating 2 out of 5]

A beautiful book, and thoughtful prose from Sean Brock in the intro to explain his approach to cooking and some geographical distinctions to demonstrate how rich and varied the cuisines and ingredients of the South are. I especially like the attention given to heirloom varieties of vegetables (and livestock).

But, I'm not inspired to cook even one recipe. The ingredients are problematic, for starters. I'm a gardener and worked in a retail food business, but I'd be hard-pressed to locate and afford some of the ingredients in the recipes. My sorghum syrup is made nearby. My tomatoes come from my yard. These recipes remove the most important dynamic for me as a cook: creativity and improvisation. My grits are made with stock or milk or both and dry mustard. They come from a variety of sources. (Good thing, too. The variety of Anson Mills grits specified aren't available.) I use a product from Byrd Mill in Va., Barkley's Mill in Weaverville, NC. Or Geechie Boy Mill grits. I used to sell (and still savor) S. Wallace Edwards & Sons Virginia hams. (I put some into my gumbo, too.) I love the cheese from Box Carr in Cedar Grove, NC. And, my peanuts are from Hubs, in Sedley, Va. Each ingredient was the result of a quest, just like my food is a result of an ongoing conversation with ingredients and the truest expression of myself I can put on a plate and give to someone.

If you follow recipes painstakingly, this might be a good cookbook for you. (My current go-to is the Southern Foodways Alliance cookbook.) But, if you want to eat Sean Brock's food, make a reservation at one of his restaurants.

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but Sean Brock's South had me at first glance - inked forearm clutching the spoils of a forage? Yes, momma, give me some more. However, this book has some depth beyond the hipster eye-candy here. This is an exploration of the beloved Southern food culture that includes fried chicken, shrimp and grits, okra stew, and collard greens. The recipes are tried and true, yet elevated.

Unfortunately, it was the stunning photography that didn't resonate with me. Yeah, you heard me right - the photography was STUNNING. But not appetizing. It was more concerned with style than showing the food as, well, food. Add to that the intimidatingly long ingredient lists and it felt like a chore to use for actual cooking. Don't tsk me, though. I gave it a fair shot, and I tried out some of the "easier" recipes like the Fried Green Tomatoes and the Hot Water Cornbread. They turned out great, but I wouldn't ever turn to this book for anything more than a beautiful coffee table show piece.

Thank you to Sean Brock, Artisan Books, and NetGalley for allowing me early access to the e-book for this review. As always, all opinions are my own.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing, and based on what I am seeing in some reviews, sometimes misunderstood.

This isn't a cookbook you can just check out from the library and cook a couple of dishes from. This is a cookbook you have to own. Cooking your way through it is a multiple months long project.

This is a book for people who want to dive into Southern food in a meaningful way. Brock includes a chapter on pantry staples and a chapter on basics, and though they are at the end of the book, they are probably where a reader should begin cooking.

It makes me sad that some people don't get the beauty of this book. This isn't a book of discrete recipes. It's a document of Southern foodways. And there's a big difference there. Brock isn't teaching readers how to make a dish, he's teaching them how to feed a family and community over time.

So, people looking for a more superficial book with some Southern™ recipes will be disappointed with this book. But people who are looking for something deeper will be well-served by this book. Build a pantry. Master some basics. Then move onto something more complicated.

It's harvest season where I live, and we're past the point in the year that some of the pantry building is possible. But I'll plan to refer to this book in late winter to plan my garden, to plan my pantry, and then dive into this book in the way it deserves.

[Penmouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

South by Sean Brock is an okay book and a cookbook I'd probably buy to read and enjoy the color photos. Some of the recipes are not what I remembered eating as a child down South but some of the recipes do remind me of my childhood. I also liked seeing clear canning information given for the canning recipes.

Bottom line consider this an upscale Southern-style cookibook.

Here are some of the recipes you'll find in his cookbook:

Shrimp and Grits with Roasted Tomatoes, Fennel and Sausage
Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salad
Grilled Swordfish with Green Gumbo
Chicken Breasts with Herb Dumplings
Sweet Potato Puree
Ladies Cabbage
Green Beans
Limpin'' Susan
Fried Apples
Canned Greasy Beans
Fruit Preserves
Buttermilk Pie
Sweet Potato Pie
Caramel Cake
Sweet Tea

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guy's cookbooks make me feel very conflicted. They are gorgeous, delicious, and teach the reader an awful lot about his subject--Southern cuisine in all its regional glory--but I'm not totally convinced by his attitude or by his recipe selection.

Very little in his books feel accessible to laymen like me. Maybe his purpose is more to provide a text for the professional chef? I can't tell you. All I know is that, save for a moderate few recipes, I feel chronically overwhelmed by his ingredients list with all of its super-strict specifics (ik ik he says substitute as you like but...the average home chef would be substituting a good half of the ingredients list for just about all his recipes. Not just swapping out wild spring onions for green onions, etc).

Additionally, for a book about Southern cuisine...there are like. Four entire recipes that feature beans. In a nearly 400 pg cookbook. Which 1) doesn't make sense 2) makes me wonder if he has some personal issue with beans? Did he get the bean farts in front of an old gf's family? Does he just not know how to cook beans? I get that pork, in all its glorious salty, fatty renditions, is more appetizing than a pot of beans. But you expect me to be shelling out for sheepshead steaks, then won't teach me how to make good food out of the dried beans and rice I'll be eating the rest of the month after that splurge?

I think this book, as with his other one HERITAGE, puts forth an excellent argument for why Southern cuisine should command more respect from professional chefs and the greater professional cooking world. But I feel like the book's pretty pictures are the only thing in reach for regular home chefs like me.

end note: I've read a fair number of new cookbooks by white southern chefs, most which only occasionally mention Black roots in Southern cuisine. Those who don't prominently and frequently discuss & credit the role Black Americans played in the development of southern cooking are suspicious. Black Americans created this cuisine (which has been argued should be called Soul cooking or African-American cuisine, not just Southern food). We all (but especially white chefs who make southern food their focus) can put in an awful lot more effort towards acknowledging that fact--including Sean Brock. Thanks

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everything I love about Sean Brock, his puritanical dedication to Southern cuisine, his ability to rescue the most humble ingredients and elevate them to show stoppers what is love of all things fresh, brought me to buy this book.
Divided evenly across appetizers to desserts, no doubt that his recipes are reproducible and delicious.
I do have doubts that I can grow my own olives and press my own olive oil in Tennessee. Brock shares some purveyors of his ingredients but generally encourages the audience to make everything from their own oils and vinegars to growing their own produce leaving the books recipes hard for most of us to recapitulate.
Even with simple salads, I had to make so many compromises I wasn't sure that I was even able to capture the essence of what he was trying to convey.
All this being said, it's a beautifully photographed and documented book and clearly has captured his life's passion. I just don't think I can realistically cook any of the things in it.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful cookbook that I may end up buying this one. In the introduction Brock talks about his history in the South and how he got into cooking. He also explains about the microregions of the South and how the same ingredients can be used very differently in different regions, but it's all food of the South. He also talks about the importance of eating and cooking seasonally and sourcing heirloom ingredients. The recipes are organized traditionally by snacks, soups and salads, poultry and meat, vegetables and sides, etc. Brock also gives 5 different recipes for cornbread! Throughout the book Brock has sections with other tips/topics like caring for and seasoning cast iron and canning seasonal produce. Overall, there were LOTS of recipes I'd like to try and this looks like an amazing book.

[Collin Dunbar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Sean's food. This book and Heritage are both fantastic, but they have a cookbook problem that absolutely kills my wallet: they emphasize specific specialty ingredients, some of them hyper local and seasonal. This book prompted several huge shopping sprees with Anson Mills, filled my pantry with Duke's Mayo and compelled me to hunt for pickled ramps online for weeks before finding some at a farmers market years later. Sean's recipe that I use the most is not in his books, it's the burger recipe from his time at Husk. I still have not had a burger that tops the one I had at his (now closed) "listening bar" The Continental in downtown Nashville, but the combo of chuck/hanger steak/bacon he recommends for his signature grind is legit and I use it for almost all of my burger grinds now. This book is a treat and I look forward to his next one, and to visiting Joyland and Audrey next time I'm in Nashville.

[Meganne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sean Brock is a well seasoned chef and has brought his skills and research to this wonderfully curated book but to call it ‘South’ sells the reader a bit short. The reader can tell Brock is well versed in ingredients from his home states but this cookbook falls short of encompassing ingredients and recipes that fall outside of Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina. When I settled into this book to find recipes from the region I hail from, I was a bit disappointed in the diversity of origins the recipes originate. For someone not well versed in southern food and culture, this cookbook will suffice but it does not wholly capture the full southern culinary scene.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I confess that I often skim or skip cookbook intros, but I am glad I read this one. Don’t miss it. It is essential to setting up and understanding the intent of the recipes. I found it interesting that another review mentioned that the ingredients seemed too specific, but he is very clear in the beginning that these should be taken as inspiration and history, and one should leave out or change based on one’s own preference.

[Rhiannon Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook is gorgeous and extremely informative about Southern cuisine.

I included it in my book feature "Season’s Readings: Deck Your Shelves with These New Holiday Releases" (Johns Creek Lifestyle magazine, December 2019) which you can see here: https://issuu.com/lifestylepubs/docs/...

[Margery Osborne · Rating 3 out of 5]

the way he broke down southern cuisine and gave examples of different versions of the same recipe for different regions was interesting. but honestly none of the recipes were compelling enough for me to want to make them. there are other, better, southern cookbooks out there. my go-to is still Edna Lewis

[Charity M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I will probably not be making my own bologna I do feel inspired to make more of an effort to get locally grown, in season, heritage ingredients. Especially during the summer. I'm also really looking forward to trying some of the recipes here. I will try to update as I try them, at least for the 1st few.

[Joe Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those rare cookbooks that is the perfect blend of interesting stories, gorgeous photos, and recipes that even when they use ingredients I do not like I still want to try because of how he presented them!

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book. The photography is gorgeous. It's a great gift idea for anyone who loves Sean Brock. It's not necessarily a practical cookbook, at least not at my skill level. I'm never going to make my own butter or hot sauce, but hey, some people will - and this book is for them.

[Cynde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at farm to table cooking. An in-depth discussion of the food , the history and the classic and inventive recipes from the ingredients grown in the south. This is a book to devour with the mind as well as the tastebuds. Love it!!

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, it's a cookbook by a chef, so I won't call the instructions necessarily "simple," but mostly they seem do-able. And Sean's commentary is genuine southern Appalachian. I may have to break down and buy this one.

[Maureen Flatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just a great cookbook but a great read.

[Ash Crowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, recipes are overly complicated and I'm not sure I'll ever actually cook anything from it. (for example, I'm never making my own butter.) But the photography is gorgeous.

[Emily D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Sean Brock. So thoughtful and creative and intense. Wonderful.

[Kerrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book, but the ingredients would be so hard to source. I'm afraid it is going to go in the category of books that have recipes I'd love to make, but never will.

[Arielle Flowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every recipe we have tried we have loved

[Pineapple Pizza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book. Sadly, not everyone has access to a grill every day. If you have no BBQ, you can aim for (most of) the salads.