With the end of summer and the smell of fall in the air, the annual tradition of football is once again a part of our weekend ritual. Whether you’re a regular at a Saints game, part of the festivities on the Grove at Ole Miss or rooting for alma maters like Mississippi State or LSU, we embrace the new season with a passion rarely seen in other sports. Opening The Flora Butcher brought some very nostalgic memories from my high school football days in Louisiana when we would come up to play the very capable team at Flora’s Tri County Academy. So with that in mind, we’ve created a delicious Tri County inspired tailgate menu guaranteed to satisfy. Our photos were shot on the school’s football field at the beginning of the 2017 season. Go Rebels.
One of the things that we feel lucky to have at the shop are all of the Mississippi made products on our shelves and in our display cases. My staff and I use them regularly in our homes but we also use them in the test kitchen when we want to experiment with an idea for a new dish. The recipes that follow all use our local products.
The Mississippi Rueben Sandwich
A classic grilled Rueben Sandwich includes 5 ingredients. Corned beef, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, Russian dressing and rye bread. This variation substitutes comeback for the Russian dressing and we couldn’t be happier about the end result. And if you’re going to use comeback, might as well be Crechale’s!
6 slices of New York style rye bread
1 lb sliced Wagyu corned beef
1 ½ cups sauerkraut
9 each thin slices swiss cheese
4-5 ounces of Crechale’s comeback dressing plus more for dipping
Salt and Pepper to taste
Distribute the corned beef over three slices of rye bread. Then do the same with the sauerkraut. Top the sauerkraut with three slices of swiss cheese per sandwich. Finish with two or three tablespoons of comeback and salt and pepper to taste. Put the three remaining slices of rye bread on top of each one. Wrap the sandwiches in plastic wrap and take them to the game. Once there and the grill is going. Heat up each sandwich off of the direct flame until the bread is toasted and the cheese has melted. You can do this part at home but it never seems to taste the same once you get to the game. Cut them into fourths for a group or halves for just a few people.
Boudin Balls Growing up in Louisiana, tailgating has always included walking from tent to tent, talking to friends and seeing who had the best boudin balls. These hearty snacks are simple so the winner was always someone who made their own boudin and didn’t cut any corners while doing it. The Flora Butcher is lucky enough to have beautiful milk and bread fed pigs from Wesson Mississippi and we use them to make our boudin in house.
1-2 lbs boudin rolled into 1 inch balls
Seasoned Flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Egg wash
2 eggs beaten
1.5 ounce local milk (we use Kin Growers from Rolling Fork, Mississippi) 2 cups panko that has been pulsed in a food processor just enough to smooth it out a little
Vegetable oil or Lard for deep frying(we make our own of course)
Mix all of the dry ingredients together, except or the panko, in a medium size bowl. In another bowl. Wisk the eggs and milk together until smooth. Add the panko to a third bowl. Line the bowls up- Seasoned Flour-Egg Wash-Panko. In small batches, drop the boudin balls in the seasoned flour, then move to the egg wash, keeping one hand dry, and then to the panko using the dry hand to help coat each ball. Move to a plate and let sit for a good 15 minutes to allow the coating to “set”. In the meantime, heat your lard or vegetable oil until it reaches 350 degrees. After the boudin balls have had time to set, fry them in small batches for around 3 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a resting rack to cool and then pack them for the game. I always heat mine up on the grill using an aluminum pan but off of the direct heat. Goes great with remoulade or comeback.
Pasta Salad Gluten can just get out of my way on this one. I welcome any excuse to eat pasta and a “make it now and eat it later” dish like this one is a must have to go with the somewhat heavy tailgating foods out there. In Flora, we have Two Dog Farm that is quite literally walking distance from the shop. In this recipe, we have paired their produce with Italian pasta and Vito’s dressing. Out of Leland Mississippi, Vito’s is one of those things that goes great on anything. Even a baked potato. But I think it shines the best this way.
1 pound package of multicolored rotini, cooked
1 small red onion, medium/small dice
1 cup sliced Italian Olives
8 ounces of Vito’s salad dressing
1 heirloom tomato, diced
1 large sweet pepper, medium dice
1 Zephyr squash, medium dice
1 cup small broccoli florets
Mix all of the ingredients together using only half of the Vito’s at first. Taste the mixture. Some people prefer a lightly dressed pasta salad and some like it strong. I would end up adding the rest and then taking the other half of the bottle with me to the game. Tasting it there to check again and then leaving the bottle on the table for the bold flavor enthusiasts.
Hoover Marinated Wagyu Kabobs
My first experience with Louise, Mississippi’s own Hoover Sauce did not go well. With a little more effort, I grew to appreciate this sauce/marinade for what it was and it’s ability to add wonderful flavor if used correctly. I still only marinate with it for 2 or 3 hours but the act of brushing it on during cooking has left me with kabobs that are a little salty with an Asian flavor and an almost candy coating to them. The number of variations of meats, fruits and veggies are endless. These focus more on the cut of wagyu I prefer for kabobs and what is growing right down the street at Salad Days and Two Dog Farm. They share a driveway and are two of the finest produce growers in Mississippi.
1 ½-2 lbs wagyu sirloin cut into 1 inch cubes, marinated in Hoover for 2-3 hours
1 zephyr squash sliced in ¼ inch disks
1 zucchini sliced into ¼ inch disks
1 red onion cut into 1 ½ inch squares
1-2 cherry tomatoes for each kabob
1 head Salad Days bibb lettuce
Use bamboo or metal skewers to make your kabobs, alternating meat and the veggies to create an eye appealing end product. As you cook to your desired temperature! Continue to brush on Hoover sauce and let it form a sticky layer on the outside of the kabob. Layer the presentation plate with bibb lettuce leaves. I like them for presentation but I also like to make little lettuce wraps as I eat the kabobs and the bibb is perfect for that.
Fried Chicken and Hot Wings
I put these together because they involve the same ingredient. We only have small, young chickens at The Flora Butcher. They are almost impossible to find in a supermarket but we get ours from a company that is still willing to produce these, less meaty but more tender, flavorful birds. They are the best.
Buffalo Wings, Mississippi Style
With the invention of Mother Clucker’s wing sauce from Starkville, Mississippi, buffalo style wings have never been easier. These are always a winner with the crowd that prefers baked chicken to deep fried.
Reserved chicken wings, cut at the joints to give you three pieces. Discard the wingtips. Enough Mother Clucker’s Buffalo style wing sauce to coat(about 4 ounces)
Bake the wings on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees until cooked through. About 18 minutes. In a bowl, toss the wings together with the sauce while still warm. Once cooled, move them to a ziplock bag for transporting to the game. If you plan to heat them up on the grill, bring a little extra Mother Clucker with you.
