Cameron M. Ludwick - Famous Kentucky Flavors: Exploring the Commonwealths Greatest Cuisines

MY OLD

Kentucky

ROAD TRIP

FAMOUS KENTUCKY FLAVORS

EXPLORING THE COMMONWEALTHS GREATEST CUISINES

CAMERON M. LUDWICK

&

BLAIR THOMAS HESS

Photography by ELLIOTT HESS

INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS

This book is a publication of

Indiana University Press

Office of Scholarly Publishing

Herman B Wells Library 350

1320 East 10th Street

Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA

iupress.indiana.edu

2019 by Cameron M. Ludwick and

Blair Thomas Hess

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Cataloging information is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN 978-0-253-04510-2 (cloth)

ISBN 978-0-253-03925-5 (paperback)

ISBN 978-0-253-03926-2 (ebook)

1 2 3 4 5 24 23 22 21 20 19

All photos by Elliott Hess unless otherwise noted,

www.elliotthess.com.

To our culinary inspirations
and those who inspired them.
Thank you for your patience and advice
about cooking and all the rest.
We cherish our times spent together
in full, messy kitchens.

Contents

Acknowledgments

We consider ourselves experienced roadtrippers and even more seasoned eaters of good food. This left us uniquely poised to become experts of the states food festival scene and the history of the foods that inspired the celebrations. Or so we thought. As it turns out, theres more to writing a food book than just being willing and able to eat food. Consider it a lesson learned.

We are forever indebted to our fabulous photographer, Elliott Hess (www.elliotthess.com), who not only spent hours giving the Glamour Shots treatment to our food but also labored in the kitchen day after day to cook every famous Kentucky culinary creation that we dreamed up. We cant express how thankful we are for our personal goetta- and chicken-fryin, hot brownstackin, burgoo-simmerin, beer cheesebrewin, pie-bakin wonder chef. Oh, and he managed to take a few photos too.

Thanks to Ashley Runyon and her team of miracle workers at Indiana University Press, who so gracefully handle our ramblings.

And to our dear friend Alice at Speilburg Literary Agency: thank you for knowing when to push and when to pull. Your patience and wisdom are almost as invaluable as your years of friendship. Almost. As usual, we couldnt have pulled this off without you.

We cant possibly give enough praise to the hardworking Kentuckians across the Commonwealth who volunteer their time to put on these food celebrations each year. From the smallest task to the world-record-sized undertakings, please know that we appreciate all you do to make these unforgettable experiences for all of us.

We often tell folks that while we usually like what we see when we get there, in this line of work, its more about the journey than the destination. In this case we discovered that its more about the time spent together in the kitchenthe laughter, the stories, the tears, the funthan it is about what you pull out of that oven. Even when there are delicious results.

We hope Colonel Sanders and Carl Kaelin and Ruth Hanly had as much fun in the kitchen as we did and that they learned as much from their parents and grandparents as we managed toabout cooking and the tougher stuff, too. Thank you to our families for the years of time spent together in the kitchen and all of the great things that came out of it. Its a tradition we hope to pass on to our littlest and hungriest roadtripper.

And more than anything, thanks to those who do the dishes.

Calendar of Kentucky Food Festivals

Here is a guide to some of our favorite food festivals across the state. Please check the event websites for up-to-date schedules and information. Bon apptit!

APRIL

Tater DayBenton

Spring Chicken FestivalClinton

Mountain Mushroom FestivalIrvine

MAY

International Bar-B-Q FestivalOwensboro

JUNE

Seedtime on the CumberlandWhitesburg

Poke Sallet FestivalHarlan

Beer Cheese FestivalWinchester

JULY

Louisville Blues, Brews & BBQ FestivalLouisville

Bacon, Bourbon, and Brew FestivalNewport

Green River Catfish FestivalMorgantown

AUGUST

GoettafestNewport/Covington

Great Inland Seafood FestivalNewport

Crave Food and Music FestivalLexington

SEPTEMBER

Monroe County Watermelon FestivalTompkinsville

Mainstrasse OktoberfestCovington

Pecan FestivalHickman

Banana FestivalFulton

Kentucky State BBQ FestivalDanville

Kentucky Bourbon FestivalBardstown

Spoonbread FestivalBerea

Casey County Apple FestivalLiberty

World Chicken FestivalLondon

Anderson County Burgoo FestivalLawrenceburg

Morgan County Sorghum FestivalWest Liberty

BBQ on the RiverPaducah

Marion County Country Ham DaysLebanon

Seven Springs Sorghum FestivalSulphur Well

OCTOBER

Trigg County Country Ham FestivalCadiz

Kentucky Apple FestivalPaintsville

FAMOUS KENTUCKY FLAVORS

Introduction

President Abraham Lincoln once said, Food is essential to life, therefore make it good. Or perhaps that was one of our grandmothers who said that. Come to think of it, Kentuckys great Honest Abe was probably too busy changing the course of history to comment on good food, but we have no doubt that he was an appreciator of a home-cooked Kentucky meal. We can say this with confidence because food is a place of common groundits a universal experience that all creatures on the planet share in. Our friend Abe would appreciate that.

In Kentucky, there is a rich culinary history of meals shared and recipes cooked from a wide variety of backgrounds brought in by the settlers who forged through the Cumberland Gap and established the communities we inhabit today. Our food is as unique and diverse as our people, and from our beer-infused cheese and fried chicken to our spoonbread and candy made with bourbon, we Kentuckians know a thing or two about good eatin.

Just ask our grandmothers. Theyll meet you at the door with a one-armed hug and a Didge-eat-jet? (Thats Have you eaten within the hour? for you nonnatives.) And no matter your collective answers, theres a plate warming in the oven for all yall.