Introduction
Welcome, food enthusiasts and flavor seekers! Today, we’re delving into the heartwarming world of succotash, a dish that’s not only rich in history but also a celebration of vibrant flavors and wholesome ingredients. Join me as we explore the origins of succotash, its evolution through time, and what typically goes into crafting this delicious medley.
Exploring the Roots: The Origin of Succotash
Succotash, a name that dances off the tongue, traces its roots back to Native American cuisine. The term itself is derived from the Narragansett word “msÃckquatash,” meaning boiled corn kernels. This simple yet hearty dish became a staple in Native American diets, often featuring a harmonious blend of corn, beans, and other seasonal vegetables.
The Evolution of a Culinary Classic
As European settlers embraced Native American ingredients and cooking techniques, succotash began to evolve. What was once a humble combination of corn and beans transformed into a culinary canvas, with regional variations introducing a myriad of ingredients. Today, succotash stands as a testament to the melding of cultures and the celebration of fresh, local produce.
Crafting Your Succotash Masterpiece
Creating succotash is a culinary journey, and the beauty lies in its adaptability. Play with ingredients, savor the seasonal offerings, and let your kitchen become a canvas for this timeless dish. Whether served as a side, a main course, or even stuffed in a roasted pepper, succotash is a versatile symphony waiting to be conducted by your culinary creativity.
Ingredients
- 1 package of okra (About 15)
- 6 new potatoes
- 2 yellow squash
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 4 cobs of corn
- 3 chicken breasts
- 1 sausage link (Turkey in this recipe, could be pork)
Preparing the Blackstone
For this cook, I want to cook everything as evenly as possible. I really want to make sure that one section of the succotash isn’t burning while the other is undercooked. I set each dial between low and medium heat as evenly as I possibly could. I then oiled the Blackstone with Whirl butter flavored oil and let it begin to heat up.
Prepping the Medley of Meat and Vegetables
This is probably the most time consuming part of the cook. When preparing the meat and vegetables we want to cut things down into bite sized pieces so that it is easy to get a combination of flavors into one delicious bite. I got one large piece of Tupperware to throw all of my cut pieces in to before I transferred all the ingredients to the Blackstone.
I first began with slicing the okra. I cut each piece of okra as similarly in size as possible. Each piece of okra was likely sliced into 4-5 even slices. After slicing each slice of okra, I took the core and seeds out of the orange and yellow bell pepper. I then sliced those down into bite size pieces. I did the same for the onion, squash, and potatoes. All were sliced down and placed into the Tupperware.
After adding all the sliced vegetables it was time to add the key ingredient, corn. I took each cob of corn and sliced the kernels off. After all the corn was off the cob it was placed into the Tupperware.
Now, vegetables are great and all, but I would not make this dish without adding some meat. That just wouldn’t be like us! So we decided to add some chicken and turkey sausage to the dish. You can sub a regular pork sausage, bacon, beef, or any other meat that you would like to this dish! We decided to stick with chicken and sausage though. I cut the chicken into cubes, and sliced the sausage into quarters. I added the sausage to the vegetable medley, but kept the chicken separate. It was now time to transfer everything to the Blackstone.
Time to Cook
Once everything is chopped and ready to go, place your vegetable medley and sausage on one side of the Blackstone spread out as much possible. We want to ensure that there are not different ingredients stacked on top of each other causing an uneven cook. Place your chicken separate from the medley on the other side of the Blackstone.
Now that you have everything laid out, I poured some garlic infused olive oil on the medley and seasoned the medley and the chicken. I used my, “Gotcha” seasoning, which is a rub that includes salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne, brown sugar, and other spices. It is a sweet heat recipe that I typically use on chicken and ribs. I like to season once everything is on the Blackstone because everything is spread out and the seasoning will be more evenly distributed. You can season beforehand if that works better for you, but this is what I do.
At this point it is just a waiting game. I liked to move the medley around about every 5 minutes or so to ensure that vegetables were being flipped and that all the flavors were mixing together. There is no perfect way to mix, I just literally moved everything around. Once your chicken is fully cooked on the side, mix in with the other medley of items and let it all cook together continuing to mix every so often.
Finding when this was “done” was probably the hardest part of this cook. What I decided to do was to go off of the potatoes. The potatoes are the item that cook the slowest out of everything in there. After about 20-25 minutes I began poking the potatoes to check if they were done. I even picked one up and took a bite out of it at one point. After almost 30 minutes, it was all finally done.
Some of you may be thinking, “won’t everything else burn while you are waiting on the potatoes?” The answer, for me anyway, was no. As long as you keep moving everything around, nothing burned and it was all cooked fantastic.
Enjoy!
Once everything is cooked, Move your succotash into a large skillet and serve to enjoy! This was a big time hit with my family. My kids, and myself, don’t always enjoy vegetables, but this was a great mixture of flavors that the whole family loved! Super easy cook that I hope you can enjoy!
Conclusion
As we celebrate succotash, let’s raise our forks to the indigenous communities who first crafted this culinary masterpiece. Through the years, succotash has endured, offering us a taste of history and a vibrant celebration of the bountiful harvest. So, head to your kitchen, embrace the colors of the season, and savor the harmonious melody of succotash on your plate.
Whether you enjoy it as a comforting side dish or a star of the meal, succotash invites us all to partake in a timeless journey of flavor.
Here is a LINK to my Instagram to watch the video of this cook!
Happy cooking, Kaydon
