Regional American Cuisine exudes a sense of place — whether it’s Southern comfort food birthed in a bayou or Tex-Mex, a co-mingling of cooking traditions and ingredients from two neighboring geographies. In regional American Cuisine, local ingredients are prepared with the cooking techniques simmering in an area and cultivated by cultural traditions over generations.

“One thing I love about the Southern region is it just has so much comfort and love put into these recipes that have been staples for years and years,” said Brian Jupiter, executive chef of Pioneer Tavern Group in Chicago and 2019 and 2020 James Beard Awards semifinalist.

Eggs are a staple in regional American cuisines. The versatile ingredient can be used for making sauces, creating desserts or as a way to enhance other tasty ingredients.

Jupiter’s recipe for smoked pork shoulder with grits and a six-minute egg with Hollandaise sauce is broken down here into recipes for each component with the suggested way to put all the recipes together at the end.

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

Ingredients
​​10 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ cup water
1 tsp. Louisiana-style hot sauce
½ tsp. Salt
Chili powder, to taste

Directions
■ Melt butter; set aside.
■ Separate egg yolks. In top of double boiler, whisk yolks with water, lemon juice, and hot sauce. The mixture should start to lighten; keep whisking until a temperature of 160 degrees is reached.
■ Then while whisking, slowly drizzle in the melted butter. The sauce will thicken and coat the back of a spoon.
■ Finish by whisking in salt and chili powder. Remove from heat.
■ Keep at 160 degrees in an airtight container until ready to serve.

SMOKED PORK SHOULDER

Ingredients
¾ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup paprika
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. granulated onion
2 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
½ cup kosher salt
½ cup black pepper
2 Tbsp. mustard powder
1 pork shoulder roast (about 8 lbs.)
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup barbecue sauce (for plating)

Directions
■ Mix brown sugar and dry spices.
■ Drizzle oil over pork shoulder to coat.
■ Rub spice mix onto pork surface; place in covered bowl and refrigerate for 24 hrs.
■ Smoke pork shoulder at 200° F to 210° F until an internal temperature of at least 145°F, about 4 to 6 hours and meat is able to be pulled.

GRITS

Ingredients
3 ½ cups heavy cream
3 ¼ cups water
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped thyme leaves
1 ½ Tbsp. salt
½ tsp. ground pepper
4 Tbsp. butter
1 ½ cups stone ground grits, coarse
1 cup fresh corn kernels
½ lb. shredded Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp. chives, cut fine

Directions
■ In a 1-gallon stockpot, combine heavy cream, water, thyme, salt, pepper, and butter. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat.
■ Stir in grits until well combined. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Cook 12 to 14 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.
■ Add corn; cook uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in cheese and chives. Adjust seasonings to taste, if necessary.

6-MINUTE EGG

Ingredients
Warm water
Salt
8 large eggs, pasteurized in shell

Directions
■ Add warm water, salt, and eggs to large pot.
■ Turn to high heat and cook for six minutes.
■ Take off heat; remove eggs from pot and place in an ice bath.
■ Peel eggs; set aside for plating.

Plating
■ Heat oil in sauté pan.
■ Add shredded pork and move around to heat thoroughly until it gets a little crispy on the outside.
■ Add barbecue sauce to coat pork.
■ For each serving, plate pork on top of grits, top with microgreens or arugula. Place six-minute egg on side. Pour hollandaise over egg.

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