Cook's Country

-"Cook's Country" is about more than just getting dinner on the table.

We're also fascinated by the people and stories behind the dishes.

We go inside kitchens in every corner of the country to learn how real people cook.

And we look back through time to see how history influences the way we eat today.

We bring that inspiration back to our test kitchen so we can share it with you.

This is "Cook's Country."

Today on "Cook's Country," Ashley makes pork chops with bourbon-cherry sauce and sweet potatoes.

Then Bryan visits South Carolina and shares his version of barbecue hash.

That's all right here on "Cook's Country."

-Funding for this program has been provided by the following.

-Monument Grills, offering innovative technology and design for the grilling enthusiast.

With a lineup of gas grills to suit every level, our mission is to ignite your passion to pursue the art of grilling.

Learn more at monumentgrills.com.

-I'm a big fan of recipes that take the entire meal into account, so that the flavors all match and all the timing has been ironed out.

And today, Ashley has promised to show me such a meal that includes three of my favorite ingredients -- pork chops, sweet potatoes, and bourbon.

-Mm-hmm.

Can't go wrong with a little bourbon.

-Nope.

-And the best thing about this recipe is that it uses all pantry-friendly ingredients, and it comes together in under 40 minutes.

-I love this idea.

-Yeah.

So we're going to start with the sweet potatoes.

So I've got 2 pounds of some sweet potatoes that I went ahead and peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices.

-Mm-hmm.

-I'm going to add that directly to the saucepan here.

And we're only going to use a little bit of liquid to cook the potatoes, and that way we're going to have a really concentrated, strong sweet potato flavor.

-Mm-hmm.

-So this is 1/2 cup of chicken broth.

Of course you could use water if you didn't have any.

-Mm-hmm.

-I have 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter.

And finally I've got 3/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

Now I'll just put the cover on and I'm going to cook this for about 20 minutes over medium heat.

-Okay.

I love cooking sweet potatoes like this.

Now, you couldn't substitute regular potatoes because they don't contain enough moisture.

Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, have so much moisture they actually will steam themselves right in the pot.

-Mm-hmm.

So let's move on down to our pork chops.

We've got some beautiful pork chops.

And before I do anything, I want to make a spice mixture.

-Ooh, fun.

-Now, I mentioned pantry ingredients.

Now I've got some pumpkin pie spice, which, as you know, has a ton of different ingredients.

We're talking allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger.

-Maybe a little clove.

-Exactly.

And a little bit of clove.

And it's just 1/4 teaspoon in here because a little bit does say hello to you.

And we have 1 teaspoon of some pepper.

-Mm-hmm.

-And 1 teaspoon of salt.

I'm just going to give that a mix.

Alright.

That is all set for us.

Now let's turn our attention to these pork chops.

They are bone-in rib pork chops, 3/4 inch to 1 inch thick each.

And they're about 8 to 10 ounces each.

And it's just important, as you know, to buy pork chops that are even in width, even in size, just so that they all cook at the same rate.

-Mm-hmm.

-So I'm going to just pat them dry with some paper towels before I add the spice mixture.

Now let's season evenly on both sides, and seasoning from up high is a really good way to make sure that the salt and the pepper and that pumpkin spice blend are getting all over the chops evenly.

-Mm-hmm.

-So now I've got 1 tablespoon of some melted unsalted butter here in the 12-inch nonstick skillet.

I'm going to cook the chops for about 6 minutes on the first side until they're golden brown.

-Okay.

-And that's going to be over medium-high heat.

Alright.

And in the meantime I'm going to go wash up.

-Okay.

-It's been 6 minutes, so let's take a look at the chops.

Just going to flip them over.

Oh, baby!

-Mmm!

-They look gorgeous.

-They do.

-I'm gonna let these go for another about 6 minutes or so until the internal temperature registers 140 degrees.

-Alright.

-Let's take a look at the pork chops.

So I'm going to take the internal temperature again.

We're looking for about 140 degrees.

141 on the nose.

-Perfect.

-Nailed it!

-And that's the key to cooking a good pork chop that's not too dry -- aiming between 140 and 145.

-Alright.

So I'm going to take these out of the skillet now and let them hang out and rest while we finish the rest of our recipe.

Let's tent this with some foil.

-Alright.

-Now I'm going to go back to sweet potato land down here.

-[ Laughs ] -I'm going to see how we're all doing.

Again, it's been 20 minutes, and as you can see, all of that liquid just stayed trapped in there, and the moisture, like you mentioned, really did a great job of cooking in the saucepan.

-Mm-hmm.

-I'm just using the tip of a paring knife, and as you can see, these are cooked.

-Yep.

Perfectly tender.

-Perfectly tender.

Alright, I'm going to turn the heat off.

And then I've got our handy-dandy immersion blender.

-I love it.

-And so what I'm going to do is I'm just going to go in there and just blend it until smooth.

[ Blender whirring ] Alright, so these are done.

I'll cover it with a lid just to make sure it stays warm for us.

-Nice.

-But let's make a sauce down here.

Again, the pork chops are resting.

We have all those built-in times with this recipe.

So just over medium heat, I'm going to add some frozen cherries that I actually quartered ahead of time.

And it's eight ounces.

-Yum.

-Yeah.

And naturally, bourbon, 1/4 cup of bourbon.

And yeah, I mean, you don't want to cook with anything that you wouldn't want to drink, so.

And then we've got 1 tablespoon of orange marmalade.

Really good trick for getting a little bit of sweetness on here.

But the consistency here too is going to help with the texture of the sauce.

And 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

And 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

And I'm just going to combine this.

-Mmm.

That smells good.

-I know.

So now, because time is of the essence, I'm going to make a cornstarch slurry with some chicken broth.

I've got 1 teaspoon of cornstarch here and 1/2 cup of chicken broth.

-Nice.

This is going to turn that into more of a sauce.

-Yep.

It's going to just slightly thicken it in about 3 minutes.

-Wow.

Nice and fast.

-Yep.

Alright, Julia, the 3 minutes is up.

That is looking absolutely gorgeous.

Slightly thickened.

-It really is beautiful.

-And now I have 2 more tablespoons of butter, unsalted, that I'm just going to add off the heat.

And this is just going to help to slightly thicken the sauce a little bit more and just provide a little bit more of that buttery richness.

-Mm-hmm.

-Okay.

-Mm, gorgeous.

-Thank you.

Yeah.

We've got our sweet potatoes here.

-Lovely.

-Our pork chops.

May I serve you?

-Absolutely.

-Okay.

Now I'm going to add some sweet potatoes.

It gives a little beautiful color.

-Mm-hmm.

-And pork chop.

There we go.

-Oh-oh-oh!

-Mm!

And finally some of this delicious-looking sauce.

-Oh, that sauce looks amazing.

-Mm-hmm.

There you go.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

Give you some chives.

-Oh!

Perfect.

I've got my knife ready.

[ Both laugh ] -Don't wait.

-This looks so good.

-Oh, good.

-Ah!

And it came together so quickly.

-It really did.

-Alright.

I'm going right in for the pork chop.

Oh, some of that sauce on it.

-Mm-hmm.

-Mmm!

The sauce has a real depth of flavor.

It's not overly sweet.

-Mnh-mnh.

-Which you could be fooled into thinking because it has all those cherries and that marmalade.

But no, it has a real savory flavor thanks to the fond in the pan and that chicken broth.

-Yeah, absolutely.

And the pumpkin pie spice is subtle.

-Yeah.

-You do get it in there.

-Mmm!

Sweet potatoes are perfectly cooked, very silky.

-Very smooth.

-And I love how the flavors on the pork chop and the sauce and the sweet potatoes, it all goes together.

-Yeah.

It really works well together.

-Mm-hmm.

-Also gives a little bit subtle onion flavor from the chives.

-Mm-hmm.

I love it.

Oh, this is such a good fall dish.

Nicely done.

Thank you.

-You're welcome.

-If you want to make this easy but fabulous pork chop dinner, start by cooking sweet potatoes in a little liquid before blending it right in the pot.

Season the pork chops with a little pumpkin pie spice and cook the chops until they register 140 degrees.

From "Cook's Country," a fabulous meal of pork chops with a bourbon-cherry sauce and sweet potatoes.

I love meals like this.

You don't have to think about it, you know.

Just follow the instructions and it turns out incredible.

-One foot in front of the other.

Mm-hmm.

-[ Laughs ] -Mm.

-South Carolina has its own way of doing things.

-South Carolina is made up of God's country.

We do things a little slower here, and that's okay.

-And the state's rich barbecue traditions are no exception.

In South Carolina, whole-hog barbecue reigns supreme.

But the true unsung hero of the South Carolina barbecue plate is hash.

-Hash is a southern delicacy here.

I mean, it's just a taste that you can't find anywhere else.

-To figure out why hash is so important to the culture here, I met up with historian Saddler Taylor and barbecue expert Garland Hudgins.

-What people forget about barbecue is it's a lot of work.

-That's right.

-I mean, this is not something that you can pick up casually and just kind of do.

It is a lot of hot, sweaty work.

Yeah.

-It's something you are.

It's in your blood.

-Though it may not be pretty, hash is an important part of South Carolina's culinary history.

Many people credit enslaved cooks along the Savannah River with creating the dish as a way to make use of less desirable cuts from the pig.

-I think hash was born out of a necessity.

Historically, when you are trying to use everything that you have on the farm, you're going to save the good cuts of meat to do your barbecue and then take all the extra parts, grind them up and make something edible out of it.

-So at first glance, hash doesn't look like much.

How do you get past the looks?

-For myself, the first time I saw it, I was like, "What is that?

And why is it that color?"

But I agree.

You eat with your eyes first.

I agree with that.

But get past that... -You'll pretty much never find hash outside of South Carolina, but within the state, there are countless versions that vary from region to region.

-It's all about what people grow up with.

The Midlands was settled predominantly by Germans.

That's where you get the mustard influence.

You know, a lot of the upstate, some of it's more of a tomato-based and then the Pee Dee, more of a pepper vinegar.

-It's now something you almost have to have in your restaurant, and you will be judged by your hash just as much as you would be judged by your barbecue.

-There's no way I could taste the hundreds of hash variations South Carolina has to offer in one short trip, but I wanted to sample a couple of the best, so I narrowed it down to two of the most beloved spots in the state, each with their own unique take on the South Carolina classic.

My first stop was True BBQ in West Columbia, South Carolina.

-There's good barbecue, there's great barbecue, and then there's True BBQ, baby!

[ Laughs ] -True BBQ was started in 2010 by Milton Zanders and his brother Ernest, and they learned to cook barbecue the way most folks do around here.

-We learned from our dad and granddad.

We'd be around that fire while they were cooking that pig, and Granddad or Dad would say, "Go get this, boy" or "go get that" or "go get this."

We were the go-getters.

We went and got what they needed in order to cook that pig.

-True's hash is very unique, with chopped pork swimming in a slightly sweet and peppery sauce.

And according to Milton, people love it.

-We have a sign out there on the side of the road.

It says "the best hash and rice in South Carolina."

And I've had many people, man, Bryan, ask me, "Are you sure you got the best hash around here?"

Sign's still up, baby!

[ Laughs ] -The thing I like about this hash is that it's got a really nice balance to it.

It's not too sharp, not too spicy, not too sweet.

There's a good pepper note to it.

But my South Carolina hash tour wouldn't be complete without sampling the much-loved mustard version.

And that's the version that David Hite has been perfecting for decades.

-I've been doing it for -- I think I was I would say between 5 and 6 years old.

My house is right next door here, so my dad would bam on my bedroom window.

"David, come down here and help me."

I'd get dressed, come down here.

-Everything at Hite's is done the old-fashioned way over a wood-burning fire.

And that includes their smoky, rich hash.

-I think what makes us unique is these pits.

You know, we go out, cut firewood, split firewood, and we cook with nothing but fire.

Unless you're cooking it out here with wood, shoveling coals up underneath the meat and cooking it all night and all day, then you ain't cooking barbecue.

-The hash starts by adding pork shoulders, hams and beef clods to a big cast-iron kettle with onions, salt and pepper.

It's then covered in water and cooked until the meat is tender.

After the bones have been removed, the meat is run through a grinder.

Then the broth is seasoned with cayenne and black pepper before the meat is added back.

Then, before the final simmer, David adds vinegar, sugar, and the signature yellow mustard that makes this style of hash so distinct.

So are you looking at it for the color to know how much mustard to put in there?

-I mean, it turns really, really yellow, but as it cooks, give it an hour and a lot of that yellowness will be gone.

-After waiting patiently for hours, it was finally time to eat.

-Go check it.

-I'm gonna go lean into it.

I'll be back.

-Okay.

-And David's hash was definitely worth the wait.

It's really, really fantastic.

So, the mustard, when he first added, it had this really sharp note to it.

Now it's kind of mellowed after an hour of simmering.

It's taken on more of that brothiness.

The pepper and the cayenne that he added adds a nice little heat in the front and back of the throat.

Texture's really nice.

It's really a fantastic combination.

South Carolina barbecue is so much more than a collection of regional recipes.

It's the people and the family traditions that turn even the humblest of dishes into something special.

-I can only hope that one of my daughters will want to keep on doing the same thing.

-I've passed that torch on to my son, so my son is now the cook.

-That tie to the land, that tie to that history, that family history and that community history, that's what I think kind of tells that specific South Carolina story.

-Yeah.

Fellowship -- That's how you get to know people.

-Absolutely.

-That's how you get to know people, through their food.

-It's got me in the mood to put on some stretchy pants and go eat some barbecue somewhere.

[ Laughter ] -Well, all I know is that I saw a whole lot of good eating in that video.

How many different kinds of hash did you try?

-Only 12.

Only 12.

So it wasn't bad.

-Well, what do you have on the menu today?

-Alright.

So today we're going to be making the West Columbia style mustard-based hash.

Okay?

And like all great hashes in South Carolina or most great hashes, it starts with pork.

-Okay.

-So we have a 3-pound pork butt here.

And we're going to leave it untrimmed with a nice fat cap on there.

We want that lusciousness, that richness to end up in our hash.

So we're going to cut this into 1 1/2-inch chunks.

-Mmm!

-I love pork butt.

-Yep.

-No bad dish ever started with pork butt.

-Nope.

-And this doesn't have to be perfect.

This is going to cook for a while.

And we're just going to let it go until it's nice and fall apart tender.

-It looks like you're about to make a really good stew.

-Yeah.

You know, that's kind of a great way to describe hash.

I mean, it's difficult to explain to somebody who's never had it.

It's almost like a pulled pork stew in some ways.

You know, this is one of those items that you find now at every barbecue joint.

And oftentimes it defines the barbecue joint as much as the smoked meat itself.

-Mm.

Yeah, it sounds like it's in the know for the locals.

-Yeah.

I mean, every version is different in every town, and it's really hard to pinpoint one exact style.

So we're going to drop this in here.

Pork's in the pot.

And our next element is going to be chicken livers.

Now, traditionally there's always some kind of offal that ends up in a hash.

You know, it was a great way to use up those offcuts of the hog.

Usually it's pork liver.

-Right.

-We're going to use chicken liver today because it's a little bit more accessible.

We have eight ounces of chicken liver here.

We're just going to pop it in here and give it six pulses until it's nice and finely chopped.

And we'll drop this into the pot as well.

-Okay.

-Pork and livers are in the pot.

And now we're going to add one large onion that's been coarsely chopped, six scallions that we've cut into about 1-inch pieces.

Three garlic cloves that have been smashed and peeled.

A tablespoon of black pepper.

The best hashes kind of make your, you know, kind of when you're eating them [clears throat] clear your throat.

-Oh, nice.

-It shouldn't be so spicy to set your mouth on fire, but you should notice.

-It should wake you up?

-Should wake you up, yeah.

And 2 teaspoons of table salt here.

And 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

Finally we're going to cover that with 4 cups of chicken broth.

-Mmm!

-We can turn that heat on to high.

We're just going to give this a quick stir.

So we're going to bring this up to a boil over high heat.

And then we're going to throw it into an oven at 300 degrees.

And let it cook there for about 2 1/2 hours until the meat is tender.

And that's not a traditional way to cook a hash in South Carolina.

It's usually done on a stovetop or over a live fire, which is really nice because that smoke comes up, hits that condensation that's coming off the pot, and creates this flavorful... -Magic?

-Magic.

-Yeah.

-Some magical -- -Sorcery down there in South Carolina, huh?

-Yeah, yeah.

It's amazing.

We're also going to leave the lid off.

So any of the pork that's kind of hanging out above the waterline, we'll get some nice caramelization on it from the heat of the oven, and the liquid will reduce a little bit and concentrate.

-Nice.

-Alright.

So we're coming up to a boil.

We're going to throw it onto the lower middle rack of a 300-degree oven.

And we're going to let it cook uncovered for about 2 1/2 hours until the pork is nice and tender.

-Okay.

-[ Sniffs ] Ooh.

-That smells amazing.

-Bubbling nicely.

Can you grab that door?

-You got it.

-Okay, so it's been going for a good 2 1/2 hours.

We want to make sure that pork is nice and tender.

You want to give it a little squeeze and make sure it kind of shreds easily.

-Ooh!

-Just like that.

-Easy.

-Alright.

So now we're going to mash and shred all of this up.

And my favorite job for shredding meat, for barbecue, for any type of thing like this is using a potato masher.

-Mm!

-So we're just going to go to town on it, you know.

So this is that point where all those big chunks of onions and scallions are going to get mashed up and finely shredded.

So we'll just do this for a few minutes, but you can already smell how flavorful and intense that is.

Alright.

So we are getting close here.

-You're really -- When you say mash it into a hash, you're really... -Really hashing it up here.

So I think that is good.

And now to that, like I said, we're going to make mustard-style hash.

It's indicative of West Columbia, South Carolina.

So we're going to add 1 1/4 cups of yellow mustard, 1/3 cup of cider vinegar.

Mm, okay.

3 tablespoons of brown sugar to kind of balance out the acidity from the mustard and the vinegar.

Alright.

A teaspoon of hot sauce here and 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.

I'm gonna stir this together.

And then we're going to bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.

So one advantage of cooking on the stovetop like they do in South Carolina is that you get this constant bubbling motion, and that helps emulsify the fat with the rest of the liquid.

So since we cooked in the oven, that liquid and fat tend to separate a little bit.

-Sure.

-But we're going to mend that by bringing it to a boil over medium-high heat and then reducing it to medium low and letting it go for a good 10 minutes or so until it thickens up.

We kind of re-emulsify all that fat and liquid.

Alright.

So it's coming up to a boil now.

We'll reduce the heat to medium low, and we'll let it simmer for about 10 minutes until it's thickened slightly.

-Okay.

-It's been a good 10 minutes.

You can see how it's thickened up nicely.

It's still stewy or stoupy.

-Yeah.

-You know, but it's thickened up nicely.

And we're just looking for it to blanket a nice bowl of rice.

-You know that's got to taste good.

-You know it does.

But to be sure we're going to give it a little taste here.

So we're going to add a little bit extra salt here at the end.

I mean, I like to season this aggressively.

Like I said, the best hash tickles your throat a little bit.

You get a little [clears throat] throat clear from the black pepper, from the cayenne.

So don't be shy with this, you know?

You got to live!

The cayenne especially, you know, that's what gets you in the back of the throat, where... -Yes.

-...the black pepper tends to get you a little bit more on the tongue.

And we'll just stir that in.

Like oftentimes, I'll also serve this with a ton of hot sauce on it.

Alright, I think we're ready to go.

Can I -- Can I hash you up?

-Yes, please.

-We are going to serve this over top of a bowl of rice, as is traditional in South Carolina.

You see how that just coats the rice?

Just leaves a nice, impenetrable barrier on top of the rice.

Typically you get, like, a Styrofoam cup, you know, and it's like rice on the bottom, hash on top.

-Right.

-And you got to dig all the way to the bottom of the cup to get that going.

-Bring it up as you bring the fork up.

-Exactly.

I mean, it's not much of a looker, but this thing, it just tastes so good.

-Oh!

-There's so many flavors happening here, but it's so simple at the same time.

-Well, I like foods that aren't very attractive, Bryan.

I mean, you know, sausage gravy, things like that, yeah.

-All day long.

-Yeah.

-That is so tasty.

-Mmm!

-It's kind of a sleeper hit.

You could see, like, this dish really defines a lot of the barbecue restaurants throughout South Carolina.

Their -- Their reputation is based on their hash first, smoked meat second.

-Mm-hmm.

-It's really an incredible... -I can see why.

-...piece of culture.

Yeah.

-I can absolutely see why.

I mean, obviously the meat is tender, so I don't even need to bring that up.

It's just in tiny little shreds.

The whole thing is so porky.

I love that yellow mustard.

I mean, it is so South Carolina, right?

Especially Columbia style.

-Right.

-But that yellow mustard just wakes it right up, and you get a little bit of that mineral flavor.

-Yeah.

-From the chicken livers.

-Yeah.

It doesn't -- doesn't overwhelm.

It almost kind of cuts some of the richness... -Yeah.

-...in a way.

And, you know, and there's, like, so many variations on this theme.

You know, some have a little bit of ketchup added to it for some sweetness.

Some are just butter-based.

It's really -- You never get the same hash twice.

-Oh!

This is one of the best things I've ever eaten, period.

This show, any show, at home.

Sorry, Mom.

This is one of the best things.

-Well, let's shut off the lights.

Let's get out of here.

-Let's get out of here.

But bring the hash with you.

You're definitely going to want to make this at home.

Thanks so much, Bryan.

And it starts by braising pork butt with chopped chicken livers and aromatics.

Use a potato masher to finely shred that tender pork, and then stir in a mixture of mustard, vinegar, and hot sauce to finish the hash.

And don't forget a healthy seasoning of cayenne and black pepper right at the end.

So, from "Cook's Country," the amazing South Carolina barbecue hash.

you can get this recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with product reviews and select episodes.

And those are all on our website, cookscountry.com/tv.

My life is so much better now that you brought this into it.

-Well, my life is better because you're in it.

-Aww!

-With hash.

-With hash.

-Let us help with dinner tonight.

Visit our website anytime for the newest season's failproof recipes, full episodes, ingredient advice, and equipment reviews.

Cookscountry.com/tv.

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-Funding for this program has been provided by the following.

-Monument Grills, offering innovative technology and design for the grilling enthusiast.

With a lineup of gas grills to suit every level, our mission is to ignite your passion to pursue the art of grilling.

Learn more at monumentgrills.com.