Pat Branning’s Carolina Cooking: It’s just peachy in South Carolina
Pat Branning’s Carolina Cooking
It’s just peachy in South Carolina
This is an original oil painting by Peter Rolfe of the “Bay Street Anchorage” in Beaufort on a summer afternoon.
A trip to the grocery store for fresh fruit is not nearly as adventurous as a trip to the peach orchard where you can choose to pick your own.
Have a big napkin in hand when you bite into one. The juice is bound to flow from this delicious tree ripened fruit right down your chin.
I always come home with a big beautiful basket of peaches freshly picked, and lay them out on the porch table to fully ripen. When they all start to ripen at once, it’s time to get creative.
Peeling a big basket of peaches can be tedious work, but I remembered reading about a quick peeling technique where you flash boil the peaches for 30 seconds and then throw them in an ice water bath. Once they are cool to the touch, the peels really slide right off. It’s so easy.
Be mindful of the fact that this fresh, tasty fruit isn’t just good for desserts. You can also create entrees or crisp peachy salads.
Ever tried peachy barbecued spareribs? For fall-off-the-bone succulent ribs, it’s all about the marinade and that’s where the peaches come in.
Peachy Barbecued Spareribs
8 to 9 pounds spareribs
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons paprika
5 ripe peaches, pureed in a food processor ( about 2 cups)
1 large onion, finely minced
Freshly ground black pepperBarbecue Sauce Ingredients
1 onion, finely minced
1 tablespoon oil
1½ cups ketchup
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauceWipe spareribs with damp paper towels and place them in a large roasting pan. Combine lemon juice, paprika, peaches, onion and black pepper and mix well. Spoon this marinade over the ribs, turning to coat well. Cover the pan and refrigerate overnight, turning the ribs once in awhile.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the ribs from the marinade and drain the marinade into a saucepan. Set saucepan aside.
Place a roasting rack inside a large roasting pan. Place the ribs in a single layer, fat side up, on top of the rack and bake for 90 minutes. Remove and allow the ribs to cool on a rack.
For the Barbecue Sauce: Add the onion, vegetable oil, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, cayenne pepper and Worcestershire sauce to the reserved marinade and mix well. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer for several minutes while stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.
Cut the ribs into two rib portions, drain the fat from the roasting pan, and place the ribs back in the pan. Pour the barbecue sauce over the ribs.
For final cooking in an oven: cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until meat is tender.
For final cooking on a grill: remove the ribs from the pan, reserve the sauce, and cook the ribs over a medium hot charcoal fire, basting and turning occasionally, for about 40 minutes or until the meat is tender.
This recipe comes from Oprah who says she loves fresh peaches.
Summer Peach Salad
1 small shallot, finely diced
3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons honey
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 peaches, tree ripened and peeled
½ pound fresh salad greens
½ cup shaved Pecorino Romano cheeseIn a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Whisk until emulsified. Toss greens with sliced peaches and just enough vinaigrette to coat. Garnish with cheese. Absolutely delicious.
Every year I enjoy visiting the McLeod Farm in McBee, South Carolina where there are some of the sweetest peaches you’ll ever sink your teeth into. Life’s a peach at the farm from May through August when the orchard is loaded with peaches – over 20 varieties in all. They have baking contests and this recipe is from Val Puntillo who recently won the Blue Ribbon. Just thinking about it makes me want to sneak downstairs and grab a piece right now.
PEACHY CREAM CAKE
Cake Layer:
1 cup butter
1 ½ cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
Homemade Peach Pie Filling:
1 cup peeled and sliced peaches
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup orange juice
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup lemon juice
1 dash peach liqueurPreheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the sides and bottom of 2 9 inch round pans. Cream butter and sugar together. Add beaten eggs. Stir in flour until well mixed. Add both vanilla and lemon extracts. Stir well. Spoon the batter evenly into floured pans, set aside.
In a blender, blend 1 cup peeled peaches, ¾ cups sugar, orange juice and cornstarch until smooth. Pour into a 4 quart saucepan; stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and dash of peach liqueur.
Arrange sliced peaches on top of each round pan. Spoon the peach filling over peaches. Bake for 30 minutes or until cake is golden brown. Remove and let cool until ready to serve. Use Dream Whip in between layers. Sprinkle with confectionary sugar. Enjoy.
Pat Branning, the former women’s editor for WSB, Atlanta, is food editor for The Beaufort Tribune. She and her husband, Cloide, work together to help the underserved and uninsured in health care through a nonprofit organization called Wellness4America. Her new book of Lowcountry recipes, “Shrimp, Collards and Grits, recipes from the creeks and gardens of the South Carolina Lowcountry”, is available at bookstores in Beaufort and on Hilton Head. The website is www.mycarolinacooking.com.
Click here for more information about Pat Branning’s new cookbook.
Related posts:
- Pat Branning’s Carolina Cooking: Red, White and Blueberry
- Pat Branning’s Carolina cooking: Beaufort’s best barbecued ribs
- Pat Branning’s Carolina Cooking: Get Ready for Springtime Celebrations
- Pat Branning’s Carolina Cooking: Grouper with Pan Asian Sauce
- Pat Branning’s Carolina Cooking: Sides of the season
