Put this in your fryer and cook it
So today Kelly (my new TN friend) introduced me to Southern cooking, ala the Smoky Mountains. We drove up from Knoxville to Cades Cove, did the loop and then headed back through touristville. We got to see a few whitetailed deer pretty close, but no bear or other critters. Talk about an hour solid of driving of all the tourist trap shops you could want! Waterparks, antique shops, Dollywood stuff, etc. But the real fun of the day was the food. I was pretty skeptical about most of it to start with, but I am a converted man now!
- Boiled peanuts. I have to say these look really odd. Basically they are regular peanuts that have been boiled in a big pot for a long time. You get a big 32oz cup of them for 3 bucks and a paper bag for the shells. They are really pretty good — taste more like beans than peanuts once they are softened up.
- Deep fried dill pickles. Yum. Just plain Yum. Horseradish sauce and mustard. Damn these were good.
- Fried beer battered green tomatoes. Surprisingly good. The ones we had were quite meaty, so lots of tasty goodness. There is much less tomatoe flavor than I’d expected and really kinda tasted like onion rings with something different in the middle — if that makes any sense.
- BBQ. Ok, not my first time with this, but it was so good it bears mention. If you get here, “Smokin Joes” is a must stop.
Yeah, I had a salad for dinner. I think I am going to need another suitcase to pack the extra ass in.
Update: Here are a few pictures I got in Cades Cove
