The Big Texas Cookbook: The Food That Defines the Lone Star State by the ed. of Texas Monthly | 2022 | HarperCollins | Hardcover $ 37.50
When it comes to food, Texas may be best known for its beloved barbecue and tacos. But at more than 29 million people, the state is one of the most culturally diverse in America — and so is its culinary scene. From the kolaches introduced by Czechs settlers to the Hill Country in the 1800s to the Viet-Cajun crawfish that Vietnamese immigrants blessed Houston with in the early 2000s, the tastes on offer here are as vast and varied as the 268,600 square miles of earth they spring from. In The Big Texas Cookbook, the editors of the award-winning magazine Texas Monthly have gathered an expansive collection of recipes that reflects the state’s food traditions, eclectically grouped by how Texans like to start and end the day, how they revere their native-born ingredients, and how they love the people, places, and rituals that surround their favorite meals.
When this book was announced last year, I felt compelled to get a copy and do a cookbook cook-thru project with it. I was born and raised in West Texas, and have lived the past decade and a half in Houston(ish). I think it’s reasonable for me to feel some sense of attachment to my home state and, by extension, its cuisine.
This cookbook contains a pretty good mix of the traditional stuff, like chicken fried steak and pecan pie and breakfast burritos, alongside more contemporary takes and immigrant-inspired fusion recipes, like brisket empanadas and smoked beef rib nigiri and boudin kolaches (a.k.a. klobasniky).
I ended up trying about 18 recipes from this book. None of them were total duds, and a few were quite challenging in a fun way. (I’m ashamed to recall the chaotic state of both my kitchen and my emotional stability after making homemade tortillas for the first time!)
The book has a pretty good mix of watercolor illustrations and actual food photos. I think almost every recipe has an illustration or photo to go with it, which is actually pretty important to me in a cookbook; I like to be able to visualize what the end product of a recipe is supposed to look like. There are also several lovely essays about the history of particular foods; if you’ve ever wondered who invented the frozen margarita machine or had a debate about the difference between Mexican and Tex-Mex, The Big Texas Cookbook includes content for you.
I’m sorry to say that this one does not have my coveted lay-flat binding, so you’ll need to break the spine or use one of those cookbook stands with page holders to keep it open to your chosen recipe while cooking. I also would have loved a more detailed table of contents, because the chapters are organized by creative themes rather than by dish type. It does, however, have a lovely mix of drool-worthy food photos and watercolor-ish illustrations; I found it visually very appealing.
I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who’s interested in the regional cuisines of Texas, whether you’re up for trying some new recipes in your own kitchen or whether you’re the type who just likes to read foodie books for fun.
Caribbean-style shrimp and slow cooker grits
I totally wimped out and went with serrano chiles instead of habanero chiles in the shrimp marinade. I’m only confessing this to you because this complex, garlic-y + herb-y marinade made the shrimp so flavorful and fun regardless of the chile aggression level, and I really appreciated it, and it’d be a shame if you backed away from this recipe for fear of spice. So, feel free to follow your heart and stick to your preferred pepper instead.
Chicken fried steak with cream gravy
It took me three tries to get the dang gravy right.
Chile pequin and gulf shrimp aguachile
Aguachile is kind of a ceviche from Mexico; this version is made with the spicy pequin pepper, which in terms of heat level is something between Tabasco and Thai. It took me simply ages to track some down; if you’re outside of Texas, don’t sweat it and just find a substitute.
Fideo loco
Sopa de fideo is a noodle soup in tomato broth. The “loco” part of this recipe is all the extra stuff — avocado, frijoles, picadillo, queso, and basically whatever the hell else you think sounds like a fun soup topping.
Flour tortillas
I’m never making these again. Not because the recipe was bad. But because my kitchen was a disaster zone afterwards, AND that pretty guy on the top of the stack in this photo was the only one that actually came out vaguely circle-shaped. I have been defeated, but I am perfectly happy to continue to rely on the expertise of the folks at my local tortillerias.
Green chile hominy
The cookbook describes this recipe as “decadent” — and that’s exactly what it is, with this much bacon and cheese!
Grilled jalapeño poppers
I’m used to seeing the crunchy crusted and stuffed variety of jalapeño poppers, but am entirely unwilling to make them at home because deep frying is just not happening in my kitchen. These are far less fussy but just as extravagantly snacky.
Kolaches
I don’t know, man. These turned out rather lumpier than intended, which my yeast breads somehow nearly always do anyway, but they were also just surprisingly kind of bland. I think it may be because the dough doesn’t include any salt, not even salted butter. This seemed a bit odd to me, so I reached out to the editors online, and they were kind enough to get back to me… but they confirmed that it really is not actually meant to include any salt. I’m admittedly not much of a baker (I mean, look at the state of these things), but something about this recipe just didn’t work for my tastebuds, and my guess is that it was probably the lack of salt.
Peach cobbler
This one absolutely smacked me in the face with nostalgia; instant sticky note bookmark.
Pickled jalapeños
To be clear, these are fridge pickles (not shelf stable); it doesn’t really matter, though, because we went through both jars in about a month.
Salsa macha
Chinese-style chile crisp enthusiasts take note — salsa macha is here to sweep you off your feet. I’m not even exaggerating. If you have access to a variety of dried chiles, this recipe is absolutely worth your time.
Suzie’s okra salad
It’s a salad full of fried okra with a bacon-based dressing. It barely counts as salad. I love it.
I also tried the following recipes and liked them well enough (or my taste testers did), but I’m not super great at food photography, so:
- Bean dip
- Lao-Texas chili
- Lima beans with smoked pork neck
- Queso
- Stacked carnitas enchiladas
- Texas sheet cake
If I were to dive back into this cookbook again, I think these are some other recipes that’d be worth trying:
- Calabacitas con queso
- Chicken pozole verde
- Competition-style Texas chili
- King Ranch casserole
If you would like to see more of my adventures through this book and several others, check out my Cookbook Cook-Thru Project Page:
Links:
- “Announcing The Big Texas Cookbook” article from Texas Monthly
- “Texas Monthly serves up a cookbook as varied as the state’s cuisine” article from the Texas Standard
Publication information: Texas Monthly. The big Texas cookbook: The food that defines the lone star state. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2022. Print.
Source: Personal library.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.
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