Hash (stew)
{{For other uses|Hash (disambiguation)}}
Hash is a name for a stew or gravy made of pork, offal and onions. It is usually paired with rice as "hash and rice". Hash is part of the cuisine of the Southern United States where it was invented as a way to use unappetizing cuts of meat. The dish is primarily consumed within the state of South Carolina, where it is commonly paired with barbecue. Many variations of hash exist, which include different combinations of meats and vegetables.
History
It was invented by enslaved communities around the Savannah River prior to the American Civil War.{{Cite web |last1=Gaines |first1=Patrice |date=2023-06-19 |title=Hash: The delicious barbecue dish that's a South Carolina secret |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/hash-barbecue-south-carolina/index.html |access-date=2023-07-08 |website=CNN |language=en}} The dish likely originated as a way to disguise cheaper, less appetizing cuts of meat left over from whole hog barbecues, including the head and organs,{{Cite web |title=The Story of Hash & Rice |url=https://robertfmoss.com/features/The-Story-of-South-Carolina-Hash-and-Rice |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=robertfmoss.com}} by cooking them down into a soft, heavily seasoned stew that could be eaten with a spoon.{{Cite book |last=Haynes |first=Joseph R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IaQxDwAAQBAJ&dq=dukes+barbecue&pg=PA62 |title=Brunswick Stew: A Virginia Tradition |date=2017 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-1-62585-964-8 |pages=61–77 |language=en}} Food historian Robert F. Moss claims that the name "hash" probably comes from "haslet", an old English word for viscera. There are various folkloric traditions about hash, including the belief that it should be cooked under the light of the moon.{{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Saddler |title=South Carolina Hash: By the Light of the Moon |journal=North Carolina Folklore Journal |publisher=North Carolina Folklore Society |publication-date=2001 |volume=48 |issue=1/2 |pages=80–87}}
It became a common accompaniment to barbecue in South Carolina, served in restaurants and "hash houses".{{Cite web |title=Enjoy SC Barbecue with a Side of Hash |url=https://discoversouthcarolina.com/articles/enjoy-sc-barbecue-with-a-side-of-hash |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=discoversouthcarolina.com |language=en}} In the late 19th century, it was eaten in the neighboring state of Georgia but its popularity is mostly confined to South Carolina in the 21st century.{{Cite book |last=Moss |first=Robert F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6nC9AwAAQBAJ&q=south+carolina&pg=PP1 |title=Barbecue: The History of an American Institution |date=2010-08-20 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |isbn=978-0-8173-1718-8 |pages=111 |language=en}} A notable exception is Augusta, Georgia, which borders South Carolina, where hash is a part of the local food culture.
Traditionally, hash contained hog's heads and liver, but this became less common as restaurants stopped roasting whole hogs for their barbecue, and organ meats became less popular in the late 20th century.{{Cite web |last=Moss |first=Robert F. |title=South Carolina's Hash and Rice Might Be Having a Moment |url=https://www.southernliving.com/food/bbq/south-carolina-hash- |website=Southern Living}} Instead, many modern barbecue restaurants prepare hash with leftover pulled pork, especially pork shoulder. A 2020 article in The Post and Courier claimed that hash was at risk of vanishing from South Carolina restaurants;{{Cite web |last=Raskin |first=Hanna |date=2020-02-17 |title=Hash, South Carolina's greatest contribution to barbecue canon, fading across Lowcountry |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/food/hash-south-carolinas-greatest-contribution-to-barbecue-canon-fading-across-lowcountry/article_9254d134-fa96-11e9-a130-73930a999135.html |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=Post and Courier |language=en}} however, Moss contested this claim in an article in Southern Living, noting that many newly opened restaurants in South Carolina added hash to their menus. A study of restaurants serving hash in South Carolina found that it was particularly popular around Columbia.{{Cite web |last=Raskin |first=Hanna |date=2020-02-17 |title=Where to find hash in eastern South Carolina |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/where-to-find-hash-in-eastern-south-carolina/article_49e1c508-3af9-11ea-8a30-c338ae6621fc.html |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=Post and Courier |language=en}}
Description
Hash is considered a stew or gravy.{{Cite web |title=South Carolina Barbecue Hash {{!}} America's Test Kitchen Recipe |url=http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/11866-south-carolina-barbecue-hash |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=www.americastestkitchen.com |language=en}} The primary ingredients in hash are pork, offal, onions, and seasonings which are slowly stewed together.{{Cite web |title=Giddy Swamp South Carolina Hash Recipe on Food52 |url=https://food52.com/recipes/22787-giddy-swamp-sc-hash |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=Food52 |language=en-us}} Traditionally, hash was made by stewing the ingredients in an iron kettle over a wood fire, a method which is still used by some restaurants and hash houses.{{Cite web |last=Fertel |first=Rien |title=A look at South Carolina's contentious barbecue history |url=http://www.myajc.com/wrap-minimalist/ |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=www.myajc.com |language=english |archive-date=2018-12-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211162225/https://www.myajc.com/wrap-minimalist/ |url-status=dead }} It is typically served over rice, as a dish called "hash and rice".{{Cite web |date=2014-11-11 |title=BBQ hash and rice, a South Carolina tradition |url=https://www.historysouth.org/food/bbq-hash/ |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=History South |language=en-US}}
Several variations of hash exist, which include different combinations of ingredients.{{Cite web |last=Blackwell |first=Jed |date=July 19, 2021 |title=Hash is uniquely 'South Carolina' but it's not served the same across the state |url=https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/local/2021/07/19/hash-and-rice-bbq-uniquely-sc-not-same-across-state/7948276002/ |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=Spartanburg Herald Journal}}{{Cite web |title=Woodward on "Carolina Hash" |url=https://www.folkstreams.net/contexts/woodward-on-carolina-hash |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=Folkstreams |language=en}} Vegetables such as potatoes and onions.{{Cite web |date=2016-07-05 |title=What Is South Carolina Hash? |url=https://www.foodrepublic.com/2016/07/05/what-is-south-carolina-hash/ |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=Food Republic |language=en-US}} Mustard is also commonly added to hash among German communities in the Midlands of South Carolina.{{Cite web |title=The Hashmasters |url=https://gardenandgun.com/feature/the-hashmasters/ |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=Garden & Gun |language=en-US}} Vinegar is often added to hashes in the South Carolina Lowcountry. In upstate South Carolina, hash often includes beef or a mixture of pork and beef with large amounts of onions.{{Cite web |last=By |date=1999-07-01 |title=HASH MAKES ITS MARK ON THE PLATE |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1999-07-01-9906290261-story.html/ |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=Orlando Sentinel |language=en-US}}
See also
- Brunswick stew, a similar dish
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.folkstreams.net/film-detail.php?id=215 Carolina Hash: Documentary about the dish]
Category:Food and drink in South Carolina