Editing American cuisine (section)

===Southern United States===
{{Main|Cuisine of the Southern United States}}
[[File:Chicken and waffles with peaches and cream.jpg|thumb|right|[[Chicken and waffles]]]]
[[File:Princes hot chicken.jpg|thumb|right|[[Nashville hot chicken]] with potato salad]]
[[File:Iced Tea from flickr.jpg|thumb|[[Sweet tea]]]]
When referring to the [[American South]] as a region, typically it should indicate Southern Maryland and the states that were once part of the [[Confederate States of America|Old Confederacy]], with the dividing line between the East and West jackknifing about 100 miles west of [[Dallas, Texas]], and mostly south of the old [[Mason–Dixon line]]. Cities found in this area include [[New Orleans]], [[Atlanta]], [[Washington, D.C.]], [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], and [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] with [[Houston, Texas]] being the largest. The [[Florida Panhandle]] is usually considered part of the South, but the Florida peninsula (especially its lower half) is not.

These states are much more closely tied to each other and have been part of U.S. territory for much longer than states much farther west than East Texas, and in the case of food, the influences and cooking styles are strictly separated as the terrain begins to change to prairie and desert from bayou and hardwood forest.

[[File:Peach Cobbler 2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Peach cobbler]] is a popular Southern dessert.]]
This section of the country has some of the oldest known U.S. foodways, with some recipes almost 400 years old.

Native American influences are still quite visible in the use of [[cornmeal]] as an essential staple<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrmills.com/indian-head-yellow-corn-meal|title=Indian Head Yellow Corn Meal Recipes – Wilkins Rogers Mills|publisher=Wrmills.com|access-date=January 16, 2015|archive-date=January 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123113728/http://www.wrmills.com/indian-head-yellow-corn-meal/|url-status=live}}</ref> and found in the Southern predilection for hunting wild game, in particular [[wild turkey]], [[white tailed deer|deer]], [[American woodcock|woodcock]], and various kinds of [[waterfowl]]; for example, coastal North Carolina is a place where hunters will seek [[tundra swan]] as a part of Christmas dinner; the original English and Scottish settlers would have rejoiced at this revelation since such was banned among the commoner class in what is now the United Kingdom, and naturally, their descendants have not forgotten.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wdtv.com/wdtv.cfm?func=view&section=5-News&item=Fall-Wild-Turkey-Season-Opens-Oct-11- |archive-url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20120614023420mp_/http://www.wdtv.com/wdtv.cfm?0%3Athis.cssPosition%3D%3D |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 14, 2012 |title=West Virginia Breaking News, Sports, Weather: WDTV.COM |publisher=Wdtv.com |access-date=January 16, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/blogs/southern-hunting-for-whitetail-deer|title=Southern Deer Hunting|work=Deer & Deer Hunting – Whitetail Deer Hunting Tips|access-date=January 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206235254/http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/blogs/southern-hunting-for-whitetail-deer|archive-date=February 6, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Native Americans also consumed [[turtle]]s and catfish, specifically the [[snapping turtle]], the [[alligator snapping turtle]], and [[blue catfish]]. Catfish are often [[noodling|caught with one's bare hands]], gutted, breaded, and fried to make a Southern variation on English [[fish and chips]] and turtles are turned into stews and soups.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2014/aug/03/snapping-turtle-makes-delicious-dinner/?f=threerivers|title=Snapping turtle makes for a delicious dinner|work=Arkansas Online|date=August 3, 2014|access-date=January 16, 2015|archive-date=October 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008135224/https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2014/aug/03/snapping-turtle-makes-delicious-dinner/?f=threerivers|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southernliving.com/food/kitchen-assistant/fried-catfish-recipes|title=Taste of the South: Fried Catfish|work=Southern Living|access-date=January 16, 2015|archive-date=December 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221145225/http://www.southernliving.com/food/kitchen-assistant/fried-catfish-recipes|url-status=live}}</ref>

Native American tribes of the region such as the [[Cherokee]] or [[Choctaw]] often cultivated or gathered local plants like [[asimina triloba|pawpaw]], [[maypop]] and several sorts of [[squash (plant)|squashes]] and [[corn]] as food.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tn.gov/state-symbols.shtml |title=State Symbols |publisher=Tn.gov |access-date=January 16, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625045751/http://www.tn.gov/state-symbols.shtml |archive-date=June 25, 2014 }}</ref> They also used [[spicebush]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.monticello.org/library/exhibits/lucymarks/gallery/spicebush.html|title=Lindera benzoin (spicebush)|publisher=Monticello.org|access-date=January 16, 2015|archive-date=March 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150301054426/http://www.monticello.org/library/exhibits/lucymarks/gallery/spicebush.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  and [[sassafras]] as spices,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.choctawschool.com/home-side-menu/iti-fabvssa/2012-articles/history-and-development-of-choctaw-food.aspx|title=History and development of Choctaw food – School of Choctaw Language|website=choctawschool.com|access-date=August 8, 2019|archive-date=August 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808075933/http://www.choctawschool.com/home-side-menu/iti-fabvssa/2012-articles/history-and-development-of-choctaw-food.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the aforementioned fruits are still cultivated as food in the South.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southernmatters.com/native_edibles/|title=Native Edibles|publisher=Southernmatters.com|access-date=January 16, 2015|archive-date=December 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228033850/http://www.southernmatters.com/native_edibles/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Maize is to this day found in dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the form of [[grits]], [[hoecakes]], baked [[cornbread]], and [[spoonbread]], and nuts like the [[hickory]], [[black walnut]] and [[pecan]] are commonly included in desserts and pastries as varied as [[mince pie]]s, [[pecan pie]], pecan rolls and [[honey bun]]s (both are types of [[sticky bun]]), and [[quick bread]]s, which were themselves invented in the South during the American Civil War.

Peaches have been grown in this region since the 17th century and are a staple crop as well as a favorite fruit, with [[peach cobbler]] being a signature dessert.

====Early history====
European influence began soon after the settlement of Jamestown in 1607 and the earliest recipes emerged by the end of the 17th century. Specific influences from Europe were quite varied, and they remain traditional and essential to the modern cookery overall.

German speakers often settled in the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] on small farms from the coast, and invented an American delicacy that is now nationally beloved, [[apple butter]], based on their recipe for ''apfelkraut'', and later they introduced [[red cabbage]] and [[rye]].

From the British Isles, an enormous amount of influence was bestowed upon the South, specifically foodways from 17th- and 18th-century [[Ulster]], the borderlands between England and Scotland, the [[Scottish Highlands]], portions of [[Wales]], the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]], the [[West Country]], [[Black Country]] and Southern England. Settlers bound for America fled the tumult of the [[English Civil War|Civil War]], [[Ulster Plantation|Ulster]] and the [[Highland Clearances]].

Often ships' manifests show their belongings nearly always included cookpots or [[bakestone]]s and seed stock for plants like [[peach]]es, [[plum]]s, and [[apple]]s to grow orchards which they planted in their hundreds. Each group brought foods and ideas from their respective regions.

Settlers from Ireland and Scotland were well known for creating [[Peatreek|''peatreak'']] and ''[[poitín]]'', strong hard liquor based on fermenting potatoes or barley. In time they came up with a method for distilling a corn mash with [[added sugar]] and aging in charred barrels made of select hardwoods, which created a whiskey with a high proof. This gave birth to [[American whiskey]] and [[Kentucky bourbon]], and its cousins [[moonshine]] and [[Everclear]].

Closer to the coast, 18th-century recipes for English [[trifle]] turned into [[tipsy cake]]s, replacing the sherry with whiskey and their recipe for [[pound cake]], brought to the South around the same time, still works with American baking units: one pound sugar, one pound eggs, one pound butter, one pound flour.

====Common features====
[[File:Biscuits and gravy.jpg|thumb|left|Biscuits and gravy]]
[[Pork]] is the popular choice in 80% of Southern style barbecue and features in other preparations like sausages and sandwiches. For most Southerners in the [[History of the Southern United States#Antebellum era (1789–1861)|antebellum period]], corn and pork were staples of the diet.<ref name="Warren2007"/> [[Country sausage]] is an ingredient in the Southern breakfast dish of [[biscuits and gravy]]. [[Country ham]] is often served for breakfast and cured with salt or sugar and hickory-smoked.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/458/458-223/458-223.html|title=Dry Curing Virginia-Style Ham – Publications and Educational Resources – Virginia Tech|date=December 18, 2012|publisher=Oubs.ext.vt.edu|access-date=January 16, 2015|archive-date=January 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102124507/http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/458/458-223/458-223.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Accompanying many meals is the southern style fluffy [[biscuit (bread)|biscuit]], where the leavening agent is [[baking powder]] and often includes [[buttermilk]], and for breakfast they often accompany [[country ham]], [[grits]], and [[scrambled eggs]].

====Desserts====
[[File:SweetPotatoPie.jpg|thumb|right|[[Sweet potato pie]]]]
[[Dessert]]s in the South tend to be quite rich and very much a legacy of entertaining to impress guests, since a Southern housewife was (and to a degree still is) expected to show her hospitality by laying out as impressive a banquet as she is able to manage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://m.timesdispatch.com/entertainment-life/traits-of-a-true-southern-woman/article_37092461-fec6-5a6f-b6fb-72da162d360c.html?mode=jqm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141203020720/http://m.timesdispatch.com/entertainment-life/traits-of-a-true-southern-woman/article_37092461-fec6-5a6f-b6fb-72da162d360c.html?mode=jqm|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 3, 2014|title=Traits of a true Southern woman|work=Richmond.com|access-date=January 16, 2015}}</ref>

Desserts are vast and encompass [[Lane cake]], [[sweet potato pie]], [[peach cobbler]], [[pecan pie]], [[hummingbird cake]], [[Jefferson Davis pie]], [[peanut brittle]], [[coconut cake]], [[fritter|apple fritters]], peanut cookies, [[Moravian spice cookies]], [[chess pie]], [[doberge cake]], [[Lady Baltimore cake]], [[bourbon ball]]s, and caramel cake.

[[File:Red Velvet Cake Waldorf Astoria.jpg|thumb|left|Red velvet cake]]
American-style [[sponge cake]]s tend to be the rule rather than the exception as is American [[buttercream]], a place where Southern baking intersects with the rest of the United States. Nuts like pecan and hickory tend to be revered as garnishes for these desserts, and they make their way into local bakeries as fillings for chocolates.

====Cajun and Creole cuisine of Louisiana====
[[File:Shrimp_gumbo.jpg|thumbnail|Shrimp [[gumbo]] is a popular [[Cajun cuisine|Cajun]] and [[Louisiana Creole cuisine|Creole]] dish.]]
In Louisiana, cooking methods have more in common with rustic French cuisines of the 17th and 18th century than anything ever found at the French court in Versailles or the bistros of 19th- and 20th-century Paris; this is especially true of [[Cajun cuisine]].

[[Cajun French]] is more closely related to dialects spoken in Northern [[Maine]], [[New Brunswick]], and to a lesser degree [[Haiti]] than anything spoken in modern France, and likewise their terminology, methodology, and culture concerning food is much more closely related to the styles of these former French colonies even today.

Unlike other areas of the South, Cajuns were and still are largely Catholics and thus much of what they eat is seasonal; for example pork is an important component of the Cajun ''boucherie'' (a large community event where the hog is butchered, prepared with a fiery spice mix, and eaten snout to tail) but it is never consumed in the five weeks of Lent, when such would be forbidden.

Cajun cuisine tends to focus on what is locally available, historically because Cajuns were often poor, illiterate, independent farmers and not plantation owners but today it is because such is deeply imbedded in local culture.

''[[Boudin]]'' is a type of sausage found only in this area of the country, and it is often by far more spicy than anything found in France or Belgium. ''[[Chaudin]]'' is unique to the area, and the method of cooking is comparable to the Scottish dish haggis: the stuffing includes onions, rice, bell peppers, spices, and pork sewn up in the stomach of a pig, and served in slices piping hot.

[[Procambarus clarkii|Crawfish]] are a staple of the Cajun grandmother's cookpot, as they are abundant in the bayous of Southern Louisiana and a main source of livelihood, as are [[blue crab]]s, [[shrimp]], [[corn on the cob]], and red potatoes, since these are the basic ingredients of the Louisiana crawfish boil.

[[File:CreoleFood.jpg|thumb|left|Dishes typical of [[Louisiana Creole cuisine]]]]
[[New Orleans]] has been the capital of Creole culture since before Louisiana was a state. This culture is that of the colonial French and Spanish that evolved in the city of New Orleans, which was and still is quite distinct from the rural culture of Cajuns and dovetails with what would have been eaten in antebellum Louisiana plantation culture long ago.

Cooking to impress and show one's wealth was a staple of Creole culture, which often mixed French, Spanish, Italian, German, African, Caribbean and Native American cooking methods, producing rich dishes like [[Oysters Bienville|oysters bienville]], [[pompano en papillote]], and even the [[muffaletta]] sandwich.

However, [[Louisiana Creole cuisine]] tends to diverge from the original ideas brought to the region in ingredients: [[profiterole]]s, for example, use a near identical [[choux pastry]] to that which is found in modern Paris but often use vanilla or chocolate ice cream rather than custard as the filling, [[praline (nut confection)|pralines]] nearly always use [[pecan]] and not almonds, and [[bananas foster]] came about when New Orleans was a key port for the import of bananas from the Caribbean Sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/cuisine/traditionalfoods/bananasfoster.html|title=Bananas Foster|publisher=Neworleansonline.com|access-date=January 16, 2015|archive-date=October 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028224830/http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/cuisine/traditionalfoods/bananasfoster.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Gumbo]]s tend to be thickened with [[okra]], or the leaves of the [[sassafras albidum|sassafrass tree]]. ''[[Andouille]]'' is often used, but not the ''andouille'' currently known in France, since French ''andouille'' uses tripe whereas Louisiana ''andouille'' is made from a [[Boston butt]], usually inflected with pepper flakes, and smoked for hours over pecan wood.

Other ingredients that are native to Louisiana and not found in the cuisine of modern France would include rice, which has been a staple of both Creole and Cajun cooking for generations, and [[sugarcane]], which has been grown in Louisiana since the early 1800s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usarice.com/doclib/188/219/3677.PDF |title=Louisiana Rice |publisher=Usarice.com |access-date=January 16, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222045727/http://www.usarice.com/doclib/188/219/3677.PDF |archive-date=December 22, 2014 }}</ref>

[[File:Passiflora incarnata 004.JPG|thumbnail|The maypop plant]]
Ground [[cayenne pepper]] is a key spice of the region, as is the meat of the [[American alligator]], something settlers learned from the Choctaws and Houma. The maypop plant has been a favorite of Southerners for 350 years; it gives its name to the Ocoee River in Tennessee, a legacy of the Cherokees, and in Southern Louisiana it is known as ''liane de grenade'', indicating its consumption by Cajuns. It is a close relative of the commercial [[passionfruit]], similar in size, and is a common plant growing in gardens all over the South as a source of fresh summertime fruit.

====African American influences====
West African influences came with enslaved peoples from [[Ghana]], [[Benin]], [[Mali]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]], [[Angola]], [[Sierra Leone]], [[Nigeria]], and other portions of the [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]], and the mark Africans and their descendants, the [[African Americans]], have made on Southern food is strong today and an essential addition to the Southern table.

Crops like [[okra]], [[sorghum]], [[sesame seeds]], [[eggplant]], and many different kinds of [[melon]]s were brought with them from West Africa along with the incredibly important introduction of rice to the [[Carolinas]] and later to [[Texas]] and [[Louisiana]], whence it became a staple grain of that region and still remains a staple in those areas today, found in dishes like [[Hoppin John]], purloo, and [[Charleston red rice]].

Like the poorer [[indentured servants]] that came to the South, slaves often got the leftovers of what was slaughtered for the consumption of the master of the plantation and so many recipes had to be adapted for offal, like [[pig's ear (food)|pig's ears]] and [[fatback]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xhpBsIa5yqEC&q=black+slaves+offal&pg=PA97|title=What the Slaves Ate|access-date=January 16, 2015|isbn=9780313374975|year=2009|last1=Covey|first1=Herbert C.|last2=Eisnach|first2=Dwight|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref> though other methods encouraged low and slow methods of cooking to tenderize the tougher cuts of meat, like braising, smoking, and pit roasting, the last of which was a method known to West Africans in the preparation of roasting goat.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/food-historian-reckons-black-roots-southern-food-180964285/|title=Food Historian Reckons With the Black Roots of Southern Food|last=Mansky|first=Jackie|website=Smithsonian|language=en|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=December 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214120959/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/food-historian-reckons-black-roots-southern-food-180964285/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Peanut soup]] is one of the oldest known recipes brought to Virginia by Africans and over time, through their descendants, it has become creamier and milder tasting than the original.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.welike2cook.com/2013/11/colonial-cream-of-peanut-soup.html|title=Colonial Cream of Peanut Soup|access-date=April 22, 2020|archive-date=June 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616221529/http://www.welike2cook.com/2013/11/colonial-cream-of-peanut-soup.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Florida cuisine====
{{see|Floribbean cuisine}}
{{More citations needed|1=section|date=March 2023}}
Certain portions of the South often have their own distinct subtypes of cuisine owing to local history and landscape. Floridian cuisine, for example, has a distinct way of cooking that includes different ingredients, especially south of Tampa and Orlando.

Spain had control of the state until the early 19th century and used the southern tip as an outpost to guard the [[Spanish Main]] beginning in the 1500s, but Florida kept and still maintains ties with the [[Caribbean Sea]], including the [[Bahamas]], [[Haiti]], [[Cuba]], [[Puerto Rico]], the [[Dominican Republic]], and [[Jamaica]].

South of Tampa, there are and have been for a long time many speakers of [[Caribbean Spanish]], [[Haitian French]], [[Jamaican Patois]], and [[Haitian Creole]] and each Caribbean culture has a strong hold on cooking methods and spices in Florida. In turn, each mixes and matches with the [[foodways]] of the Seminole tribe and Anglophone settlers. Thus, for almost 200 years, Floridian cooking has had a more tropical flavor than any other Southern state.

[[Allspice]], a spice originally from [[Jamaica]], is an ingredient found in spice mixes in summer barbecues along with [[ginger]], [[garlic]], [[scotch bonnet peppers]], sea salt, and nutmeg; in Floridian cooking this is often a variant of [[Jamaican jerk]] spice. Coconuts are grown in the areas surrounding Miami and are shipped in daily through its port for consumption of the milk, meat, and water of the coconut.

Bananas are not just the yellow Cavendish variety found in supermarkets across America: in Florida they are available as ''bananitos'', ''colorados'', ''[[Cooking banana|plátanos]]'', and ''maduros''. The first of these is a tiny miniature banana only about 4–5 inches (10–13&nbsp;cm) in length and it is sweet. The second has a red peel and an apple-like aftertaste, and the third and fourth are used as a starch on nearly every Caribbean island as a side dish, baked or fried: all of the above are a staple of Florida outdoor markets when in season and all have been grown in the Caribbean for almost 400 years.

[[Mango]]es are grown as a backyard plant in Southern Florida and otherwise are a favorite treat coming in many different shapes in sizes from ''[[Nam Doc Mai]]'', brought to Florida after the Vietnam War, to ''Madame Francis'', a mango from Haiti. [[Sweetsop]] and [[soursop]] are popular around Miami, but nearly unheard of in other areas of the South.

[[Citrus]] is a major crop of Florida, and features at many breakfast tables and many markets, with the height of the season near the first week of January. Hamlin [[Orange (fruit)|oranges]] are the main cultivar planted, and from this crop the rest of the United States and to a lesser extent Europe gets [[orange juice]]. Other plantings include [[grapefruit]]s, [[tangerine]]s, [[clementine]]s, [[Lime (fruit)|limes]], and even a few more rare ones, like [[Cara Cara navel orange]]s, [[tangelo]]s, and the Jamaican [[Ugli fruit]]. [[Tomato]]es, [[bell pepper]]s, [[habanero pepper]]s, and [[Ficus|figs]], especially taken from the [[Florida strangler fig]], complete the produce menu.

[[Blue crab]], [[Queen conch|conch]], [[Florida stone crab]], [[red drum]], [[common dolphinfish|dorado]], and [[marlin]]s tend to be local favorite ingredients. Dairy is available in this region, but it is less emphasized due to the year round warmth.

[[File:Key lime pie with whipped cream and lime decoration, March 2009.jpg|thumb|left|[[Key lime pie]]]]
Traditional [[key lime pie]], a dessert from the islands off the coast of Miami, is made with [[condensed milk]] to form the custard with the eye wateringly tart limes native to the [[Florida Keys]] in part because milk would spoil in an age before refrigeration.

Pork in this region tends to be roasted in methods similar to those found in Puerto Rico and Cuba, owing to mass emigration from those countries in the 20th century, especially in the counties surrounding Miami.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://southfloridagaynews.com/outEATS/pernil-al-horno-roasted-pork-shoulder.html|title=Pernil Al Horno (Roasted Pork Shoulder)|first=Jay|last=Rinaldi|work=South Florida Gay News|access-date=January 16, 2015|archive-date=December 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227145547/http://southfloridagaynews.com/outEATS/pernil-al-horno-roasted-pork-shoulder.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Orange blossom honey is a specialty of the state, and is widely available in farmer's markets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thomashoney.com/honey.html|title=Honey – from Thomas Honey Company|website=Thomashoney.com|access-date=January 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231063142/http://www.thomashoney.com/honey.html|archive-date=December 31, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Panulirus argus|Caribbean lobster]] is a favorite special meal eagerly sought after by Floridians as it is found as far north as [[Fort Myers]]: spear diving and collecting them from reefs in the [[Florida Keys]] and near rocky shoals is a common practice of local scuba divers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scubadiving.com/bagging-bug-how-to-have-successful-lobster-hunting-season|title=Bagging the Bug: How to Have A Successful Lobster-Hunting Season|website=Scuba Diving|language=en|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=October 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004011358/http://www.scubadiving.com/bagging-bug-how-to-have-successful-lobster-hunting-season|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Other small game====
[[Ptarmigan]], [[grouse]], [[crow]], blackbirds, dove, duck and other game fowl are consumed in the United States. In the American state of [[Arkansas]], [[American beaver|beaver]] tail stew is consumed in Cotton town.<ref>{{cite news |title=What's Best, Worst, and Most Weird About American Food |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/12/151220-american-food-cuisine-local-state-ngbooktalk/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615221801/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/12/151220-american-food-cuisine-local-state-ngbooktalk/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 15, 2020 |work=National Geographic News |date=December 20, 2015 }}</ref> [[Tree squirrel#In the US|Squirrel]], [[Cooning|raccoon]], [[Virginia opossum|possum]], [[bear]], [[muskrat]], [[chipmunk]], [[skunk]], [[groundhog]], [[pheasant]], [[armadillo]] and [[rabbit]] are also consumed in the United States.