10 Soul Food Dishes Every Guy Should Be Able to Make

Nothing slaps winter in the face quite like soul food. It is everything that January isn’t (most notably, warm and comforting). Crispy, golden chicken-fried steak, bacon grease cornbread, sticky, tender ribs… Even if you’re toughing out the northern snowpocalypse or drinking beers in Florida with your feet in the sand, soul food will never be the wrong call. Check out these 10 essential recipes for the most body-and soul-warming food you’ll ever taste.

Fluffy, delicate, lightly sweet biscuits—and homemade molasses-infused butter to slather all over them. Try not to eat the whole batch. Get the recipe on Food52.

Stirring shrimp paste through the creamy grits goes further than a few prawns piled on top ever could, pervading every spoonful with shrimp at its best and most seductive. Get the recipe on Food52.

We've always thought macaroni and cheese's 20% crunch to 80% soft ratio was all wrong. This recipe keeps all the creamy, cheesy goodness of traditional mac and cheese, but gives it way more texture—think of it as the muffin top of mac and cheese! Get the recipe on Food52.

When you taste this chicken, you'll understand why the recipe took 20 years to develop. This is the most intensely flavorful, expertly spiced, crisp-skinned chicken that you will ever taste. Get the recipe on Food52.

With all the right flavors and a kick from a smoky, dark roux and well-chosen cocktail of spices, this is the perfect weeknight gumbo. Get the recipe on Food52.

Simmer onions, tomatoes, sausage, and spices together, add the cooked black eyed peas, top with breadcrumbs, and bake for a cassoulet that is a study in textures: deep and rich, silky, hearty, and crunchy all at once. Get the recipe on Food52.

Fact: Bacon makes everything better. Substituting bacon grease for butter in this cast-iron cornbread is a brilliant way to amp up the flavor. Get the recipe on Food52.

The recipe title doesn't lie: these ribs are seriously delicious. The low and slow cooking method ensures tender meat, and broiling the ribs at the end caramelizes the sticky glaze perfectly. Get the recipe on Food52.

Try as hard as you want—you can't beat the classic combo of bacon, collards, sugar and a little bit of spice. Plus, it's super easy to make. Get the recipe on Food52.

Steak gets pounded thin, bathed in buttermilk, and coated in seasoned flour. A quick pan-fry leaves it with a golden, crispy crust, ready to be slathered in homemade sage gravy. Get the recipe on Food52.