Lowcountry Table · Charleston, South Carolina

Lowcountry Cooking Without Vegetable Oil

Recipes from the marsh and the harbor around Charleston, cooked the way Lowcountry kitchens have always cooked: sweet butter, rendered bacon fat, and a pot of broth left to simmer all afternoon. Never a bottle of vegetable oil in sight.

See the Recipes
Butter· Bacon Fat· Never Vegetable Oil
Wide view of a Lowcountry salt marsh at golden hour near Charleston, South Carolina
🦐 Lowcountry Marsh
Where the tide sets the table
Low and slow, always

Butter and Broth First

Every savory pot in this kitchen starts the same way, in butter or the fat left behind from good bacon. It is the fat the Lowcountry has cooked with since long before bottled vegetable oil existed.

Pot liquor is gold

Nothing Goes to Waste

Ham hocks season the greens, shrimp shells become stock, and the broth left in the pot gets ladled over rice the next morning. Lowcountry cooking has never thrown anything away.

No seed oil, no exceptions

Never Vegetable Oil

If a fat was not sitting in a Charleston pantry a hundred years ago, it does not appear in ours. Butter, lard, and bacon fat, and nothing else.

Six Recipes

The Lowcountry Table, Dish by Dish

Six dishes we return to season after season, each one built on butter, broth, and bacon fat instead of a bottle of vegetable oil.

Seafood Bowl of shrimp and creamy grits topped with sausage and scallions
Recipe One

Charleston Shrimp and Grits

35 min·4 servings·Easy

Stone-ground grits simmered slow in butter and milk until they turn glossy, topped with shrimp seared hard in bacon fat with andouille sausage and scallions.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup stone-ground grits
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 tbsp butter, divided
  • 1 cup sharp cheddar, grated
  • 1 lb wild shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 4 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped
  • 6 oz andouille sausage, sliced
  • 3 scallions, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Bring the milk and water to a low simmer in a heavy pot, then whisk in the grits and a pinch of salt.
  2. Cook the grits over the lowest heat for 25 minutes, stirring often, until thick and creamy, then stir in 2 tbsp butter and the cheddar.
  3. While the grits cook, render the chopped bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp, then lift it out and set aside.
  4. Add the sausage to the bacon fat and brown on both sides, then push it to the edge of the pan.
  5. Turn the heat up, add the remaining butter, and sear the shrimp about 90 seconds per side until just pink.
  6. Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then squeeze in the lemon juice and scrape up the browned bits.
  7. Spoon the grits into bowls, top with the shrimp, sausage, and bacon, and finish with the scallions.
Meat Pile of shredded pulled pork on a wooden board
Recipe Two

Carolina Pulled Pork with Vinegar Sauce

6 hr·8 servings·Medium

A whole pork shoulder rubbed with brown sugar and pepper, roasted low until it falls apart, then pulled and tossed in a sharp vinegar and butter sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1 bone-in pork shoulder, about 6 lb
  • 3 tbsp kosher salt
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 1 cup water or chicken stock

Instructions

  1. The night before, rub the pork shoulder all over with the salt, brown sugar, pepper, and paprika, then cover and refrigerate.
  2. The next morning, set the shoulder fat side up in a roasting pan and let it come to room temperature for an hour.
  3. Roast at 300°F (150°C) for about 5 hours, basting once an hour with the pan drippings, until the meat pulls apart easily with a fork.
  4. Rest the pork for 30 minutes, then pull it into shreds with two forks, discarding the bone and excess fat.
  5. Warm the vinegar, butter, red pepper flakes, and mustard together in a small pot until the butter melts.
  6. Pour the warm sauce over the pulled pork a little at a time, tossing to coat, adding the stock if the meat needs more moisture.
  7. Taste and add more vinegar or salt as needed, then serve warm on its own or piled onto soft buns.
Vegetable Pot of stewed okra and tomatoes with fresh herbs
Recipe Three

Stewed Okra and Tomatoes

40 min·6 servings·Easy

Fresh okra stewed low and slow with ripe tomatoes, onion, and bacon until it turns soft and silky, no frying required.

Ingredients

  • 1½ lb fresh okra, sliced into rounds
  • 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped (or 1 can whole peeled tomatoes)
  • 3 strips bacon, chopped
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • A pinch of sugar, if the tomatoes are tart

Instructions

  1. Render the bacon in a heavy pot over medium heat until crisp, then lift it out and set aside.
  2. Add the onion to the bacon fat and cook until soft and golden, about 6 minutes.
  3. Stir in the garlic, thyme, and bay leaf and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
  4. Add the tomatoes with their juice, bring to a simmer, and cook 10 minutes until they break down.
  5. Stir in the okra and butter, cover, and simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the okra is tender.
  6. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar if needed.
  7. Scatter the reserved bacon over the top just before serving.
Soup Bowl of creamy she-crab soup garnished with herbs
Recipe Four

She-Crab Soup

45 min·6 servings·Medium

A silky Charleston classic built on a butter roux, sweet crabmeat, and a splash of dry sherry stirred in at the table.

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp butter
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 1 rib celery, finely diced
  • 4 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 lb lump crabmeat, picked over for shell
  • ¼ tsp ground mace
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • Salt and white pepper, to taste
  • Dry sherry, for serving

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter in a heavy pot over medium heat, add the onion and celery, and cook until soft, about 6 minutes.
  2. Sprinkle in the flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes to cook out the raw taste.
  3. Whisk in the milk a little at a time, then the cream, until the mixture is smooth.
  4. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring often, until the soup thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
  5. Stir in the mace, Worcestershire, and half the crabmeat, and simmer 10 minutes to let the flavors settle.
  6. Season with salt and white pepper, then gently fold in the remaining crabmeat so the lumps stay whole.
  7. Ladle into bowls and let each guest add a splash of sherry at the table.
Bread Golden skillet cornbread sliced into wedges
Recipe Five

Buttermilk Skillet Cornbread

35 min·8 servings·Easy

A cast iron cornbread with a crackling crust, made the old way with lard in the pan and butter folded into the batter.

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups yellow cornmeal
  • ½ cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1½ cups buttermilk
  • 4 tbsp butter, melted, plus more for serving
  • 2 tbsp lard, for the skillet
  • 1 tbsp honey

Instructions

  1. Set a 10 inch cast iron skillet with the lard inside it in the oven and preheat to 425°F (220°C).
  2. Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and honey together.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until combined, without overmixing.
  5. Carefully pull the hot skillet from the oven and swirl the melted lard to coat the sides.
  6. Pour the batter into the skillet, where it should sizzle at the edges, and return it to the oven.
  7. Bake 20 to 22 minutes until golden and a toothpick comes out clean, then rest 5 minutes before slicing.
Dessert Warm peach cobbler in a baking dish with a golden biscuit topping
Recipe Six

Carolina Peach Cobbler

55 min·8 servings·Easy

Ripe Carolina peaches baked bubbling under a buttery, biscuit-like topping. The dish every Lowcountry summer supper ends with.

Ingredients

  • 6 ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
  • 1 cup sugar, divided
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 6 tbsp butter, melted, plus 2 tbsp cold and cubed
  • ¾ cup buttermilk

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and butter a deep baking dish.
  2. Toss the peaches with half the sugar, the lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then spread them into the dish.
  3. Whisk the flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
  4. Stir in the melted butter and buttermilk just until a thick batter forms.
  5. Spoon the batter over the peaches in dollops, leaving some fruit peeking through, and scatter the cold butter cubes on top.
  6. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until the top is deep golden and the peaches bubble at the edges.
  7. Let the cobbler rest 15 minutes before serving so the juices settle.
Sunset over a quiet Lowcountry tidal creek near Charleston
Folly Beach · Lowcountry Coast
“The tide sets the table down here.”

An old Charleston saying, and about as close as this kitchen comes to a philosophy.

Our Kitchen

The Kitchen Behind Botbia Kitchen

Botbia Kitchen is a small, independent kitchen built around the cooking of the South Carolina Lowcountry: shrimp pulled from the creek that morning, grits ground slow at a real mill, a pot of okra that has been stewing since before lunch.

We hold to one rule above the rest. The fat in our pots is the fat that has always belonged in a Lowcountry kitchen: butter, bacon drippings, and the occasional spoonful of lard. Vegetable oil has never had a seat at this table, and it never will.

Y'all come back now, and bring your appetite.