The Perfect Menu to Make Your Juneteenth Celebration More Memorable

Enjoy the holiday with recipes from the Sweet Home Café Cookbook

The Sweet Home Cafe Cookbook has special menus for holiday get-togethers, including Juneteenth! If you make any of these delicious meals, there won't be any leftovers!

High Mesa Peach & Blackberry Cobbler

In most parts of the country, a cobbler is a deep-dish fruit dessert topped with a thick drop biscuit or batter crust. In the South, however, a cobbler will sometimes have both a top and bottom crust. Cobbler fillings are usually soupier than pie fillings, with a dense, rich consistency.

Serves 4 to 6 people

Active time: 10 minutes

Total time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick)
• unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, preferably Bourbon vanilla
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup self-rising pastry flour
• 6 large peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 1½ cups blackberries
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch cobbler dish or a 10-inch cast iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of the butter.

Melt the remaining 7 tablespoons butter, pour into a medium bowl, and let cool. Add the sugar, vanilla, milk, and flour and stir to form a batter.

In a large bowl, toss the peaches and blackberries with the lemon juice and zest, mixing evenly. Transfer to the prepared cobbler dish in an even layer.

Pour the batter evenly on top and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the cobbler crust is golden brown.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Barbecued Breef Brisket Sandwich

In much of the south, barbecue is about pork. In Texas, however, beef brisket is the chosen meat on the barbecue trail. The tender, smoky beef pairs well with charred peach chutney in the Café’s version of a barbecued beef brisket sandwich.

Serves 6 to 8 people

Active time: 25 minutes

Total time: 1 day plus overnight soaking of the hickory chips

• 1 (5-pound) beef brisket, trimmed of excess fat (leave ¼-inch fat cap on the meat)
• 1 cup Barbecue Dry Rub (recipe below)
• 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
• 3 tablespoons cracked black
• peppercorns
• 10 pounds hickory wood chunks
• 4 pounds natural wood charcoal
• 6 to 8 artisanal sandwich buns, for serving
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper Charred Peach & Jalapeño Chutney (recipe below), for serving

1. Make the barbecue dry rub 

Makes 2 ½ cups

Active time: 10 minutes

Total time: 10 minutes

• ½ cup sweet Hungarian paprika ½ cup ground black pepper
• ½ cup turbinado sugar
• ¼ cup kosher salt
• ¼ cup dry English mustard
• ¼ cup onion powder
• ¼ cup garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

Warm a nonstick skillet over low heat. Add the paprika and lightly toast to develop its full flavor. Actively stir the paprika for 3 minutes, making sure not to allow the spice to burn. Transfer the paprika to a medium bowl and let cool.

When the paprika has cooled to room temperature, whisk in all the remaining ingredients until well mixed.

Transfer to an airtight container. The dry rub will keep for up to 3 months.

2. Make the Charred Peach and Jalapeño Chutney

Makes about 1 pint

Active time: 35 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

When many people think of peaches, they typically think of Georgia, but the West has its peaches, too, including areas of Colorado where they have been growing the fruit since the nineteenth century. This flavorful chutney combines the juicy sweetness of the fruit with the heat of jalapeño peppers

• 6 ripe peaches
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ¼ cup Vidalia or sweet onion, diced 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• ½ cup honey, preferably Western wildflower
• 2 tablespoons packed light
• brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
• leaves, chopped
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Fill a medium stockpot with water and bring to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. With a paring knife, cut a quarter-sized X, in the bottom of each peach. Place the peaches in the boiling water for 30 seconds, then, using a slotted spoon, transfer them to the bowl of ice water.

Let cool, then gently remove the skin, cut the peaches in half, and remove the pits.

Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal or gas grill or preheat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Once it has become extremely hot, add the peaches, cut-side down, and allow them to char for about 1½ minutes. Once the peaches have developed a rich charred color, remove them and set aside.

In a large sauté pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat, Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. While the onion is cooking, cut the peaches into 2-inch chunks, preserving the charred bits.

When the onion is ready, add the jalapeño and ginger and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the honey and brown sugar, increase the heat to high, and bring quickly to a boil. Stir in the vinegar, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 1 minute. Add the peaches and cook for about 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat, transfer the peaches and syrup to a bowl, and let cool to room temperature. Once cool, add the cilantro. Season with the salt and pepper.

Store the chutney in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

3. Make the Barbecued Breef Brisket Sandwich

THE NIGHT BEFORE

Generously season the brisket on all sides with the Barbecue Dry Rub, sea salt, and peppercorns. Rub them thoroughly into the meat, fat, and pockets to ensure even distribution. Place the brisket on a wire rack set on top of a baking sheet. Place uncovered in the refrigerator for 12 hours to marinate.

Cover the hickory chunks with water and leave to soak overnight.

THE NEXT DAY

Remove the brisket from the refrigerator and let it to come to room temperature.

Drain the hickory chunks.

To set up your smoker, first ignite the charcoal. Use an electric or chimneystyle starter to avoid the chemical flavors associated with lighter fluid. Once the coals are fully burning and have turned white, move them to one side of the smoker. Place 4 to 5 pounds (reserve the rest to replenish as needed) of the hickory chunks on top of the coals in order to start the burning.

Set the smoker’s grill rack in place and put the brisket on it, positioning it on side that is not above the coals. The goal of setting it up like this is to create a cooking environment in which the meat is not in direct contact with the burning wood and has heat and smoke circulating around it.

Close the lid on the smoker and adjust the air supply on the bottom and vent on the top to maintain a steady smoking temperature of 230°F. Check the cooking temperature every 30 minutes throughout the process. If the temperature drops below 230°F, you may need to add more hickory or increase the air supply. If the temperature exceeds the desired cooking temperature, reduce the air supply.

After 3 hours of smoking, remove the brisket from the smoker and wrap the entire piece of meat tightly in two or three layers of aluminum foil. Then return the meat to the smoker and continue cooking. Smoke the meat until it reaches an internal temperature of 200°F on an instant-read thermometer, 5 to 6 hours longer, then allow the meat to rest for 45 minutes before slicing.

Thinly slice the brisket across the grain, generously portion the meat onto the buns, season with salt and pepper, and top with Charred Peach & Jalapeño Chutney.

Sweet Home Cafe Cookbook is available from Smithsonian Books. Visit Smithsonian Books’ website to learn more about its publications and a full list of titles. 

Excerpt from Sweet Home Cafe Cookbook © 2018 by Smithsonian Institution. Recipes © 2018 by Smithsonian Institution and Restaurant Associates. Food photography © 2018 by Scott Suchman, Smithsonian Institution, and Restaurant Associates.