These 8 Unusual Meals Are Just Another Dinner To A South Dakotan
By Catherine Armstrong|Published January 02, 2018
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Catherine Armstrong
Author
Writer, editor and researcher with a passion for exploring new places. Catherine loves local bookstores, independent films, and spending time with her family, including Gus the golden retriever, who is a very good boy.
South Dakota has a rich, interesting history that contributes heavily to our dining culture. Many traditional Native American dishes are common here, and German and Scandinavian immigrants brought their favorite recipes with them when they came to the Dakotas in the 1800s. Combine all that cultural influence with a strong helping of good, old fashioned self-reliance, and you get some unique meal offerings.
Of course, most (or all) of these meals won’t seem strange to you at all, and you’ll likely encounter them in other nearby states. But people in some parts of the country don’t get to enjoy these meals.
You might not believe me when I tell you this, but traipsing around in the wilderness, shooting an elk and putting it up in your freezer for the winter is actually a foreign concept for some folks. In fact, restaurants in big cities like Los Angeles fly in elk steaks and charge a fortune for this "exotic" meal. Do me a favor. Dig some elk steaks out of your freezer this week, grill 'em up and enjoy the smug satisfaction of knowing that you're eating a meal that would cost you $100 in L.A.
Frybread is without a doubt one of South Dakota's most delicious treats. While you'll certainly find it all over the West, you might not run into wojapi as often. This incredibly tasty sauce is a Native American confection usually made with chokecherries and sugar or honey, and it's the perfect accompaniment for your frybread.
These little morsels of deep-fried meat are like bits of heaven on a plate. When you take your out-of-town friends for chislic, they exclaim, "I love shish kebab!" but they have no idea how much better chislic is in comparison. For the uninitiated, it's typically made from elk, venison, beef, or lamb.
It's no big deal to us, but folks on the East coast who visit the state flock to the Black Hills Burger & Bun Company in Custer to try a burger made with bison. We don't think it's very exotic, but it's much more flavorful than ground beef, and those poor schmucks in states like Massachusetts can't just order it any time they like.
South Dakota has some of the best pheasant hunting in the country, so it only makes sense that we know how to prepare these birds to perfection. You can certainly dine on pheasant in other parts of the country, but it's typically something you'd find in a fancy restaurant - not in your freezer.
This amazingly delicious food combination is hit-or-miss in South Dakota. Some people have never heard of it; others can't imagine eating their chili without a cinnamon roll on the side. We wrote about this strange food combination, and readers still can't agree if it's a thing... but it's definitely tasty.
Some Americans prefer to stick to halibut or salmon, but they don't know the joy of sitting on a frozen lake in a tiny shanty, then taking your fresh-caught walleye home and eating it for dinner. Walleye is the state fish, so while these beauties can be found in other states, we claim the right to say that we prepare it best.
Taco lovers across the country can't believe their luck when they stumble onto Indian tacos. It's really just a taco served on tender, delicious frybread, but if you're not in the Western U.S., you may have lived your entire life without seeing one. Get yours at Cheyenne Crossing, which is famous for them.
What other meals are unique to South Dakota, and which are your favorites?
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