Democratic State Vice Chair Wilma Dodd's "Crackerass"
Much like Chicken Princess or Grape Dogs, it’s the name that drew me to Crackerass. I looked far and wide across the internet and could not find a SINGLE recipe for crackerass. Completely new dish to me, which I’m truly grateful for. I said it once, and I’ll say it again — you should all be eating more crackerass.
UPDATE: thanks to some excellent Redditor work and me asking around everywhere I could, we have a theory: this is a hillbilly (said with love) version of Eggs a la Caracas, an old Spanish recipe. Similar ingredients, similar textures. Caracas? Crackerass? I think we have a mystery solved.
Chef Wilma Dodd
Democratic Vice Chair from Tennessee
Notable:
she is unpictured and while I am sure she was/is notable, she is not well-known or present on the internet
As always, I followed the recipe word for word, no alterations:
INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp butter
1 pound sliced American Cheese
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup canned tomatoes
1 egg per person served
1 cup dried chipped beef
INSTRUCTIONS
1) Melt butter in skillet. Add chipped beef.
I had to slice and dice the chipped beef, which is extremely salty, FYI. This won’t be a low-sodium food.
2) When brown, add tomatoes.
3) Cook until liquid is thick; add sliced cheese and Worcestershire sauce.
And here it comes, 24 slices of American cheese. Why not shredded? Why not a fresh block? I do not know, but Wilma said slices, so we’re slapping on two dozen slices of American cheese.
4) Beat eggs well.
5) Remove mixture from fire; add eggs. Mix well. Serve on hot plates or in electric skillet with crackers.
Stirring in those raw eggs really changes this from a chili-cheese-on-a-hot-dog consistency to a queso consistency. Color, too.
Voila! If you want to actually watch me attempt to eat it, go to the Cookin’ with Congress Instagram or TikTok. Okay…this actually looks great, doesn’t it? Warm, gooey, obviously very cheesy since it contains 24 slices of American cheese — queso with chipped beef and tomatoes, essentially. But we will never call it that. We’re calling it what it is: crackerass. Say it aloud with me: crackerass.
Verdict:
Pretty, pretty, pretty…pretty good. It could use a dash of Tabasco or chili crisp, Tapatio or Sriracha or something. Definitely would be better with a touch of heat, but it’s got a great consistency, it’s somehow not too salty, and it just works. Crackerass to the rescue.