Drizzling everything from waffles to grits with sorghum syrup is a Southern tradition. Indigenous to Africa, sorghum cane is pressed, and the juice is cooked down into a golden liquid that’s like a cross between maple syrup and molasses. It was a childhood staple for Dallas McGarity, chef and owner at The Fat Lamb in Louisville, Kentucky. “My grandma used to put it on the table with some homemade biscuits with butter,” he says. “[It’s a] big thing in Kentucky.”
The taste is more complex than what you usually pour on pancakes. “It’s a little bit like a melted dark sugar,” says the chef. “It has that bitterness to it, but it’s also got a sweetness to it. And I think they play really well together.” McGarity gets it local by the gallon from Bourbon Barrel Foods; it lasts a couple of weeks in the pantry and a month in the fridge.
At The Fat Lamb, the chef uses sorghum syrup in a range of recipes from barbecue sauce to zabaione, a custard dessert. The versatile ingredient shines in their whipped sorghum sweet potatoes served alongside pork tenderloin. “It’s basically like a roasted sweet potato that we blend with some sorghum, a little bit of cream, and it comes out light and fluffy,” McGarity says. “And it gets that earthiness from the sorghum, but also the sweetness.”
Sorghum Sweet Potatoes 
yields
Serves 4
5-6 medium sweet potatoes
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt and pepper
1⁄4 pound high-quality butter, cut
into chunks
1⁄2 cup sorghum
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
ingredients
steps
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash sweet potatoes under hot water and allow to drip dry for 10 minutes. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Season with salt and pepper and bake for about 1 hour or until super soft.
- Remove potatoes from oven and allow to cool slightly. Peel, then place potatoes in bowl of a food processor. (This may have to be done in two batches.) Add butter, sorghum, and sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately or reheat slowly on a stovetop in a heavy saucepot for serving later.
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Tate Jacaruso
Tate Jacaruso loves celebrating Southern food, travel, and culture as associate editor at the Local Palate. She is based in Charleston and is currently making her way through every bowl of pasta and oyster on the half shell in town. Her work has appeared in Charleston Living Magazine and CHStoday.