Before Snoop Dogg, there was Swamp Dogg. For the past 60 years, this legendary singer, songwriter, and record producer has shaped the history of soul, country, hip-hop, and R&B with his singular voice and ideas—including the rather audacious plan he hatched in 1972 to create a cookbook to rival Julia Child’s. For decades, If You Can Kill It I Can Cook It was known only to Swamp Dogg’s friends. But now his culinary opus—from the following recipes are excerpted—is out from Pioneer Works Press. Swamp’s tome is more than a compendium of comfort food classics; it includes archival photos and stories to go with dishes he’s crafted to honor the artists and people he loves. If You Can Kill It I Can Cook It is a glimpse into the savory life of a cultural genius—and it's the perfect companion for anyone looking to bring a little soul to the Thanksgiving table.

1 turkey (10 lbs.)
2 sticks butter
3 tbsp. poultry seasoning
3 tbsp. sage
1 tbsp. pepper
2 quarts of water
neck and giblets
3 tbsp. Wondra (browned)
1 tbsp. butter

– Remove neck and giblets from turkey cavity. Place in 1 1/2 quarts of water with 1 tbsp. each of poultry seasoning, onion powder and sage. Boil over a low flame for 3/4 of an hour. Remove from pot and set aside.

– Saturate turkey on all sides with poultry seasoning, then pat on sage and pepper. Place butter in cavity. Wrap turkey in aluminum foil (shiny side down), place on a rack back side down in a roasting pan with bottom covered completely with water. Cover roasting pan and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Remove turkey from oven and gently open foil, baste turkey from cavity, restore aluminum foil, cover and bake 1 more hour. Remove from oven and keep covered until time to slice and serve.

– In a skillet melt the 1 tbsp. of butter, stir in the flour, add the broth a little at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Chop the giblets and add to gravy with a dash of pepper. Stir and serve with turkey.

– The neck? Give it to the one who requests it....Bypass me.

(Serves 12–15)

Gates County, North Carolina....that’s where my great-grands, grands, great aunts, aunts, and cousins, everyone who taught me to cook, hailed from. They migrated to Portsmouth, Virginia, in the early 1900s and took all of their great recipes with them. Biscuits, cornbread and cakes were among my cooking accomplishments by the time I was nine years old. And since you nor I are aware of anything of any importance or anyone of any repute (other than my family) hailing from Gates County, I feel it only proper that we give this little place a reason for being there. So, I give you Gates County Buttermilk Biscuits.

1 tsp. sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. soda
1/2 cup of buttermilk
5 tbsp. melted butter

– Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

– Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar in a bowl. Push all the ingredients to the side making a well in the center. Pour in the buttermilk gradually add butter, stir with a fork until the ingredients are nice and moist. Add more milk little by little until the dough is soft and light, not sticky.

– It is impossible to be exact about the amount of milk because flours differ so much. Turn out dough on a floured board. With floured hands pat dough until smooth. Roll into an oblong and cut out biscuits. Place biscuits on a ungreased baking sheet or pan.

– Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.

(Makes about 9 large biscuits)

That dance that James Brown always breaks into between screams is called the Mashed Potato. Dee Dee Sharp had megahits with “Mashed Potato Time” and “Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes),” but she couldn’t dance and didn’t have a clue as to what the dance was about when she recorded those songs. She said so herself. So the Godfather took up Dee Dee’s dancing slack and perfected that dance while singing his own smash, “Mashed Potatoes U.S.A.”

When I was performing as Little Jerry Williams in the ’60s, I used to do a watered-down Mashed Potato. The way I moved my arms could be likened to Mike Tyson losing control of his muscles while delivering nonstop combinations to his opponent…at least until he got knocked out by Buster Douglas!

3 pounds white potatoes
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup heavy cream

– Peel potatoes, wash with cold water, dice into reasonable size chunks, place in a pot with enough water to cover. Cover pot with the top slightly askew, bring to a rapid boil. Reduce to medium heat and continue to boil, approximately 20 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander (don’t allow to cool). Place in a bowl and mash with potato masher until lumps have disappeared. Add butter and whip with a spoon until potatoes are smooth and butter has melted completely. Pour in cream, whip 2 minutes more and serve.

(Serves 6)

In music vernacular, a bullet denotes that a particular recording is more popular and moving more rapidly than its competition and a track is a synonym for channel, which is identified in the studio by the VU meters on the recorders. Each VU meter identifies each separate track. E.g., we’ll have guitars on track one, bass on track two, keyboards on track three, etc., etc., up to one hundred and twenty four tracks/channels or more if necessary. I decided that it would be interesting to write up a few of my more intricate recipes in tracks because it would make them more easy to follow.

Track I

5 lbs. of green apples
2 tbsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. cinnamon
5 tbsp. of sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour sifted
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable shortening
2/3 cup ice water

– Peel and slice apples, put in a large baking dish, sprinkle 4 cups of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg over apples and add 4 tbsp. of water. Let stand for 1 hour. Remove apple mixture and place in a large pot with remaining sugar and 3 cups of water and place over a low flame, cook for 1 hour.

– Sift flour and sugar into mixing bowl. Add shortening. Cut in with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture looks like peas. Sprinkle the water over the flour a tbsp. at a time, stirring the mixture with a fork until enough water has been added to form the dough into a ball (you may not use all the water because flour varies). Wrap the dough in wax paper and chill for 1/2 hour. Roll out 1/2 the dough on a floured board and line a large baking pan (sides and bottom).

Track II

Sift together:

1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar

Mix:

2 beaten eggs
1 2/3 cup milk
8 oz. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla

– Stir into the flour mixture, mix well, then add to apples, mix well then pour apples and batter into baking dish. Roll out the remaining dough and cut into 1-inch strips and lay crisscross over the top of the baking dish. Leave at least 2- to 3-inch opening “that the apples may peep through.” Place in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes. Reduce to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 60 minutes.

– Remove from oven. Separate 1 egg and beat egg yolk, spread egg yolk over the top of the dough lightly with a pastry brush. Put back in 350-degree oven for 10 minutes or until brown on top.

(Serves 10–12) ♦