Saltbox Seafood offers these flavorful weekly specials to spotlight Black History Month
READ MORE
Black History Month
A selection of Black History Month stories from February 2021.
Expand All
At Durham’s Saltbox Seafood Joint, chef Ricky Moore tells stories of the sea. Each day, his menu of fish and shellfish pulled from the North Carolina waters is the story of coastal fish camps and his own childhood growing up in New Bern.
For Black History Month, Moore is serving a different special dish each week, tracing the routes of African slaves through the American South and Midwest, the Caribbean and South America.
“It’s more defined as African heritage month, referencing dishes influenced by the African diaspora,” Moore said.
A new special each Wednesday
The specials will run every Wednesday at Saltbox’s Rockwood location at 2637 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd. in Durham.
The first special — fried catfish and spaghetti — was one Moore first encountered as a culinary school teacher in Chicago. By that point, the North Carolina native had served in the Army and attended the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. He found catfish and spaghetti in restaurants on Chicago’s South Side.
“That was unique to me; it was a supremely regional dish,” Moore said. “Where I’m from, you eat fried seafood with slaw, period, end of story. ... Once I made it myself I truly enjoyed it. It’s nothing outlandish, it’s a fun dish.”
Moore’s version was served with spiced North Carolina catfish and spaghetti with Cajun seasoning, leaning more toward New Orleans than Italy, Moore said.
Throughout this month, Moore chose dishes that exist today because of centuries of African influence, not only in the United States, but the Western hemisphere.
“I wanted to participate in the month outside of the typical celebratory things,” Moore said. “From a culinary standpoint, I wanted to use that space to educate and find dishes that are influenced by where the slaves landed and their influence on culture and cuisine.”
On Feb. 10, Saltbox served “Bake and shark,” an open faced sandwich from Trinidad & Tobago, made with a fried savory doughnut and marinated dogfish, served with lettuce, tomato, pineapple and a cilantro sauce.
“It’s street food, and it’s tasty as hell,” Moore said.
On Feb. 17 it’s Haitian legumes and shellfish, a dish of stewed vegetables, including eggplant and chayote, cooked with crab and served over white rice.
On Feb. 24, Saltbox will serve Moqueca Baiana, a Brazilian fish stew made with coconut milk, which Moore is garnishing with shredded collard greens.
Moore is one of the most acclaimed chefs in the Triangle. Two years ago he collected his first James Beard semifinalist mention, following years of regional and national press for his seafood shacks in Durham. Last year he received $25,000 from credit card company Discover as part of its “Eat it Forward” campaign supporting Black-owned businesses.
‘These things aren’t always taught’
Most years, Moore said he doesn’t prepare specials for Black History Month, but that this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hurt restaurants, he wanted diners to have a new reason to come through the doors.
“I did it this year as we continue to pivot,” Moore said “It’s something people can be indirectly educated about. These things aren’t always taught.”
Moore said that as a chef he’s always building flavors that have always been there — that creation is putting pieces together, not conjuring something out of thin air. Those layers, he believes, make a meal a richer experience.
“When people know the backstory of things, they tend to be more connected,” Moore said. “There’s no more original flavors. As humans, our palates, we have exactly what we have. We hit all those points when we create a dish.”
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 3:34 PM.
