Simple Coleslaw — The Memphis Side That Makes the Plate

January in Memphis, and the heat has settled over the city like a blanket nobody asked for but everybody accepts, because Memphis in summer is not a choice, it is a condition, and the condition is sweating. I am 61 years old and retired from the Postal Service, walking the neighborhood by choice instead of duty, and the week brought its own kind of weather — the personal kind, the family kind, the kind that no meteorologist can forecast.

The week\'s main current was father's day 2020. Walter Jr. came by the house this week, bringing the energy he always brings — steady, organized, the FedEx man\'s approach to family visits: arrive on time, deliver what\'s needed, check that everything\'s in order. Rosetta orchestrated the visit the way she orchestrates everything: with the invisible precision of a woman who has been managing a household, a hospital floor, and a husband for three and a half decades, and who considers all three jobs equally challenging and equally rewarding.

I smoked a pork shoulder this week — the king, the classic, the dish that defines my cooking and my life. Fourteen to sixteen hours over hickory, mopped with the vinegar sauce every ninety minutes, pulled by hand when the internal temperature hits 203 and the meat jiggles with the telltale wobble that means the collagen has surrendered. I pulled it in the backyard, standing over the cutting board, and the meat came apart in my fingers the way it has come apart a thousand times before, and the thousandth time felt exactly like the first time: miraculous. Served it on white bread with coleslaw and the vinegar sauce, the Memphis way, the Clyde way, the only way.

Rosetta came to the porch as the last light faded and said something simple — \'Good day, Earl\' or \'What a week\' or just my name, the way she says it when she means everything and says nothing. And I said something simple back, or said nothing, and we sat in the amber glow of the porch light and let the week dissolve into the night, and the night was kind, and the morning would come, and there would be coffee and the route and the smoker and the family and the life that is, despite everything, despite the grief and the knee and the changing world, a good life. A full life. A life measured in smoke.

Every great smoke needs its equal on the plate, and for me that’s always been the coleslaw — the thing that cuts through the fat and the hickory and reminds you that a good meal has balance. I’ve been making this simple coleslaw alongside my pork shoulder for years, and on a Father’s Day with Walter Jr. at the table and Rosetta watching from the porch, you don’t change what works. You pile it on white bread next to the pulled pork, add a splash of vinegar sauce, and let the whole thing speak for itself.

Simple Coleslaw

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 1 hr 15 min (includes chilling) | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 small head green cabbage, finely shredded (about 6 cups)
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
• 1/4 cup white onion, finely minced
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Shred the vegetables. Finely shred the cabbage using a sharp knife or mandoline and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the grated carrot and minced onion and toss to combine.
2. Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, sugar, celery seed, salt, and black pepper until smooth and well combined.
3. Combine and toss. Pour the dressing over the shredded cabbage mixture and toss thoroughly until every strand is evenly coated.
4. Taste and adjust. Taste the coleslaw and adjust seasoning — add a pinch more salt, a splash more vinegar for tang, or a little more sugar if you prefer it slightly sweeter.
5. Chill before serving. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. This allows the cabbage to soften slightly and the flavors to meld together. Serve cold alongside pulled pork on white bread.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 130 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 8g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 210mg