Lard makes things taste good. I’m going to repeat that, because it bears repeating. Lard makes things taste good! That is all I’m really concerned about here on Nola Cuisine, making things taste good, and making people happy with food, and by people, I mostly mean me and my family. I share my thoughts and hope you enjoy them too.

Lard makes things taste good, when things taste good, they make me feel good, when I feel good, it lowers my stress level, and believe me, the stress is going to kill me far before the lard does.

I use lard in moderation mind you, I’m not condoning cooking every meal in lard, but when you’re making that Sunday supper of Fried Chicken…nothing is going to make that crust crispier or more flavorful than lard (unless maybe you add some bacon fat as well.) If you only make Pies once or twice a year and you KNOW that Leaf lard makes THE BEST pie crust, why not use it? How much is each guest going to have? One Piece? Two? If this were a pie eating contest you should be concerned. It’s not. Use what yields the best results.

When talking about lard, I’m talking about homemade rendered lard. I don’t like the stuff they sell in the grocery store, which is a mixture of lard and hydrogenated lard. It tastes funny in my humble opinion, it has a chemical like aftertaste. I’m not a chemist or a scientist, I don’t know what the hell they do to hydrogenate fats or oils (by the way I don’t want to know, for the comments section…kinda kidding). I do believe however that the processed foods are the foods that are killing us, or better said that we’re killing ourselves with. I’m not a crazy organic guy, but lets be honest, we’re killing ourselves with all of this mass produced crap. We really are, I’m no exception.

Make your own lard. Use it for special occasions, or for your favorite dishes where it applies. Use it in moderation and ENJOY it! Don’t stress about it! Enjoy life! Our culture has us stressed about everything under the sun, we’re afraid of our own shadows for God’s sake…it’s ridiculous. The dinner table is really our only place to relax (when we can even make it there), so when you sit down at the dinner table, relax! Free your mind and indulge in GOOD cooking and good company!

Here’s how to make homemade lard, the same application applies for duck fat…another post. (Stepping off of my soapbox)

How to make homemade Rendered Lard

2 lbs. Clean Fresh Pork Fat cut into 1/2″ cubes (I usually use back fat because I can find it locally. Leaf Fat is the best and is preferred for baking purposes)
1/2 Cup water

Some important notes:

*Use only CLEAN, FRESH fat. If the fat has an off flavor, your lard will have an off flavor. The fresher the better! I get my pork fat from a polish butcher here in Michigan where I live, who, by the way, also has a ton of house made rendered lard for sale! The polish word is “Smalec.”

*Cut the fat into equal sized pieces, this helps to prevent some pieces from geting too brown before others, which will give the lard an off flavor.

*Remove all lean meat from the fat before rendering.

*1/4 cup of water is added to the pot for each pound of pork fat. This keeps the fat from burning or browning in the pot, before the fat starts rendering. The water will evaporate away.

The Process:

Add the fat and water to a heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven:

From July 18, 2011

Cook the fat and water at medium-high heat until you start to see the fat really start to liquify in the pot, turn the heat to low. Cook slowly for 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Your lard is ready when the remnants in the pot, now called cracklings are golden brown.

From July 18, 2011

Strain the cracklings in a fine mesh strainer, obviously reserving your beautiful golden homemade lard.

From July 18, 2011

Drain the cracklings on paper towels season them with salt and snack on them, or use them to make Crackling Corn Bread!

From July 18, 2011

Place into a clean, dry container, I use a French Market Coffee can, and store in the refrigerator for at least six months. Use to make Fried Chicken that looks like this and tastes even better!

From July 18, 2011

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which provides links to all of the recipes featured at Nola Cuisine!

Homemade Rendered Lard is a post from: Nola Cuisine

View Larger Map

The flavor marriage of pralines and good smoky bacon is so wrong that it just has to be right. Cochon Butcher (restaurant website) also has Praline Bacon, but taken to a new level, as it is more of a praline with chunks of their house made bacon inside of it. It’s as my friend Timmy from RouxBDoo’s Cajun & Creole Food Blog calls it, “like Sugary Crack”.

From

This recipe is more in the style of Elizabeth’s, although I like to leave my Pecans a little chunkier than they do.

Make this with breakfast, and you will absolutely blow your family and guests away with minimal effort!

From Nola Cuisine

Praline Bacon Recipe

1 lb. Good quality thick cut Bacon
4 Tbsp Steen’s Cane Syrup
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Pecans, toasted and chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place a wire rack on a sheet tray. Combine the Pecans and brown sugar. Lay the bacon side by side on the rack, place in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until the bacon is sizzling and starting to brown around the edges. The object is for the bacon to cook about 3/4 of the way through before adding the topping.

Push the partially cooked bacon as close together as possible on the rack and brush with the cane syrup, this will give the topping something to grab on to. Cover generously with the Pecan/brown sugar topping. Place back in the oven for about 10 minutes more or until the topping is bubbly and the bacon is good and brown. Let cool.

As the Praline Bacon cools it will set up and have a nice chewy bite to it.

Serves 4 as a side.

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which links to all of the recipes featured on this site!

From Nola Cuisine

Praline Bacon Recipe is a post from: Nola Cuisine

On another off topic note, I’ve been forced to put all comments into moderation because of the army of rat b@stard spam bots that have been attacking my posts, so please continue to leave your comments, I love reading them, and they will eventually make it up (provided you’re not selling Viagra or one of the other broke-d!ck pharmaceuticals). Funny, I honestly don’t know why there are so many of those but there are, it must be all of the sausage recipes on here.

Anyway, on to the food…

I came across some beautiful ripe and fragrant Southern Peaches at the store yesterday, and I immediately thought pork for some reason. I made a similar dish with fish last year that I never got up on the site, but this one had to go up. This dish absolutely screams summer. Here is a detail of the peaches, roasted pepper and Vidalia onions fresh off of the grill

From Nola Cuisine

I was going to use cilantro with the peaches but I have some basil in my herb garden which is at it’s absolute peak, it is so beautiful and floral that it almost doesn’t even smell like basil. I tasted a piece with a slice of the grilled peaches and the flavors were a match made in heaven, so I rolled with it!

The Apricot glaze gives another peachy punch to the dish, and another layer of flavor on top of the smoky pork.

I hope you enjoy!

Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Peach Salsa Recipe

For the grilled Peaches:

4 Southern Peaches (must be very ripe) halved and pitted
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Steen’s Pure Cane Syrup
2 tsp Creole Seasoning
1 tsp Kosher Salt

Additional grill prep for the salsa:
1 Roasted Red Pepper,
1/2 of a large Vidalia Onion, cut into 1/2″ slices and rubber with olive oil

Warm a gas or charcoal grill to 350-400 degrees F.
Toss all of the above ingredients together, making sure to coat the peaches well. Grill the peaches flat side down until they start to caramelize and get some grill marks, flip them over skin side down onto a cooler spot of the grill to finish warming through. At the same time, roast your pepper on the grill until the skin is black all over, and grill the Vidalia Onion slices.

When the peaches are warmed through and softened remove the skins and slice lengthwise, place into a medium sized bowl. Also peel, seed, and slice the roasted Red pepper into strips; Chop the grilled Vidalia Onion.

Grilled Southern Peach Salsa Recipe

4 Grilled Southern Peaches (see above)
1 Roasted Red Pepper, sliced (see above)
1/2 Grilled Vidalia Onion, chopped (see above)
2 tsp Steen’s Pure Cane Syrup

3 Tbsp Fresh Basil, chopped
Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients while still hot, serve at room temperature.

Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Peach Salsa Recipe

4 Bone in, thick cut Pork Chops
1 Recipe Seasoning Mix (see below)
1 Recipe Apricot Glaze (see below)
1 Recipe Grilled Peach Salsa

Seasoning mix:
1 Tbsp Creole Seasoning
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt (if using commercial creole seasoning omit)
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tsp Black Pepper

Combine.

Apricot Glaze:

3 Tbsp Apricot Preserves
1 Tbsp Steen’s Pure Cane Syrup
1 Tbsp Creole Mustard

Combine all ingredients.

Season the pork chops liberally with some of the seasoning mix.

Preheat a Charcoal or Gas grill to 400 degrees F with a pan going with smoldering wood chips (I used Pecan chips). When hot grill the Pork chops to desired degree of doneness, I like mine cooked medium about 140 degrees. Brush the chops with the apricot glaze, let it warm a bit and remove the chops. I pulled mine off at about 132 degrees to allow for carryover cooking. They were a perfect medium at the table.

From Nola Cuisine

Top the glazed chops with a generous portion of the warm Peach Salsa, make sure to drizzle some of the liquid as well. Enjoy!

Serves 4.

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which provides links to all of the recipes featured on Nola Cuisine!

Related Posts:

Homemade Creole Mustard Recipe
Homemade Creole Seasoning Recipe
Boudin Stuffed Pork Chop Recipe

From Nola Cuisine

From Nola Cuisine

From Nola Cuisine

Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Peach Salsa Recipe is a post from: Nola Cuisine

Pungent prepared mustard made from the spicy brown mustard seeds rather than the more familiar, but somewhat blander, yellow seeds. The seeds are steeped in distilled white vinegar, then coarsely ground and left to marinate for up to 12 hours longer before packing.

That says a lot about the preparation, but not much about the origin which is always of interest to me. I assume German Creoles were behind the earliest preparations but even more interesting to me is this passage from The Picayune’s Creole Cookbook of 1901:

Mustard is grown extensively in Louisiana, especially the large leaved or curled, which has grown to be a distinct Louisiana variety, quite different from the European. The seed is black, and is raised in Louisiana, and the plant is being more extensively cultivated every year. The large leaves are cooked the same as Spinach, or they may be boiled with salt meat and served as Greens.

Our Creole Mustard Seeds are famous, not only in making sauces, but for medicinal purposes.

The namesake as it turns out is more about the variety of Mustard plant than it is preparation. The book also contains a Creole Mustard Recipe calling for a pound of the above mentioned Creole Mustard. In addition, I also came across this page about black mustard seed that states the following:

The spicy component of black mustard seed is called ‘isothiocyanate’ and it is also found in horseradish and wasabi which belong to the same plant family.

My recipe is made with the more commonly found brown mustard seed and has an addition of horseradish which I think is a flavor must for a good Creole Mustard. In addition to the horseradish this recipe has an added punch which comes from a touch of Cayenne, as well as the garlic and crushed red pepper that I use to flavor the vinegar before steeping the seeds. Here is my homemade Creole Mustard Recipe:

From Nola Cuisine

Creole Mustard Recipe

1/2 Cup Distilled White Vinegar
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1/2 Cup Brown Mustard Seeds, crushed
1 Tbsp Freshly Grated Horseradish
Pinch Cayenne Pepper
Pinch Ground Allspice
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Granulated Sugar
1 tsp Steen’s 100% Pure Cane Syrup
4 Tbsp Coleman’s Mustard powder
1 small canning jar with lid, sterilized

Place the vinegar, crushed red pepper, and garlic into a small saucepan, bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let steep for 15-20 minutes then strain the mixture, discard the solids. Bring back to a boil then add the mustard seeds, turn off the heat and let steep for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the vinegar with the horseradish, cayenne, salt, sugar, cane syrup, and brown mustard seed. Whisk in the mustard powder. Pour into the sterilized jar, put the lid on and process in a water bath for 15 minutes. When cool, tighten the lid, and make sure the jar is sealed. Place in a cool dark place and let mature for at least 3-4 weeks before using. This step will allow the flavors to marry and mellow which will not be able to take place in the refrigerator, although the mustard will need to be refrigerated after opening.

From Nola Cuisine

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which features links to all of the recipes featured on this site!

Creole Mustard Recipe is a post from: Nola Cuisine

I made a batch of this stuffing with the last of my homemade Andouille sausage from the freezer, I guess it’s time to fire up the smoker again and restock. Here is a pic of my homemade Andouille Sausage.

From Nola Cuisine

I stuffed this dressing into 2 inch thick pork chops and grilled them, just gave them some color then turned the heat down with some smoldering Pecan wood chips underneath. I foolishly forgot to get pictures, because we were starving, sorry.

This would also be an excellent stuffing for Roast Chicken, Turkey, Turducken, or hey, even Peppers.

From Nola Cuisine

Cornbread and Andouille Sausage Recipe

4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Andouille Sausage, finely diced
1 Cup Spanish Onion, finely diced
1 Cup Bell Pepper, finely diced
1/2 Cup Celery, finely diced
2 Tbsp Fresh Garlic, mined
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp Creole Seasoning (less if using commercial, they have more salt)
4 Cups leftover Cornbread, crumbled
1/2 – 1 Cup Chicken Stock
1 Cup Green Onions, finely sliced
1 Egg

Melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat, add the Andouille, cook until it starts to render then add the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, Thyme and creole seasoning, reduce the heat to medium. Sweat the vegetable mixture until they are tender, stirring often. Here is a pic of the Andouille and vegetable mix which is the base for this dressing:

From Nola Cuisine

Add the cornbread and stir well to coat with the Andouille and vegetable mixture, reduce the heat to medium low. Add the stock a little at a time you do not want the mixture too wet or too dry, but bear in mind that you will be adding an egg when the mixture cools. You can always add more stock, but you can’t take it out.

Stir in the green onions, place the stuffing in a dish and cool in the refrigerator, when cool, add the egg, mix well with your hands.

Makes enough to generously stuff 4-6 Pork Chops or one Chicken. If using for Turkey I would double this recipe.

From Nola Cuisine

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole and Cajun Recipes which links to all of the recipes featured on this site!

Related Posts:

Andouille Sausage Recipe
Oyster Dressing Recipe
Boudin Stuffed Pork Chops with Creole Mustard and Cane Syrup Glaze

Cornbread and Andouille Stuffing Recipe is a post from: Nola Cuisine

I made a recipe based on what I saw, although pared down so that it will work for the home cook. This isn’t a fancy recipe, but I would say most authentic in it’s preparation to what you will find in a lot of neighborhood restaurants in New Orleans, the first bite took me right to Parasol’s in the Irish Channel.

I am totally aware that the host in this clip from the food network is a total Stooge, but this little video is a god send. The owner of Parasol’s graciously shows us how to make their Roast Beef Po Boy, granted we have to listen to that bleach blonde goon yammer through the whole video, but it is almost worth it. This is an unpretentious, neighborhood recipe. Some may lift their nose to the Kitchen Bouquet and some of the preparation, I swayed a little myself, but the end result is totally authentic. Try it for yourself, you’ll be moanin’ in your seat with a land fills worth of gravy stained napkins around you. I promise.

A note on New Orleans French Bread, or Po Boy Bread. I was fortunate enough recently to locate an acceptable substitute for New Orleans Po Boy or French Bread at a local market. Not exact mind you, but it has a lot of the same characteristics, Crisp, yet chewy Crust, soft center, cotton candy-like as it is often called, and just the right size. I’ve tried and tried over the years to create a recipe that is close, but I’m on hiatus from that mission for the time being. You wouldn’t believe the amount of emails I receive asking if I have the magic recipe. Not yet, sorry.

From Nola Cuisine

The object of the Po Boy Bread in this recipe is to make the eating experience as messy as possible. During your first bite the sandwich should flatten somewhat and your hands (as well as chin and possibly clothing) should be awash with gravy, beef debris, mayonnaise and possibly a few shreds of lettuce as the contents spray from the sides as if the sandwich was stepped on. Relax and enjoy, resist the urge to reach for that over sized stack of napkins until the last morsel is gone. In my humble opinion, the best Roast Beef Po Boys in New Orleans are judged by the amount of napkins used to clean up the aftermath.

This post is for my good friend Bill Moran, who unfortunately is laid up in the hospital in Corpus Christi. I wish I was close enough to bring you one of these my friend, I hope you get home soon.

Parasol’s Style Roast Beef Po Boy Recipe

For the Beef:
2 lbs Beef Round, I used a bottom round Roast
Water, enough to cover by one inch in a dutch oven

For the Gravy:

1/2 Cup Flour
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder (must be powder, not granulated)
1 tsp Black Pepper
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 Cup Oil
1 tsp Kitchen Bouquet
3 Cups Broth, reserved from the boiled beef (maybe more if your gravy gets too thick)

Bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the beef roast, when the pot comes back to a boil, reduce the heat to medium to medium high, you should have a heavy simmer. Cook for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the liquid and refrigerate until cold. Reserve about five cups of the broth, you won’t need all of it, but keep some to thin the gravy out if necessary.

While the beef is cooling make the gravy.

Bring 3 cups of the reserved cooking liquid to a boil in a small saucepan.
In a small bowl whisk together the flour, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, then the oil and kitchen bouquet, when thoroughly blended, whisk the mixture into the boiling broth, whisk together well, and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. If necessary add a little of the reserved broth if the gravy is too thick. It should be. not too thick, not too thin. Let the gravy simmer for 20-30 minutes adjust for seasonings, it should have a good amount of salt as the beef has none.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
When the beef is cold, slice it as thin as possible and lay the slices in a 9X9 baking pan. The thicker your slices are, the longer it will take in the oven, so slice thin. or your hungry ass will be waiting.

Cover the beef with 2-3 cups of the gravy. Place into the oven 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the beef is fall apart tender.

For the Po Boy:

2 ten inch French Loaves, see article above
Mayonnaise
2 Tomatoes, sliced
2 Cups shredded Iceburg Lettuce
1 Dill Pickle, sliced
The Roast Beef from the above recipe

Slice the bread in half lengthwise and lay both halves side by side. Slather a bunch of mayonnaise on both sides (I’ll be the cholesterol devil on your shoulder: Come on, your doctor’s not lookin’, don’t be stingy!).

On the top half, add pickle slices, tomato slices, and 1 Cup of the lettuce. On the bottom half, add 1/2 of the beef and gravy mixture (please note, I super-sized the amount of beef in this recipe). Fold the top over the side with the beef and put on a sheet pan. Repeat with the second sandwich. Place the sheet pan in the oven for 2-3 minutes to crisp and warm the bread.

Cut each sandwich in half and serve on paper plates for authenticity. Serve with your favorite cold beer, Barq’s in a bottle, Zapp’s chips, and a big ole’ pile of napkins. Enjoy!

Serves 2 hungry eating machines, or 4 light weights.

From Nola Cuisine

From Nola Cuisine

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which links to all of the recipes featured on this site!

Related Posts:

Parasol’s Restaurant & Bar
Roast Beef Po Boy with Debris Gravy Recipe

Parasol’s Style Roast Beef Po Boy Recipe is a post from: Nola Cuisine

This is one of those tasks that is actually a very therapeutic process for me, like peeling shrimp, or making roux, where you can just sit or stand there and enjoy the silence and repetition of the task at hand, let your brain go and think about whatever; kind of like sleep without the bad dreams.

From Nola Cuisine

I ended up with about 2 pounds of tail meat, the perfect amount for a nice batch of Crawfish Etouffee. I made a batch of Crawfish Stock from the shells and vacuum sealed the tails and fat for later use.

From Nola Cuisine

From Nola Cuisine

Which brings me to lunch today.

The smell of Crawfish Etouffee or Shrimp Etouffee (my recipe), makes me more nostalgic for Louisiana than any other dish I can think of, even above Gumbo and Red Beans. I arrived home from work tonight to sit down and write this post and was met with the aroma of Etouffee still hanging out in the house, heavenly.

The real key to this recipe as with my Shrimp Etouffee, is the stock. Seafood stocks are simple and require a very short cooking time yielding great results.

This recipe leans a little more to the country than my Shrimp Etouffee Recipe, although they are similar, neither shy with the butter, but this one doesn’t use tomatoes. I hope you enjoy it!

The recipe:

From Nola Cuisine

Crawfish Etouffee Recipe

2 Tbsp Creole Seasoning
4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 Cup Onion, Finely Chopped
1/4 Cup Celery, Finely Chopped
1/2 Cup Bell Pepper, Finely Chopped
2 lbs Crawfish Tail meat
1/4 Cup Flour
1 1/2 to 2 Cups Crawfish Stock
1/4 Cup Minced Garlic
2 Tbsp Fresh Thyme Leaves, chopped
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp Hot Sauce (I like Crystal or Louisiana Gold)
1/2 Cup Green Onions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp Italian Parsley, minced
3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste
1 Tbsp fresh Lemon Juice
1 Recipe Creole Boiled Rice

Melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet, add the onions, bell pepper, celery, and 1 Tablespoon of the Creole seasoning, saute until translucent. Add the Crawfish tail meat, the remaining Creole seasoning and saute until the tails let off some of their liquid, cook for 3-5 minutes more. Add the flour, stirring constantly for about 3-5 minutes.

Add a small amount of the crawfish stock, stir well to form a paste, add the remaining stock gradually, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. You may need a little more stock, but the end result should be the consistency of a gravy, not too thick, not too thin.
Add the garlic, Thyme, Worcestershire, and hot sauce, a little salt, black pepper. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Add the green onions and parsley, simmer for 5-10 minutes more.

Stir in the 3 Tbsp butter, lemon juice, and adjust the seasonings to taste.

Serve over Creole Boiled Rice.

Serves 4 as an Appetizer or 2 as a large entree.

From Nola Cuisine

Related Posts:

Shrimp Etouffee Recipe
Crawfish Boil Recipe
Crawfish Stock Recipe
Live Louisiana Crawfish Recipe
Shrimp Stock Recipe
Shrimp Creole Recipe

Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which provides links to all of the recipes featured on this site!

Crawfish Etouffee Recipe is a post from: Nola Cuisine

Crawfish Stock Recipe

2 Quarts Crawfish Shells (leftover from a boil)
1 1/2 quarts cold Water, or just enough to cover
1 large Onion, chopped
3 ribs Celery, Chopped
1 head of Garlic, cut in half horizontally
1 Bunch Thyme
2 Bay Leaves
1 Lemon Halved
1 Tbsp whole Black Peppercorns

In a stockpot or dutch oven cover the crawfish shells with cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Skim off any impurities that rise to the surface.

Add the remaining ingredients and bring back to a low boil, reduce to low, and let simmer for 30-40 minutes. Strain through a china cap or fine mesh sieve and cool. Freeze for later use or use within 2-3 days.

You will only need 1 1/2 to 2 Cups of the stock for my upcoming Crawfish Etouffee Recipe, the rest can be frozen for later use.

Related Posts:

Crawfish Etouffee Recipe
Shrimp Stock Recipe
Shrimp Etouffee Recipe
Crawfish Boil Recipe
Live Louisiana Crawfish Post

Be sure and check out my every growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which link to every recipe featured on this site!

Crawfish Stock Recipe is a post from: Nola Cuisine

The magic behind your boil, in my humble opinion, remains in the hands of two details. Fresh, Lively Crawfish, and your cooking liquid.

Crawfish Boil Recipe

15 lbs Live Louisiana Crawfish
4 Large Spanish Onions, quartered
6 Lemons, halved
4 Heads garlic, halved widthwise
8 Fresh Bay Leaves
3 Bags Crab Boil
1 bunch fresh Thyme
1 Cup Creole Seasoning
1/2 Cup Cayenne, or to taste
1 1/2 lbs Kosher Salt
About 5 Gallons of water, or enough to fill a 30 Quart turkey fryer pot 3/4 full
3 lbs Small Redskin Potatoes
6 Ears of Fresh Corn, shucked, trimmed and cut in half

Bring the water to a boil in a 30 quart Turkey fryer pot with the onions, lemons, garlic, bay leaves, crab boil, cayenne and salt. When the mixture reaches a boil, reduce to a simmer, partially cover and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

From Crawfish Boil

Your crawfish should be picked through for dead ones and placed and washed by first hosing them down, then leaving them in the basket and placing it into a large pot, filling it with water, draining, filling with water, draining, until the remaining water is eventually clean, about 3-4 times. I’m not in the purging with salt camp, I don’t think it does anything more than what I described above.

From Crawfish Boil

While you’re waiting, and this is a very important part of this recipe, drink a few of your favorite ice cold beers and go visit with your company, this is a social event, relax enjoy! Have the washed Redskins waiting in the basket insert nearby and visit. Take advantage of the downtime!

Before adding anything to the pot, taste your cooking liquid! It should taste overly salty and overly spicy. Drink more cold beer, then add your basket insert to the pot with the potatoes. Let cook for 15-20 minutes. After said time has passed add the corn, and cook for about 10 minutes.

From Crawfish Boil

Bring the liquid to a boil and add the live Crawfish.

From Crawfish Boil

Bring the pot back to a boil as quickly as possible, give a good healthy stir and boil for about 5-10 minutes depending on their size.

From Crawfish Boil

Turn off the heat, put a lid on the pot and allow the crawfish to steep in the liquid for 20-30 minutes. The longer they steep, the spicier and more flavorful they will become. When in doubt as to how long to let them steep, pull one out and have a taste! When you’re sure that they are ready, lift the basket and let them drain. When they are well drained dump the contents of the basket onto a picnic table or any outdoor table heavily lined with newspaper.

From Crawfish Boil

Everyone please note, I don’t have any feeling left in my hands from working in the kitchens all these years. The girls were laughing as I was holding the basket with steam blowing off of it, this isn’t a dummy shot, just a big dummy holding a hot pot with bare hands.

From Crawfish Boil

Let your guests belly up to the table and eat until their hearts are content!

Here are some pics from our small but wonderful boil!

From Crawfish Boil

From Crawfish Boil

The full spread, the potatoes and corn take on all of those wonderful flavors. The potatoes especially, the skins dry out and develop that salt crust and the insides take on the spice.

From Crawfish Boil

From Crawfish Boil

Here is my baby girl Anna with her portion.

From Crawfish Boil

Yeah, that was a gag shot, we can’t even get this little one to eat chicken fingers, don’t worry though, I will keep cracking away on her culinary darings.

Thanks again to Charlie and the fine folks from Cajun Grocer for the generous portion of their premium Live Louisiana Crawfish!

This is my brother Brad. We don’t get together as often as we should these days but this boil was the perfect opportunity to do so and we had a wonderful time. Brad actually helps me with all of the technical details on this site and even hosts it for me on his server! He is also responsible for the new layout, which I absolutely love and has inspired me to start posting more often. Thanks for everything Brad!

From Crawfish Boil

Be sure to check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which provides links to all of the recipes featured on this site!

Related Posts:

Crawfish Etouffee Recipe
Live Louisiana Crawfish

Crawfish Boil Recipe is a post from: Nola Cuisine

Oh well, there is no reason that we can’t at least have some good food to remind us that winter does serve a purpose, at least in my kitchen; slow braised or stewed, stick to your ribs (and arteries) comfort food. Inexpensive cuts of beef, pork, lamb, veal, chicken, whatever, slow cooked in a liquid or gravy of some kind until so tender that it practically melts off of the bone.

Tonight was Chicken Fricassee, Louisiana style with a roux, and the holy trinity. My roux here is a little lighter than some would prefer in some parts of Louisiana; I prefer a peanut butter colored roux for this dish. Also note that like a lot of my recipes I add the holy trinity in two stages, about 3/4 goes into the roux after it reaches the peanut butter stage, and the remainder goes in with the liquid. It is a layering of flavor and texture.

It is important to have the sauce for this dish almost fully seasoned before adding the chicken, because you want the chicken to take on all of the flavor of the sauce, although I would just slightly under season with the salt as the sauce will reduce a bit.

Chicken Fricassee Recipe

From Nola Cuisine

5-6 lbs Chicken Leg and Thigh Quarters

For browning the chicken:
1 Cup Flour seasoned with:
2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
A few turns of Black Pepper
A healthy pinch of Cayenne

For the Fricassee:
1 Cup Lard (home rendered), Bacon Drippings, Duck Fat or Vegetable Oil (if you must)
3/4 Cup Flour
2 Cups Onion, chopped
1 Cup Celery, chopped
1/2 Cup Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 Cup Mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp Garlic, finely chopped
1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
1 Quart Chicken Stock, preferably homemade
1 Bay Leaf
1 Bundle of Fresh Thyme, tied together with butcher’s twine
Kosher Salt, Black Pepper, Cayenne to taste
2 Tbsp Fresh Thyme, taken off of the stem and chopped
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp Hot sauce
1/2 Cup Green Onions, thinly sliced
1 Recipe Creole Boiled Rice

Heat the lard, or whichever fat you chose to use, over medium high heat until a small sprinkle of flour quickly sizzles when tossed in. While the fat is heating mix together the flour, salt, black pepper and cayenne, dredge the leg & thigh quarters in the mixture and shake off any excess, set aside on a plate.

When the fat is hot, brown the chicken until golden on both sides, do not cook all the way through, set aside.

Mix together the onions, celery, and bell pepper (holy trinity) in a small bowl.

When the chicken is browned and set aside, pour off 1/2 cup of the fat, leaving about 1/2 cup of it in the pan. Over medium heat gradually whisk in the 3/4 cup of flour until incorporated and slightly thick, stir constantly until a roux the color of peanut butter is achieved, then stir in 3/4 of the holy trinity, mushrooms, and a pinch of Kosher salt, turn the heat to low and cook for 8-10 minutes more, stirring slowly but constantly.

Add the white wine and increase the heat to medium, cook 5 minutes more. Whisk in the chicken stock very gradually to avoid lumps. When it is all incorporated bring the mixture to a full boil to bring the flour to it’s full thickening power, then reduce the sauce to medium low. Stir in the remaining trinity, garlic, bay leaf, bundled thyme, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and season to taste with salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Submerge the chicken in the sauce cover and simmer for about 2 1/2 hours or until falling off of the bone tender. Remove the bundled Thyme and Bay leaf and stir in the chopped Thyme. Adjust the seasonings if necessary.

Serve the chicken with Creole Boiled Rice, and a generous portion of the sauce topped with Green Onions.

If you like, the sauce or gravy for this dish could be finished with heavy cream, sour cream, or creme fraiche. This would also go great with dumplings to replace the rice.

Serves 4.

Be sure to check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which links to all of the recipes featured on this site!

From Nola Cuisine

Chicken Fricassee Recipe is a post from: Nola Cuisine