Jump to content

Louisiana Cuisine


Mith242

Recommended Posts

^Well everyone has there own favorite spices for Red Beans and Rice. It can range from different herbs, cajun or creole spices, and hot sauces as well.

Traditionally, Red Beans and Rice was made on monday's, and one of the main ingredients was a pork bone from the dish from the evning before. And I even though RB & R is a creole dish, I really like to use Cajun, Andouille, and sometimes Italian sausage. Over the years, I've gotten very good with making RB & R with different recipes that have been passed through my family, and some of my own recipes as well. So Rod if your just starting to make your own RB & R dishes, you'll find a few recipes for it that you really like after a few tries. :D

BTW, There are many different Louisiana and Creole dishes involving differnt beans, and each of them have there own traditional recipes, cooking methods, etc. So I would suggest making Red Beans with the Red Beans recipes and cooking method's, and then trying other bean dishes with their own recipes and cooking methods. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 518
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I think another extremely popular New Orleans food we could discuss is the Po-Boy. :D

True, I also have a question about crawdads/crawfish. I've seen the local grocery store I go to actually has some frozen ones. I'm not positive but I think they're already cooked. I've had shrimp but I've never had crawdads/crawfish. I get the impression they are eaten differently. Can you tell me more about them in case I decide to try them out? :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

True, I also have a question about crawdads/crawfish. I've seen the local grocery store I go to actually has some frozen ones. I'm not positive but I think they're already cooked. I've had shrimp but I've never had crawdads/crawfish. I get the impression they are eaten differently. Can you tell me more about them in case I decide to try them out? :D

Sure :D

The first thing you should do is check the back of the package they are in, to see if they are from Louisiana, any other U.S. state, or if they are from China. If the crawfish are from China, I recommend not buying them. There have been problems lately with crawfish imported from China. If they are from the U.S.(hopefully Louisiana) then they should be fine.

To eat a crawfish, you have to "Suck da head, squeeze da tip.." :lol:

This refers to sucking the juices out of the head, and squeezing the tail of the crawfish(after you have pulled it out) to make sure you got all of the meat. I'm sure it sounds really weird and maybe nasty to someone who doesn't have much experience with crawfish, but New Orleanians don't think about it twice.

BTW, this is probably very hard to find all the way up in NWA, but the best crawfish by far are the ones that have just been boiled. Pre-cooked crawfish taste good, but freshly boiled crawfish are definately the best. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sure :D

The first thing you should do is check the back of the package they are in, to see if they are from Louisiana, any other U.S. state, or if they are from China. If the crawfish are from China, I recommend not buying them. There have been problems lately with crawfish imported from China. If they are from the U.S.(hopefully Louisiana) then they should be fine.

To eat a crawfish, you have to "Suck da head, squeeze da tip.." :lol:

This refers to sucking the juices out of the head, and squeezing the tail of the crawfish(after you have pulled it out) to make sure you got all of the meat. I'm sure it sounds really weird and maybe nasty to someone who doesn't have much experience with crawfish, but New Orleanians don't think about it twice.

BTW, this is probably very hard to find all the way up in NWA, but the best crawfish by far are the ones that have just been boiled. Pre-cooked crawfish taste good, but freshly boiled crawfish are definately the best. :D

Yeah I somehow doubt being able to find fresh crawdads/crawfish in a grocery store up here in NWA. Does it have much meat compared to say a shrimp? I guess one reason I've never tried them before is because I really wasn't sure just how to exactly eat them. They seem sorta expensive from what little it sounds like you get to eat of them. Is there a dish that crawdads/crawfish are usually used in?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I somehow doubt being able to find fresh crawdads/crawfish in a grocery store up here in NWA. Does it have much meat compared to say a shrimp? I guess one reason I've never tried them before is because I really wasn't sure just how to exactly eat them. They seem sorta expensive from what little it sounds like you get to eat of them. Is there a dish that crawdads/crawfish are usually used in?

An average sized crawfish has a bit more meat than an average sized shrimp.

If they are expensive up there it's because it's much harder to find them. In SE Louisiana however, during crawfish season you can get platters and platters of them for a very low price.

Dishes that crawfish are often used in include Crawfish Etouffee,(one of my favorites) Crawfish Bisque,(also very good) some Jambalaya's, Crawfish Po' Boy, and some other dishes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An average sized crawfish has a bit more meat than an average sized shrimp.

If they are expensive up there it's because it's much harder to find them. In SE Louisiana however, during crawfish season you can get platters and platters of them for a very low price.

Dishes that crawfish are often used in include Crawfish Etouffee,(one of my favorites) Crawfish Bisque,(also very good) some Jambalaya's, Crawfish Po' Boy, and some other dishes.

Do they take out the meat and add that to the dishes or just throw in the whole thing?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The meat is usually extracted and added to the dish. As Nate says, there's a world of difference between fresh and frozen crawfish. In Washington, I generally won't order it unless I know it's been flown in recently. Consequently, it doesn't appear on too many menus up here. I learned the hard way not to order an oyster po' boy in Pittsburgh! :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The meat is usually extracted and added to the dish. As Nate says, there's a world of difference between fresh and frozen crawfish. In Washington, I generally won't order it unless I know it's been flown in recently. Consequently, it doesn't appear on too many menus up here. I learned the hard way not to order an oyster po' boy in Pittsburgh! :rolleyes:

I don't know of too many places here in northwest Arkansas that I could find fresh crawdads/crawfish. Anyway sorry to get the topic off the next topic of po'boys. Bring on some info. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nate may be able to tell you more, but the key to a great po' boy is to have excellent bread. I've actually found a place here in D.C. which serves an excellent po'boy- Johnny's Half Shell near Dupont Circle. Of course, Ann Cashion has her baguettes flown in from New Orleans several times a week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nate may be able to tell you more, but the key to a great po' boy is to have excellent bread. I've actually found a place here in D.C. which serves an excellent po'boy- Johnny's Half Shell near Dupont Circle. Of course, Ann Cashion has her baguettes flown in from New Orleans several times a week.

Does it have to be baguette type bread?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes. A good po' boy must start with great bread. Anything less makes a miserable sandwich.

Maybe I'm wrong on this but I thought po'boys could be found in other southern areas and weren't exclusive to Louisiana. Outside of Louisiana I guess I don't usually think of people using baguette type bread. Am I wrong on this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Louisiana and certain parts of Mississippi....but most places wouldn't feature a real po'boy. There are many restaurants which call themselves "Cajun" which might purport to serve you something like Cajun or Creole food, but it is very, very difficult to find good Cajun or Creole cooking outside of the area. I know of three in D.C. which are but a faint glimmer of the real thing. The one I mentioned above happens to have an owner from Jackson who has also lived in New Orleans. It's one of the very few which manage to pull the delicate job off well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Louisiana and certain parts of Mississippi....but most places wouldn't feature a real po'boy. There are many restaurants which call themselves "Cajun" which might purport to serve you something like Cajun or Creole food, but it is very, very difficult to find good Cajun or Creole cooking outside of the area. I know of three in D.C. which are but a faint glimmer of the real thing. The one I mentioned above happens to have an owner from Jackson who has also lived in New Orleans. It's one of the very few which manage to pull the delicate job off well.

I guess I had thought po'boys were also found in certain parts of Arkansas. I guess I had never considered them to be from somewhere else. But I admit I don't really know that much about them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That may be so. I generally haven't encountered them in their true form much outside southern Louisiana or coastal Mississippi. Of course, one may happen to be lucky and find a place with a transplanted chef who knows what they are doing. I once had a great po'boy at the Hudson in New York (too bad the $16 martini had to come along with it). You just never know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does it have to be baguette type bread?

Most po' boys are served on fresh french bread, which can also be called a baguette, but is a bit different. In fact, a po' boy in New Orleans is judged not by the meat, but is judged on how fresh the bread is. A po' boy with fresh crispy french bread is something great, while a po' boy on old french bread might as well be thrown out of the window.

Maybe I'm wrong on this but I thought po'boys could be found in other southern areas and weren't exclusive to Louisiana. Outside of Louisiana I guess I don't usually think of people using baguette type bread. Am I wrong on this?

Po' Boy's are 100% native to New Orleans. The term "po' boy" was coined in New Orleans in 1929. There was a stirke going on in the city between the streetcar conductors and the streetcar company. At that point, a restaurant owner and former streetcar operator started serving free sandwiches to the streetcar conductors who were very short on cash. The sandwiches were then called "poor boys", and through the New Orleans dialect it sounded like "po' boy", and the po' boy was born. Real New Orleans po' boys have always been made the same way, though some of the original po' boys were actually served with a piece of a fried potato, because seafood and other meats were to expensive. You can find po' boys throughout the south, but IMO they are just not the same as what you will find in New Orleans. This is the case for a great deal of New Orleans dishes. There are definately some great po' boy places across the south like Tom was able to find, but for me, there is nothing like a po' boy on fresh french bread with fresh seafood or other meats in New Orleans. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That may be so. I generally haven't encountered them in their true form much outside southern Louisiana or coastal Mississippi. Of course, one may happen to be lucky and find a place with a transplanted chef who knows what they are doing. I once had a great po'boy at the Hudson in New York (too bad the $16 martini had to come along with it). You just never know.

Maybe they were brought in from Louisiana or Mississippi for all I know. To be honest even though I lived in southern Arkansas and I remember hearing about po'boys I never really looked too much into them. My knowledge of them is limited.

Thanks for giving us some more info Nate. I guess I never realized they were 'born' in New Orleans. I guess I just always thought of it as a general 'southern' type food. Remember my knowledge on them is limited, what gets put on them and what makes them different than other sandwiches? :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

what gets put on them and what makes them different than other sandwiches? :D

Most po' boys in New Orleans contain either fried shrimp, crawfish, oysters, or catfish. Though you can also get them with what is considered to be "standard fillings" with ham or turkery, or you can get one with roast beef, which is served with piping hot brown gravy.

What sets them apart from other submarine type sandwiches IMO is the interesting history behind the sandwich, the fact that every part of the sandwich has to be perfect in order to be a "real" po' boy, the meats used,(when was the last time you ordered a sandwich containing fried crawfish and oysers from Subway ;)) the way the ingredients are prepared, and the spices and seasoning's that may be used. To me, it's just another fantastic New Orleans born dish with it's own flavor. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most po' boys in New Orleans contain either fried shrimp, crawfish, oysters, or catfish. Though you can also get them with what is considered to be "standard fillings" with ham or turkery, or you can get one with roast beef, which is served with piping hot brown gravy.

What sets them apart from other submarine type sandwiches IMO is the interesting history behind the sandwich, the fact that every part of the sandwich has to be perfect in order to be a "real" po' boy, the meats used,(when was the last time you ordered a sandwich containing fried crawfish and oysers from Subway ;)) the way the ingredients are prepared, and the spices and seasoning's that may be used. To me, it's just another fantastic New Orleans born dish with it's own flavor. :D

Yeah I don't think I've heard of any of the po'boys in Arkansas having seafood in them. Would you find items found in other sandwiches like lettuce and tomato in po'boys?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To get this thread active again, here is another interesting New Orleans born food.

Hubigs Pies

pie_front_sm.jpg

There isn't as much history to this dish as some others, but it's becoming quite popular around the south, and has been getting some national attention lately. Hubics was actually profiled on the TV show "Americas Top Pie's" on the Food Network.

Hubig's Pies can be found at grocery stores and convenience stores across the south, and in some locations in the Northeast and in the West. They are small pies that come in a variety of flavors, baked a way that most pies were back in the late 1800's in New Orleans, and can be eaten right out the bag or heated in the microwave, both ways are great. Personally, I love these little things, they taste homemade, and are always very fresh as the stores around here are freshly stocked with them because the company is located in New Orleans. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.