Soooooo Whatcha Eating?

Cajun spice... that is REAL cajun spice, is all about flavor, and is not mouth-burning spice. It creeps up on you. Halfway through my boudin, my neck was sweating and I turned down the thermostat, but my mouth was fine.

When I lived in Port Arthur, ready-to-eat boudin was in every convenience store, just like hot dogs are everywhere else. Up here, it is a lot harder to find, but Kroger and Wallyworld have Zummo's. http://zummo.com/boudain/

CD

 

Zummo's web site says it is available at WalMart Supercenters in Ohio. Look near the smoked sausages.

BTW, if you find some, my preferred method of cooking is indirect on the grill. Last night, I used the oven at 350 degrees.

Some people eat the skin, others don't. If you grill or bake it, the skin is pretty easy to eat. If you steam it, the skin is tough, so you cut an end, and squeeze it out like toothpaste, or cut the skin off altogether.

CD

 

Might have to give this a try, but squeezing it out like toothpaste might be a turn-off.

Don

 

I did a YouTube search on eating boudin, and found a real gem. It tells the history, you get to hear real cajun accents, see a boucherie, see people cooking and eating boudin -- and as a bonus, a Duck Dynasty smack-down at the very end.

Like so many awesome foods, boudin was working-class food. It was a way to take the less desirable cuts of pork, and turn it into good tasting, filling food.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acy22OziLCI"]MUNCHIES Presents: A Short Film on Cajun Boudin - YouTube[/ame]

I've never made boudin from scratch, but will someday. I do cure and smoke my own Tasso, because you can't buy it here. I've done a few crawfish boils, but getting live crawfish in Dallas is really expensive.

CD

 

The ex-wife flew in tonight from the left coast to visit my kids and grand babies. I was elected to drive since I have the Suburban, and since she was paying for dinner I figured, what the heck. Why not, especially since we were going for sushi.

The near "boat" was full of sushi about 10 minutes before they brought out the second one and I thought to take a picture. Turns out the restaurant is in the same mini mall as my Indi Mechanics shop. Small world.

 

Wow, Sushi in a boat, cost by the boat or by the type you fill the boat?

Not much on Sushi, but a few rolls I like when my son's are buying.



Hey CD... Tasso? You can tell I was raised on the West Coast 50/60s and became an adult in the Midwest and now live in the Denver area....

 

Tasso is strips of pork butt (upper shoulder) that is cured, then smoked. It is kind of like ham, but is not eaten as-is, because it is pretty salty and smokey. It is pretty intense in flavor. In cajun cooking, you use tasso to season dishes. You dice it up, and add it to your slow cooked dishes kind of like a seasoning. I always use it when I make gumbo, for sure, and sometimes use it in red beans and rice.

Tasso is a sacrificial meat. It gives up it's flavors over a long cook to what you are cooking. When you eat a good bowl of gumbo with tasso in it, you don't taste the little bits of it in the gumbo, but the gumbo wouldn't taste the same without it.

It is impossible to buy outside of deep cajun country, so I make my own, vacuum seal it and freeze it, so I can pull it out of the freezer whenI feel like it.

CD

 

We've made something similar for some of our home events in the past. Pork butts trimmed and sliced between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick and threaded on bamboo skewers. Dust liberally with butt rub and let sit in the coolers for a couple of days before slow smoking it in a 225º cooker fired with oak and a little hickory for flavor. Smoke them for about six hours, then baste them with our homemade BBQ sauce, pan them and cover with foil and return to the cooker for another hour. It's like meat candy. Leftovers are great in a pot of pintos, soups, or stews also.

 

I usually grill or smoke something on Memorial day, but today I made some chicken fried steak, fried okra and white gravy. Basically, heart disease on a plate. I didn't make any mashed potatoes, so it only felt like I ate two-thirds of a bowling ball after supper.

I went to the liquor store, too. If you are going to taunt the grim reaper, you may as well go all the way. :beer

Oatmeal and Lipitor for breakfast tomorrow.

CD

 

No pictures today. Korean BBQ, rice, kimchee, takuan, and mochi for desert. Almost forgot the cold Sapporo beer.
Food from two of my favorite places to have been stationed.

 

Working on some testing with my client for a new butcher opening here in Columbus.

We tested the BBQ Spice Blend and a salt free Herbal Blend.

You see a Country style Pork Rib that was seasoned with the rub and left to sit for an hour or so. Seared and braised with Belgian Pale Ale and Hickory Syrup. The sauce is made from local strawberries combined with rub,beer syrup along with the juice and zest of a blood orange.

The herbal blend is a mix of tarragon, lavender, white pepper and a bunch of other stuff I forget. A dressing consisting of the blend, garlic scapes, garlic, olive oil and the leftover vinegar from a jar of pickled ramps coated new crop red potatoes and English Peas.

 

I have been lax in my serious cooking since the weather got HOT!!! I do have a nice USDA Choice NY Strip for Sunday, that I plan to sous vide to medium rare, and flash sear over some scorching hot charcoal. Maybe some grilled asparagus on the side -- or maybe some fresh grilled corn on the cob. Sweet corn is in season now. Strawberries are in season, too, so dessert is covered. I may need to start with a Caprese salad, since tomatoes are in season, too.

I love June when it comes to fresh produce. It is the one month I could actually be a vegetarian.

CD

 

Ooooooh my. I just had a burger epiphany.

I've never been to Smashburger. So I did some googling and YouTubing and got the low down on what a "smashburger" is. And tonight, I made one at home.

Wow, that thing was awesome. That is going to be my new go-to burger.

I started with some very loose 80/20 Angus Chuck, loosely rolled into a ball. I got my cast-iron skillet up to med-high, put some clarified butter in the skillet, put my meat ball in the butter, put some parchment paper on top and smashed it flat for ten seconds with a cast-iron press.

While that side was cooking, I seasoned the top side with salt, pepper and granulated garlic, and after about two-ish minutes, flipped my burger seasoned that side, added finely diced red onion and a slice of white American cheese. Another two-ish minutes, and you have a "smash burger ready to bun-up.

The burger was juicy, and the flavor was amazing.

Try it!

CD

 

Last summer while I was doing chemo and rad I had to stay at a hotel during the week. There was a "Smashburger" around the corner. Not many things tasted good, but the smashburgers never let me down. I've been back a couple times since. The fries and milkshakes are good too.

 

There is one about five miles from home. I'll have to try it sometime to see how close I got with mine.

CD

 

Oh, I forgot to mention the clarified butter clusterf--k.

I've always made clarified butter the old fashion way, in a small pan on the stovetop. Well, I read all kinds of tips about making it in the microwave, so I gave it a try. I put half a stick of butter in a small pyrex vessel, and followed the directions to the last detail.

It started off good, with the butter melting. Then, I watched and waited for the butter to separate. Then, BOOM! I ended up with most of that half a stick of melted butter coating the inside of my microwave oven. :incazzato:

I had just enough to make my smashburger. But, I will NOT be doing that again.

CD

 

The wife s making her own one of a kind steak burgers today.

Pictures later, if I remember. :drool

 

It's a gas station. It's a taqueria. It's a gas station AND and (damn good) taqueria in Austin.



I had some awesome barbacoa tacos, and a cold cerveza. Melt in your mouth meat. Killer crema sauce.

CD

 

Tomorrow, it is lunch at Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, Texas. Traditional beef BBQ, with salt and pepper rub. Simple. Excellent.



I've got my taste-buds prepped for brisket and sausage.

One of the best auto restoration shops in the country is also in little Taylor, Texas -- Jeff's Resurrections. I was going to take Jeff to lunch, but while I'm in Taylor, he'll be in Dallas. Go figure.

CD