The Rajun' Cajun Cussin' Creole Cook

All of this gumbo talk lately, here is an official drop spot for all you Rajun' Cajuns and Cussin' Creoles!
 
I know talking about how to do this food right makes me want to rage and cuss!
 
Let's see how you do it!

 

[FreeportBum]

Thanks for the kind words folks, it was really good. I like to make it with shrimp but they shut us down the last two seasons now. Hopefully they open it up next winter. so no fresh Maine shrimp to use, lobster is almost as good. 

 

[kibaumm]

Hey all, I never eat cajun or creole food yet, looking this topic, i cant undestand whats The esence of This food, can anyone explain to me whats is creole food?

 

[hot stuff]

The closest thing that you could relate to is food that is served in Salvador, Brazil. They have a gumbo at the chef's school that would rival any in New Orleans.

A lot of dishes start with onion, celery and bell pepper (the Cajun trinity). Roux's are also represented in a lot of foods. Creoles tend to use more tomatoes in their dishes and traditionally had more meat, but that isn't the case anymore.

 

[JayT]

Ok, I have my own idea, but you guys live there.  Explain the difference between creole and cajun to us.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Creoles are direct descendants of colonial settlers of France and Spain, while Cajuns, or "Acadians-Creoles," are descendants of the former Acadia (a province of New France in Canada), who were forced out of France and England during The Great Expulsion. Both cuisines heavily French-influenced, but the Spanish shines in Creole due to the direct migration from Spain. 

 

[JayT]

I know the history, I want to know the difference in cuisine. 

 

[The Hot Pepper]

More Spanish in Creole. That's why I posted that lol. The food difference has to due with the people.

Just look at each one's jamabalaya.
 
A lot of it has all melded by now, and there's not much difference.
 
Plus you know you'll get different answers right? That's why it's The Rajun' Cajun Cussin' Creole Cook! No one agrees and everyone is right!!!!!!!!!! LOL!

PS.
I DEFER TO PHIL!

 

[hot stuff]

Traditionally, Cajun food is hotter, has less meat and few if any tomatoes. There is some Spanish influence, particularly from the Canary Islands, indeed most of the Spanish influence in Louisiana comes from the Canary Islands, with the Cajuns. My great grandmother was Philomena Rodriguez and her husband was Gaspard Authement (the first mixture in either family of French and Spanish). There were settlements all over the state including one in Missouri, New Madrid. The Spanish brought the Acadians in as allies against the British to the North and East of Louisiana.

Creole really means anything born in the new world so even the S.Americans and Mexicans have Criollo. The slave born here were Creole, the French and Spanish born here were Creole and everything they did was Creole.

But the Creole people in particular were usually a little better off than the Cajuns so their dishes were a little more rich. They had more meats and better meats. They had tomatoes and used them copiously. I have family that was both.

But as said above since Paul Prudomme, Justin Wilson and Emeril Lagasse became popular there hasn't been a lot of difference between the two of them. I would think tomatoes being prevalent among Creoles is still probably true. You'll find it in their gumbos and jambalayas and numerous other dishes. The Cajuns will use Chili powder instead. or simply leave them out.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Very detailed thanks!!! Yeah the tomatoes and more meat in Creole due to wealth and I always figured paella was an influence on jambalaya (meat/seafood cooked with rice and spices), as well as chorizo and various spiced cured meats, with all the spicy sausages. You really don't see that kind of cooking in French dishes. Mostly Spanish.
 
Thanks man! You must eat good.

 

[Deathtosnails]

I gots everything now to make andouille and boudin sausages.  Gumbo this weekend.  Gonna go file over okra as i don't like slimy or mushy veggies.
 
Is duck and shrimp a good combo for a first Gumbo, and what colour roux suits duck?

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Looking forward to it!
 
Sausage and duck sounds good. Not sure you'd need (or want?) the shrimp in there with that mix. Just my initial thoughts. Could be awesome.
 
Or maybe another combo of 2. Sausage and shrimp. The 3 is throwing me off. Or maybe it's duck and shrimp together I don't like there.

 

[Deathtosnails]

This is the recipe I'm gonna go with.  Gonna tweak it a bit.  Too much ham for me.
 
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chef-johns-duck-sausage-and-shrimp-gumbo/
 
Love the way he gets the roux started too.  That's exactly the way i'd do one.

 

[hot stuff]

Very detailed thanks!!! Yeah the tomatoes and more meat in Creole due to wealth and I always figured paella was an influence on jambalaya (meat/seafood cooked with rice and spices), as well as chorizo and various spiced cured meats, with all the spicy sausages. You really don't see that kind of cooking in French dishes. Mostly Spanish.
 
Thanks man! You must eat good.

I do. I started cooking when I was 6. My first dish was blackberry pancakes from a recipe in the Times Picayune Creole Cook Book. Been cooking and developing recipes from that book ever since and learn a fair amount from those 3 aforementioned Cajun chefs as well.

I gots everything now to make andouille and boudin sausages.  Gumbo this weekend.  Gonna go file over okra as i don't like slimy or mushy veggies.
 
Is duck and shrimp a good combo for a first Gumbo, and what colour roux suits duck?

Well you can do anything you like. I guess you could call duck seafood. lol. I usually keep my gumbos mixes to those that breathe air and those that breathe underwater, i.e. I'd do a duck and andouille gumbo but I'd use shrimp with other seafood. But that's just me.

Really, any gumbo ought to have a nice dark roux, at least the color of caramel.  Good luck!
 
BTW, when my dad had to go on the Atkins diet and my mother could no longer use fat to make a roux, she simply roasted the flour in the oven, stirring it occasionally until it reached the required color. So if you have health issues, this might be fix for you.

 

[JayT]

I know that locals in Louisiana always say seafood with seafood, meat with meat, but I often mix shrimp with andouille for my gumbo.  I also ALWAYS use a milk chocolate colored roux for gumbo.  I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

[sicman]

There aint nothing wrong with mixing some sausage, shrimp and  catfish in a big ol bucket for some gumbo.  Oh and bacon.

 

[Phil]

&^$^^&*)&@($)*^(@^(()@+$@)&$@^%($%@!!!!!!!
 

 

[hot stuff]

I know that locals in Louisiana always say seafood with seafood, meat with meat, but I often mix shrimp with andouille for my gumbo.  I also ALWAYS use a milk chocolate colored roux for gumbo.  I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

I'm not saying you can't do it or it's wrong. I'm just saying what's traditional. It's only been the last 20-30 years we've been putting corn, potatoes, cauliflower, turkey necks and sausage into the crawfish boil. So things evolve.

&^$^^&*)&@($)*^(@^(()@+$@)&$@^%($%@!!!!!!!
 

Darnit Phil don't post picks unless you've brought enough for the both of us!!!

 

[hot stuff]

Of course the truth of the whole matter is if it taste good, we'll eat it and we'll make it taste even better.

 

[roper2008]

I have to find my dad's shrimp soup recipe.  It's very simple, but taste good.  It's not hot.  Too bad I didn't pay
attention to how he made his chicken gumbo.  It was pretty good.  My dad was born and raised in Louisiana.  I
was born there too, but they moved to California when I was 2 years old.  I wish I could have learned some creole
cooking from my grandmother.  She was a amazing cook.  OMG!

 

[Phil]

This is what the F&ck I'm talking about
 

 
Oysters drizzled with sriracha and lemon juice, topped with seasoned garlic butter and parmesan cheese, ready for the grill.
 
And here we have some catfish filets and butterflied shrimp for frying.
 

I do. I started cooking when I was 6. My first dish was blackberry pancakes from a recipe in the Times Picayune Creole Cook Book. Been cooking and developing recipes from that book ever since and learn a fair amount from those 3 aforementioned Cajun chefs as well.

Well you can do anything you like. I guess you could call duck seafood. lol. I usually keep my gumbos mixes to those that breathe air and those that breathe underwater, i.e. I'd do a duck and andouille gumbo but I'd use shrimp with other seafood. But that's just me.

Really, any gumbo ought to have a nice dark roux, at least the color of caramel.  Good luck!
 
BTW, when my dad had to go on the Atkins diet and my mother could no longer use fat to make a roux, she simply roasted the flour in the oven, stirring it occasionally until it reached the required color. So if you have health issues, this might be fix for you.

 
 
You guys want a good cookbook, go get a copy of "Cooking up a storm". It's a collection of old family recipes that were salvaged and sent in to the Times Picayune after Hurricane Katrina.