No Reservations - Cajun Country

[inaplasticcup]

I'm not all that interested in Cajun cuisine, but I found this episode very compelling viewing. I thought showing the the hog slaughter and snout to tail preparation made for some really great, informative, timely and enlightening television. And I don't think I've ever seen Bourdain have such a genuinely good time.

Bravo. :)

[jcmods]

But what about that "Stuffed" Turkey Wing? I need to know how to make that. I was drooling the whole hour. And the pig party looked awesome.

[roro1831]

The stuufed turkey wing us just stuffed with seasoning. My favorite aside from thie pig party was the crawfish bisque. Since my grandmother died no one in the family makes it. Its just so labor intensive. My grandparents were cajun and I grew up eating all of that stuff.

[jarona]

That episode was greatness. Absolute greatness. After visiting Louisiana about half a dozen times, I became quite interested in the regional food. It's good. It was extremely enjoyable to see not just Bourdain having a great time, but to watch all those folks together butchering that pig and creating some great looking food, made me realize it is time for a trip back there.
One of his best episodes, IMHO.

[scubadoo97]

ABsolutely loved this episode. Tony did indeed look like he was having a blast. I thought they handled the hog slaughter well. From turtles to sucking tail, it was a great episode

[mzsnowhite]

There is a saying amongst we French Canadians - "We eat everything on a pig except for the oink". Yum. Tony truly did enjoy the experience.

[Pat Hammond]

I took lots of notes while watching. It was that kind of show!

[californiabeerandpizza]

Agree with everything above but was somewhat disturbed by the inclusion of turtle meat. As a diver, the plight of the sea turtle is very important to me and I'm assuming they weren't eating sea turtles but their attitude was rather flippant towards what may have been an endangered species. In the Colombia episode they were eating seat turtle and I found it sickening, maybe equivalent to eating dolphin. I guess everyone has their line in the sand and with me it's turtles.

[dailybread8383]

We've got plenty of turtles here... Its an age old practice to eat tuttle and is in no way a population threat in the bayou

[Uncle Bob]

It was a Common Snapping Turtle or a Alligator Snapping Turtle..Often called a "Loggerhead" in the deep South...and not to be confused with the Loggerhead Sea Turtle....They make excellent Soup, Stews, Etouffee, Sauce Piquant etc....They are very, very common here...

[iphonechica]

I'm pretty sure they said it was road kill.

[JuniorBalloon]

I want to go to that pig party. Did I mention I want to go to the pig party? I really want to go to the pig party. That was so awesome to see the many different stations for prepping the pig. From kill to cleaning to sausage to a whole variety of stews with differnt cuts, grilled ribs and chops. It looked like such a great opportunity to learn, to contribute to play and have a great time. I really, really want to go to the pig party.

jb

[inaplasticcup]

Me, too. If you have one, can I crash? :)

[mamachef]

Yo, there's an "open" Boucherie in New Iberia, La., every year at Fausse Point State Park. Started by a group of friends; it expanded and exists to this day. The pig cannot be slaughtered there by state law, but all the food is otherwise prepped on-site. Sounds like the best.partay.evers. And I want to go.

[inaplasticcup]

Seriously. No matter your ideological differences, there has to be a strong thread that runs through a bunch of people who are all willing to plunge their hands into hot pig guts to make sure there's something delicious to eat.

[mamachef]

"No matter your ideological differences." Exactamente. One of the gang is a veterinarian who cannot personally be present during the slaughter, but then why he just wades on in and is the chief sausage maker.

[JuniorBalloon]

I looked this up and it appears to happen in march just before mardi gras. A bit further away than I might like, but hey I've never been to N'Arlens. This would make a better than average reason for a trip.

Thanks,
jb

[mamachef]

Glad you found something to back it up and give you a solid timeline, JuniorBalloon. One thing though: it's N'Awlins. No "r" - ;P
And I agree. What a great, great destination roadtrip that would be.

[cowboyardee]

The pig party was awesome.

[Sloth]

I thought it was a great end to an interesting season. Tony's search for deeper meanings didn't always work for me, but even the episodes I thought were weak were still better than anything on FN.