Some OLD Cajun recipes

[Brisketexan 104628]

So, had to find a recipe for our Christmas menu in my mom’s old recipe book. It has clippings, a lot of her handwritten recipes, and some old small recipe booklets and such.

 

Here are a couple from probably the late 60s to early 70s (my old man worked in the oil patch in Louisiana in that timeframe):

 

 

And this one - good old fashioned retail politics (he was a racist POS, but he was a Senator from Louisiana for 40 years, so of course he was):

 

[freyguy 4245]

Holy fuck, I love you.  I'm saving those pics and trying them out this week.

[jimmyjazz 45560]

Very cool, thanks.  Into the virtual recipe file these go.

So . . . doesn't the inclusion of tomatoes make it "Creole" not "Cajun"? 

(I get it, it says "Cajun" right on page 1, just wonderin'.)

[salonghorn 204]

3 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Very cool, thanks.  Into the virtual recipe file these go.

So . . . doesn't the inclusion of tomatoes make it "Creole" not "Cajun"? 

(I get it, it says "Cajun" right on page 1, just wonderin'.)

I believe that most would say that the inclusion of tomatoes is a creole thing. Maybe they had a different way of looking  at when the cook book was published.

[Brisketexan 104628]

I believe that most would say that the inclusion of tomatoes is a creole thing. Maybe they had a different way of looking  at when the cook book was published.

In my experience, while there are historical differences between Cajun and creole..a jillion years of coonasses picking stuff up from NOLA and vice versa, and….importantly, nobody being a stickler for any “rules” other than “is it fucking delicious? Then make it” means that there’s a lot of mixing and matching.

Cajun recipe books have “creole” stuff. Creole recipe books have Cajun stuff. It’s all good.

If any of y’all try any of these out, lemme know how they go.

[Brisketexan 104628]

Oh, and there were more of these. I’ll see what I can get later. Here’s a fun one from my childhood in Houston:

[tx 3 putt 76399]

Damn good stuff. Post ad many pics as you can

i don’t care what everyone says about you @Brisketexan , you’re ok in my book

[pacmanmakesitrain 91]

First you make a roux.

Thanks for sharing!

[dcbc 14410]

I have a new coworker with Cajun parents.  I'm talking to her about gumbo.  Apparently, there's a special brand of rice and preferred andouile (it has some grandma on the label).  She's going to pick up some of the rice for me while she's home for the holidays.  Will report back on the next gumbo cook.

[Hermanator 6944]

I don't have any cajun in my family. We're all north and west Texas people so I don't know the difference between cajun and creole, but damned if I don't love gumbos and etoufee and jambalayas and all that stuff. Love it so much if any of you coonass assholes wanted to adopt me for some family cooking get togethers I'd be right there. 

[WBT 20422]

3 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Oh, and there were more of these. I’ll see what I can get later. Here’s a fun one from my childhood in Houston:

Loved Wyatt's as a kid.  Almost as good as Luby's and Wyatt's was inside the mall.

[Brisketexan 104628]

Loved Wyatt's as a kid.  Almost as good as Luby's and Wyatt's was inside the mall.

Westwood Mall Wyatt’s FTW.

[DalTxHornFan 3085]

Who am I to judge the knowledge of these giants of Cajunhood? 

But putting shrimp in your roux so far prior to adding in The Trinity  and additional stock and veggies just seems wrong. 

Shrimp is one of the last things I ever add to a seafood gumbo.  Who needs a bunch of over-cooked rubbery shit in their gumbo?

[Mac8111 2103]

Just here to state that the Creole tomato is far and above better than anything else in its class.

[Brisketexan 104628]

Wanna go OLD school Nee Orleans? Here’s the NOPSI recipe pamphlet, from god know when. Probably the 60s.

[tx 3 putt 76399]

[Brisketexan 104628]

I dare someone to make the cafe brulot recipe for the family this holiday. That’s some mid century booze and sugar shit.

[dcbc 14410]

Just now, Brisketexan said:

I dare someone to make the cafe brulot recipe for the family this holiday. That’s some mid century booze and sugar shit.

I'm a little surprised the gumbo didn't use a can of Cream of Chicken soup for the roux.

[Pato del Muerto 52342]

13 hours ago, Hermanator said:

I don't have any cajun in my family. We're all north and west Texas people so I don't know the difference between cajun and creole, but damned if I don't love gumbos and etoufee and jambalayas and all that stuff. Love it so much if any of you coonass assholes wanted to adopt me for some family cooking get togethers I'd be right there. 

Used to watch Justin cook on some channel or another. He was fun to watch and fun to listen to. 

[jimmyjazz 45560]

For those who haven't tried it, Alton Brown's "oven roux" is easy and virtually bulletproof.  90 minutes to dark, just a couple of stops to whisk.

-- 4 ounces vegetable oil

-- 4 ounces all-purpose flour

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.

 

 

Alton Brown's shrimp gumbo

P.S.  He adds the shrimp last

[Brisketexan 104628]

For those who haven't tried it, Alton Brown's "oven roux" is easy and virtually bulletproof.  90 minutes to dark, just a couple of stops to whisk.

-- 4 ounces vegetable oil

-- 4 ounces all-purpose flour

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.

 
 
Alton Brown's shrimp gumbo
P.S.  He adds the shrimp last

Something that I’ve noticed in these mid-century recipes is the lean on convenience: lots of canned ingredients, and instead of broth or stock…they just add water. So, no making stock with shrimp shells and all that. Of course, lots of gumbo recipes call for putting whole or half crabs to the gumbo (my mom did it that way), which gives you lots of flavor.

[Pato del Muerto 52342]

Sanitation and refrigeration wasn’t the greatest until the last 40-50 years so some recipes make sure to cook certain elements thoroughly to kill the bugs that may have grown during harvest, transit, or storage. 
 

one would hope a NO recipe calling for sea critters would assume fresh out of the gulf that morning sea critters but maybe for mass publication recipes they take that into account. 

[Thetexashammer 1062]

12 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Westwood Mall Wyatt’s FTW.

Nothing about Westwood Mall was for the win. And I am counting the Gold Mine where I played all those terrible video games.

[Brisketexan 104628]

Nothing about Westwood Mall was for the win. And I am counting the Gold Mine where I played all those terrible video games.

You shut your dirty mouth. Wyatt’s, begging mom for a bucks worth of quarter for the Gold Mine, and I saw Star Wars and Poltergeist there. It was closer to us than Sharpstown, but not by a lot.

[RPM 26229]

Grew up watching Justin Wilson. He taught me you always bring more wine than the recipe calls for. Chef's privilege.

[CooterBrown 17913]

For those who haven't tried it, Alton Brown's "oven roux" is easy and virtually bulletproof.  90 minutes to dark, just a couple of stops to whisk.

-- 4 ounces vegetable oil

-- 4 ounces all-purpose flour

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.

 
 
Alton Brown's shrimp gumbo
P.S.  He adds the shrimp last

This is the only way I make a roux. It’s foolproof and perfect for us lazy people. I start it on a burner in my Dutch oven and move it to the oven once it has a light color. It only takes about 45-60 minutes with that 5 minute head start.

[mchookem 16224]

18 hours ago, DalTxHornFan said:

Who am I to judge the knowledge of these giants of Cajunhood? 

But putting shrimp in your roux so far prior to adding in The Trinity  and additional stock and veggies just seems wrong. 

Shrimp is one of the last things I ever add to a seafood gumbo.  Who needs a bunch of over-cooked rubbery shit in their gumbo?

was literally scrolling to the bottom to say the same...cook shrimp in a roux and then also simmer for an hour?? 🤨 wtf lol

[Willfully Horn 7916]

12 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

For those who haven't tried it, Alton Brown's "oven roux" is easy and virtually bulletproof.  90 minutes to dark, just a couple of stops to whis-- 4 ounces vegetable oil

-- 4 ounces all-purpose flour

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.

 

 

Alton Brown's shrimp gumbo

P.S.  He adds the shrimp last

 

I am curious about the color of the finished product. 
 

[CooterBrown 17913]

 
I am curious about the color of the finished product. 
 

As dark as you want to go. You just keep cooking it. The benefit is there’s no risk of burning it and you only need to stir it every 20 minutes or so.

[Willfully Horn 7916]

3 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

As dark as you want to go. You just keep cooking it. The benefit is there’s no risk of burning it and you only need to stir it every 20 minutes or so.

Thanks! 
 

I guess I’ll start a stopwatch, discover how long it takes to burn, and scale back a few minutes. For next time.

Edited to say: it won’t burn? 
Hmmm

Edited December 25, 2023 by Willfully Horn

[Al_4_ISU 12409]

Cool thread.  I'm about as far as you can get from being a coonass, but they make pert near the best food I've ever eaten.  If I had 2 months to live, I'd probably spend at least 3 weeks in Louisiana just eating and drinking.

[jimmyjazz 45560]

2 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Cool thread.  I'm about as far as you can get from being a coonass, but they make pert near the best food I've ever eaten.  If I had 2 months to live, I'd probably spend at least 3 weeks in Louisiana just eating and drinking.

I think I'd split my last 2 months equally between New Orleans (gumbo & jambalaya), Santa Fe (obvious), and NYC (Italian).

[HouTex 1850]

The gumbo recipe with the shrimp cooked to death is crazy.  But not too surprising because Cajun/creole cooking is all over the place.  My mother’s family is from the Lake Charles area.  Not true Cajun, but more French via New Orleans, and my grandmother cooked some mighty fine gumbo, jambalaya and grillades.  Many of her recipes were very close what you’ll find in Emeril Legasse’s Real and Rustic cookbook which I highly recommend if you like traditional Cajun food. 

[horn4life 3755]

We bought this book last year after seeing it on a chef's shelf.  I haven't read the whole thing as it weights about 15 lbs and is pushing 850 pages, but it's fascinating if you are interested in Cajun/Creole food.  It's interesting in that the beginning show how the different dishes came from the different food groups of originally the Indian tribes in the areas and how the foods and techniques gradually blended along with the population ebbs and flows. Anyhow like I said, it's one big ass book, but the first 100 or so pages on the evolution of origins of the flavors regionally and historically was very interesting to me.  The other 700 pages are recipes and techniques, but more on the old school side .A lot of interesting  So complementary to this thread.

 

[CooterBrown 17913]

Sanitation and refrigeration wasn’t the greatest until the last 40-50 years so some recipes make sure to cook certain elements thoroughly to kill the bugs that may have grown during harvest, transit, or storage. 
 
one would hope a NO recipe calling for sea critters would assume fresh out of the gulf that morning sea critters but maybe for mass publication recipes they take that into account. 

More likely is that not everybody can cook worth a shit. Doesn’t matter if you grew up Cajun or not.

[horn4life 3755]

1 hour ago, CooterBrown said:

More likely is that not everybody can cook worth a shit. Doesn’t matter if you grew up Cajun or not.

My father in law (rest in peace) would cook the shit out of hamburgers, so I began to pay close attention to having him put mine on last and pulled off early.  Then I realized he was turning those burgers grey and then putting them directly back onto the raw hamburger pan they were taken off of originally to go onto the grill... So I could have just eatem mine raw with the same risk.

But when it comes to cooking seafood? The best seafood is served the second it is done!!!  Past that, you are wasting time and killing flavor.

 

Here is a Cajun test phrase- " Dirty Tree and a turd..."