MAR_APR_2014_FINAL_3-15-16

Here comes the Judge Donny’s tacos were excellent — all three varieties! Being at Donny’s house showed me what was really going on: his neighbor, Beau, was scrambling around that kitchen a lot. I don’t mind any of that since the end result was so good. And very original. —Ali

When we finished at my house, we headed over to Craig Berger’s house to judge Tommy’s entry. When we arrive, one thing is immediately obvious: Tommy and his friends have already cooked the entire Rouses Specialty Meat Case (jalapeno poppers, stuffed chicken thighs, sliders, etc.). Also important to note? The whole backyard smells like fried chicken and catfish. I guess Tommy’s theory was that if you cook a bunch of things one of them has to be good. I didn’t have to cook a bunch of things like Tommy and Donny. I knew my ribs were good. —Tim TOMMY ROUSE’S STEAK & TUNA “BERGERS” I keep my Big Green Egg down at the camp in Grand Isle, so I called in some assistance for this contest. I’ve known the Bergers since third grade. Craig and I were in the same class. Don was younger than us. Eric is the youngest Berger Boy, but looks older than the other two. We don’t know what happened with him. I have to admit, I didn’t cook for the competition; I just supervised. Leave it to Tommy to bring in a ringer. Or two. —Donald Cut me some slack. I cook on my egg at the camp all of the time, usually steak or fish. In general, here’s what you need to know about searing meat or fish on a Big Green Egg or Kamodo Joe — you need high heat. The heat on a Big Green Egg is controlled by the vent; if the vent is closed, the temperature is cooler, if its open, the temperature is higher. Craig and Don cooked a few things before getting down to the competition entries. When our judge, Ali, arrived, Craig opened the vent to raise the temperature putting on the steak, which was seasoned with Rouses olive oil and McCormick’s Montreal Steak seasoning (both sides). Tim has his 3-2-1 technique for ribs; Craig uses a 5-5-5 technique for steak. Craig cooked the filet for five minutes on one side, five minutes on the other, and flipped it over for another five minutes on the first side. Craig made the tuna steak, too, which he seasoned with jalapeno olive oil and a little Tony Chachere’s. It was cooked 2-2-2, two minutes per side, with a flip back to the first one. Don made the

Donny Rouse preparing his Pork Tacos Three Ways.

We didn’t want to bring them andmake y’all feel bad about what you were cooking. —Cindy Acosta Who needs ribs when you have tacos? While everyone stood around in awe of my culinary skills, I put together three different sauces and three different tacos. The first one was a Cajun Taco topped with a vinegar-mustard-Steen’s syrup sauce, coleslaw and a fresh corn macque choux. Usually when I do a macque choux I add crawfish tails, but for the taco topping, I left them out. The second taco was a Mexican version, with a Chipotle-Jalapeno-Adobe crème fraiche sauce, pickled red cabbage, cucumber, green onions and cilantro. My final taco I called “Pekin,” which is a play on the famous duck dish and a type of duck raised in Louisiana. I made my own hoisin sauce, and used finely sliced radishes and carrots. I even went local with my tortillas: Hola! Nola! Flour Tortillas, which are made in Gonzales, Louisiana, and available in our New Orleans-area stores. It looked like Donny — or his sous chef, Beau – used every vegetable in the Rouses Produce Department. —Billy I heard a rumor that Donny called Chef Tory McPhail from Commander’s Palace for advice, but he said it wasn’t true. —Tim

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MY ROUSES EVERYDAY MARCH | APRIL 2014