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n Cajun country before the days of standard refrigeration, the farmers’
cold-weather boucherie tradition didn’t allow for any part of the pig to go
unappreciated. These dishes are woven into the flavors of our food culture.
Here is a partial list of South Louisiana meat market classics. Rouses has been
making their own since 1960 (
cracklins are exclusive to the North Canal St. market
in Thibodaux),
but if you’re keen to experiment or to revive your own family’s
heirloom recipes, have a conversation with your Rouses butcher. Rouses stocks
classics like pig’s tails, pig’s feet and pork liver (for making your own boudin).
They can even special order whole pigs for your own home boucherie.
whole hog
Going Whole Hog:
The Boucherie Tradition
by
Pableaux Johnson +
photos by
Romney Caruso
Boudin
This spicy, rice-based pork sausage is perfect with
a bottle of cold beer. The various styles include
the liver-heavy varieties (with an earthy flavor) or
those with more recognizable pork pieces. Or as
a tasty variation, squeeze the tasty boudin filling
from the casing, form it into spheres and pan-fry
them for another snack treat: crispy boudin balls.
Gratons (Cracklins)
The Cajun version of the venerable pork rinds, these
tasty chunks of crispy pork skin, meat and fat are
rendered down in flavorful lard are about as healthy as
you’d expect, and about five times as tasty and addictive.
Grab a paper bag filled with these crunchy treat
whenever you can and munch away. Best when fresh.
Andouille
This meaty, coarser-textured pork sausage is used in everything from slow-
cooked gumbos to Monday night red beans. It’s made with chunks of pork
shoulder (often called the “Boston butt” cut of the hog) and simply spiced
with garlic, curing salts and various peppers (usually black and cayenne).
Tasso
The potent smoked meat known as tasso is basically spicy Cajun pork jerky
and is a workhorse in local kitchens. Brined for preservation and smoked until
flavors are highly concentrated, this amazing product is used sparingly, mostly
as a flavoring agent in just about any slow-cooked stew or vegetable dish (greens
or beans). A little goes a long way, but a good long way.
Hogshead Cheese
For the uninitiated, this common (and tasty) specialty can be a hard sell.
It’s sausage-like, kind of gelatinous, and similar to a classic countrified
French terrine, but pretty it ain’t. Tender meat from a long-boiled pig’s
head (hence the name) is ground and cooled into a jellified loaf and
served cold. If you haven’t tried it, give it a solid shot. And if you’d like
to appreciate it in a different form, melt a block of hogshead cheese in a
stovetop pot and eat it like a bowl of pig-based chili.