Those Carolina hands make that shrimp and grits... good stuff

Ok so just three things I learned.
1. Use a bigger pot I had to move it to my stock pot.
2. Make sure you skim off the excess oil once it settles. Takes like 5min but makes it so much better
3. Yes you better add at least a extra four cups of water to it because it's pretty concentrated and a bit in the gritty side without it. Just slightly but still much nice with the extra water !

Definitely doing this more !

Ok what the heck is file ?! I've never heard of that

Conecuh ..... Gotta edumacate me on that but I like it ,this was the green onion which is like their really basically flavor. Not super spicy ,not super flavorful, not super bland just a pretty happy medium. Really good for breakfast . Bout a 8" pice cut down the middle with cook with the meat side down till crispy cook ya a egg in the grease then toss em both on a slice of lightly toasted white bread with a slice of cheese and you got somethin ole McDonald's can't beat with a stick

Dried and ground sassafras leaves

They have it by the crab boil and Tony's here

Gumbo looks good

Those fiddleheads actually look good. I’d steam them with a little salt and lemon juice the same way I steam broccoli.


Cajun ninja has several dishes that I want to try. The seafood lasagna looks awesome

The Fiddleheads are boiled for 5 minutes….then drained of all the Tannings….then boiled again in fresh water for another 5 minutes…Then they taste great….with some salt ,pepper, butter, Parmesan cheese.

If you have a little too much oil add a cup of ice water with a beaten egg yolk in it. The yolk has an enzyme or something in it that acts as an emulsifier that will up keep the oil from floating on top.

OK, there is a reason I stay out of Southern Cooking threads: I don't speak the language.

Here is a list of ingredients, or techniques that are foreign to me:

• gumbo-sorta explained
• roux (rou)-sorta explained
• trinity-sorta explained
• fille (file)
• okra
• deglase probably a typo, but, still not familiar.
• fiddleheads/fronds
• conecuh
• etoufee

Other than that, I did kinda follow along.

Gumbo= a soup or stew with a roux base as a thickener can use any type stock or broth traditionally contains the trinity as well

Roux= a gravy/sauce/gumbo base consisting of browned flour and fat, traditionally equal parts flour/fat and can use any fat, the degree of browning is often referred to as white/blond/peanut butter or caramel/brick, milk chocolate, dark chocolate the lighter the greater the thickening power more flour taste darker the less thickening but more toasty nutty flavor Extreme Care must be used as flour scorches easily once scorched the roux is ruined it must be stirred constantly and a dark roux may take a half an hour or more to make, it is also called cajun napalm for a reason do not splash it

A classic gravy is a white or blond roux using bacon or sausage drippings with milk added for a country gravy.

Trinity= chopped onion, bell pepper, celery in roughly equal parts is a must for almost all cajun and creole dishes
Usually added as the roux comes to final color to stop the roux from going further then sauted til soft before adding the stock

Other traditional spices include garlic, bay leaf, thyme and sage

File= ancient native American seasoning and thickener made from finely ground sassafras leaves picked in spring then dried and ground DO NOT add to soups and gumbo while on the heat or boil as it will thicken and become stringy add it off the heat or at the table at the diner's preference

Okra= a wonderful African addition the pods of which can be eaten raw, boiled, fried, pickled or sliced into soups and stews where it too has a thickening effect. When cooked in liquid okra tends to break down releasing a muciliganous substance that is the thickener, some find this to be slimy and objectionable, sautéing beforehand can reduce this

Deglaze= to recover the bits and pieces, flavors, on the bottom of a pan or skillet after browning meats by pouring a liquid, usually mildly acidic like a wine, beer or vinegar, into the hot pan and scraping

Fiddleheads= ask a yankee but I'm open to learning

Conecuh= a brand of smoked sausage native to LA, lower alabama, made in Conecuh County, AL flavorwise it is very similar to anduille

Etoufee= in French means literally to smother, a dish of sautéed vegetables, the trinity, in a gravy either roux or tomato based dependant whether it is cajun roux based or creole tomato based with any number of meats the most famous of which is crawfish or shrimp but can use whatever is available usually served over rice

File is pronounced FEE-lay

The famous seafood gumbo uses a fish or seafood stock made by simmering fish heads and bones or shrimp heads and shells. Seafood gumbo almost always uses shrimp for the meat but can also use oysters, crawfish, fish or scallops plus land fare such as chicken or sausage.

The missus doesn't care for fish stocks.

You get deep in the swamps and it's not uncommon to find gumbos that use duck, gator or nutria.

That's one thing I love about this type of cooking. Using some basic French techniques plus whatever you have to hand or brought with you in the case of native american/african/spanish/french/italian influences for wonderful eating.

Guinea is a favored ingredient in some areas. Don't EVER use chicken breast.

Pretty dang good today too ! Always thought it tasted better after a night in the fridge . Really need more mean in the next batch though !

I like to add a healthy spoonful of Dijon mustard towards the end.

warrior, thank you for the education

I think I'm just going to start with my mothers kalamojakka (Finnish fish stew), though. BTW, the hottest spice allowed by law in Finland is black pepper.

Wolf dog, it looks great. Thanks for bringing us along.
Warrior, thanks for interpreting and defining for some of us. Great use of the term "muciliganous"!

I remember reading a study that showed a definite correlation between worldwide consumption of hot peppers and spicy foods and climate. The Scandinavian countries were ranked lowest.

In addition to the peppers getting hotter from north to south, It is generally accepted that from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean food in general gets tastier as you move south.

Chicken white meat alone isn't my first choice for a stew, gumbo or soup but when I do a whole chicken to make my stock I do go ahead and use it all.