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Post by Cajunate on Nov 9, 2017 8:08:31 GMT -6
Yesterday I was finally able to get away for a quick trip up to Pineville Louisiana and made some stops along the way for boudin and some hogshead cheese, I don't if it's like it was yesterday morning in Baton Rouge but the traffic on the Interstate was horrible. Left Metairie at 6:30 and spent at least an hour in creeping traffic on the I-10 in Baton Rouge.
We stopped at Bergeron's in Lobdell for a bathroom stop and boudin balls, cracklins which were delicious and the son got a BBQ Beef sandwich that was pretty darn delicious. Got on 190 and next stop was Soprano's Suppermarket. There I picked up some jalapeno sausage, pork boudin and their hog's head cheese which looks really good.
Next stop was Kartchner's in Krotz Springs. I really like the variety of stuff they have there! Grabbed some Jalapeno and pepperjack cheese boudin and regular Pork boudin there.
Back on the road and further down I stopped in Port Barre' at Bourque's Supermarket. Only got some pork boudin there as well as their rice dressing mix which is pretty darn good and a pan of their jalapeno cheese bread. Didn't get their HH cheese this trip as I've had it and there really is only so much hogs head cheese you can eat without it going bad.
Just an FYI I overheard someone talking about the Cracklin Festival in Port Barre' this weekend for anyone interested.
After Port Barre' I took a back road to 71 up to Bunkie then Evergreen. No stops for boudin there and it may have been a while since I've been to Evergreen but it's changed so much that I blinked and missed some things I wanted to show my son. I had to may a u-turn and backtrack a little bit to show him where family used to live there and the bayou I used to fish in. So taking another back road we get on 115 heading toward Hessmer. This mission was to find the road where the farmer lived that we used to buy boxes of sweet potatoes from. Luckily they have a sign on 114 directing to the house. Got there and bought two boxes of nice looking Orleans and Beauregard sweet potatoes on the honor system. I'm really happy now!
Heading toward Pineville now I decide "What the heck?" let's stop at Juneau's in Marksville for some more cracklins! Got some cracklins but no boudin there as I've had a lot of theirs and it's really good stuff too. Oh, Juneau's sell pork skins I assume they make themselves by the way it packaged and they are fantastic. Not talking about cracklins but light airy pork skins that are nicely seasoned with a bbq like flavor.
That was it for buying specialties as we had to get up to Pineville. Had a great yet short visit and headed back to the house.
The weather was a perfect dreary wintery looking day for this trip and it got cooler as the day passed. Unfortunately as we got closer to home the temps rose. Nice cool breeze this morning though. So we made five stops and got some nice looking goodies. I'll split the packages of boudin up this morning and probably do a grilled comparison and a steamed/simmered link comparison later. The steamed batch will most likely be another day. as I'll probably Foodsaver that batch. Baked sweet potatoes will most likely be on this evening's menu for dinner.
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Post by Cajunate on Nov 9, 2017 9:44:16 GMT -6
On a side note here...... Not long ago someone mentioned something about putting a square of hogs head cheese in a bowl of grits. Sounded interestingso I gave it a try this morning. Not bad! Gives a spicy kick to plain buttered grits. This was HOT HH cheese from Bailey's in Laplace.
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Post by Cajunate on Nov 9, 2017 10:21:51 GMT -6
Just went and unloaded the two boxes of sweet potatoes from the truck. Here's what they look like. Much better than anything we've bought at the grocery lately for two and three times more. These are the Orleans with a cooking spoon I got at Bourque's. Yeah, they're still covered in dirt but I think that helps to keep them. The Beauregards of which I'll bake a half dozen of tonight. A quick drop of the potatoes in a bucket and rinsing with the hose and they are as clean as what you get in stores.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2017 11:23:01 GMT -6
Quite a productive trip, Nate. And getting to spend time like that with your son is special, too!
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Post by jimz on Nov 9, 2017 12:48:31 GMT -6
Wow, that was a nice field trip. Those sweet potatoes look all so good. Where are you setting up your road side stand, Nate??
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Post by Cajunate on Nov 9, 2017 19:14:45 GMT -6
Alrighty, first off.... I am stuffed!!!!! I did my comparison of the four before mentioned boudins and all I can say is I'm glad I'm not a judge for a contest in real life between these four so far. I love them all!!!!! But my assessment so far as them being grilled(which I left them on there too long and some burst the casings)follows. The Bourque's was spicy good but seemed to me to be understuffed compared to the rest. The Kartchner's pork was really darn good and has almost shredded like consistency of the pork and not ground. It also has a darker color to it almost like a roux is used in the making process. It' also got a richer flavor. The Kartchner's Jalapeno and pepperjack cheese boudin is awesome! Definitely got a heat element to it. Good thing I was imbibing a cold beer during the taste test. Lol.... The Soprano's version was a plump filled link that was equally as delicious as the others but it was a tad bit more moist. Not in a bad way but I notice it. All said and done it's really hard to pick one from the four I tasted this evening. Hold a gun to my head and I'll have to say the Kartchner's pork was the overall best. Now not to take anything away from the jalapeno/pepperjack version which I consider to be a sidetracked version. If you're going to aparty or tailgate and want people to say ohhhh...... ahhhhh....... get yourself a bunch of the Kartchner's jalapeno and pepperjack cheese boudin and be the talk of the party. I will add and not in a way to disparage Don's Country Store's pork boudin, obviously people like it or they wouldn't make it and sell it but I found it to be a bit mushy needing more rice in it. As I was putting boudin in the freezer after Foodsaver'ing it I realized I had a package of Bailey's boudin in there. I'll add thet to the next taste test as steamed or simmered. There you have my opinion this evening of what I bought yesterday. I might make myself a boudin omelet tomorrow morning but for now I am stuffed! Here are a few pictures of the boudin grilled this evening. The top one is the bourque's , second the Kartchner's. third Kartchner's jalapeno and pepperjack boudin and last was the Soprano's. To keep it all the same I took 1/3 sections of each link from the middle of each link of boudin.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2017 20:10:21 GMT -6
Oh, stop! Please stop...
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Post by jimz on Nov 9, 2017 20:15:53 GMT -6
Which one had the better liver flavor, in the back ground of taste, Nate?
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Post by Cajunate on Nov 10, 2017 8:23:43 GMT -6
I'd have to say the one from Soprano's Supermarket in Livonia. It was also the most moist of them all. Soprano's isn't a huge supermarket. About like a smaller sized Breaux Mart.
Soprano's Supermarket .......... Boudin, Jalapeno smoked sausage and hogs head cheese. 8389 US Hwy 190(Airline Hwy) Livonia, LA 70755 Just FYI the other places were........ Bergeron's Boudin and Cajun Meats Restaurants ........ BBQ Beef sandwich, boudin balls and cracklins. Cracklins were crisp and spiced just right. 760 Lobdell Hwy Port Allen LA 70767 Bourque's Super Store ...... Boudin, rice dressing mix and jalapeno cheese bread. 581 N. Saizan Avenue Port Barre, LA. 70577 www.bourquespecialties.com/Kartchner's Grocery and Specialty Meats....... Boudin 24562 Hwy 190 Krotz Springs, La 70750 www.kartchnersspecialtymeats.com/contact-us.html Juneau’s Cajun Meats in Marksville, LA ......... Cracklins. 6068 Highway 1 Marksville, LA 71350
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