Cajun & Creole cooking methods of Louisiana Cooking each have their own name and I would tend to believe there are hundreds of variations to the basic ones. Hey, we'll try just about anything to make food taste better or give it a little twist. I see us as "Flavor Pioneers" especially when a gang is coming over to eat.

Listed below are some of the basic methods or styles of Louisiana Cooks. Keep in mind that there will be slight differences to these methods depending on the geographic area. Click on the methods below to get more info.

We naturally do more than this but these are better known as being originated in Louisiana.

Gumbo

Gumbo is somewhat of a soup. The base liquid is colored and thickened by a roux. Onions, bell pepper and celery are the base vegetables. And finally the meat is added. The Gumbo is served over rice in a bowl using enough liquid to cover the rice. Chicken, seafood, turkey/oyster, and duck gumbos are favorites in Louisiana. (read more)...

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Creole

A Creole is a dish made using a roux and tomato sauce and has more of a sauce consistency. The Creole is served over rice. Shrimp Creole is popular. 

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Sauce Piquant

This method is similar to the Creole but uses a darker roux. It's usually done with fish or rabbit. Naturally this is a spicier dish hence the name "Piquant" meaning hot.

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Courtbullion (coo-bee-yawn) or (coo-bee-yaw) silent "n".

A thick rich fish stew or soup made with tomatoes, onions and sometimes mixed vegetables, served over rice.

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Etouffee (ay-too-fay)

Etouffee is a French word that means "smothered" and is a method of cooking seafood smothered with vegetables in a tomato-based sauce to create a stewed-like seafood dish. Served over rice.

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Jambalaya (jum-buh-lie-yah) or (jum-buh-lie) depending where you are.

This is a dish that is like a rice dressing however the rice is cooked in the sauce and the final outcome is usually a little sticky. There are red ones and brown ones. Several choices of meats can be used and are sometimes mixed, like chicken and sausage, shrimp and oyster, etc. Traditionally the Jambalaya was put together to make use of the various leftovers from other dishes.

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Dressing

A close cousin to the Jambalaya, dressings are often done as a complement to other dishes such as fried chicken. Seldom is it the main course in South La.. The rice is usually cooked on the side and added to the sauce/meat base thereby giving it a fluffier consistency. 

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Smothered

Smothering is done with a little oil, onions, bell pepper and celery cooked down, then, the meat is lightly floured and seasoned and seared a little to brown the flour and meat. This method makes a small light gravy that can be served with rice. In South Louisiana we smother meats like chicken, and, vegetables like cabbage.

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Stew

In Louisiana most stews start with a roux however some use only the browed meat drippings and browned onions. To cook the dish is about the same as cooking a gumbo but with less water. I brown my onions well to add to the onion gravy and browned onion flavor. One of my favorite stews is Chicken & Lima Bean.

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Fricassee (free-cah-say in South. LA.)

A favorite method with chicken and rabbit. Similar to a stew this method starts with the meat coated with seasoned flour that is well browned. It's almost like a traditional stew but with a little thinner gravy. I guess you could put it between stewed and smothered methods.   

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Frying

We do very little different with frying than the traditional "hot oil" method. Pot frying refers to taking a meat and searing it in a pot with just a little oil to obtain a gravy.

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Boudin

Sausage is popular everywhere but a twist to this in South Louisiana is boudin. Boudin is kind of like rice dressing in a casing. The varieties of boudin are growing all the time! 

Cajuns are always inventing new things...... Watch out!