ON THE BOUDIN (Boo Dan) TRAIL....and Cracklin' Country.

We could stop at just about every food store on the way to New Iberia and Avery Island and buy someone's version of Boudin (boo dan),  but you wouldn't believe how many stops that would be!

Cajun Meat Market
Henderson, La

Fine Cajun Cooking to eat some Boudin and Cracklins'
Southern La.

So what is this delicacy usually listed with Cracklins'?  Boudin is a Louisiana French type of sausage made of chicken, pork or veal.  If you're from this region you must eat it frequently because it's everywhere and on most menus in some form or another.  Cracklins' is a whole other story - pork belly cubes deep fried until crispy crunchy and then seasoned with a unique blend of Cajun spices (think pork rinds with extra fat and meat attached).   Recipes on request.

Don's Specialty Meats 

Crawfish Town USA - Henderson, La.

CRAZY 'BOUT CRAWFISH Cajun Cafe'
Breaux Bridge, La.

The other Cajun food delicacy is crawfish (mudbugs) - boiled, steamed or fried or added to a gumbo.  This weekend is the Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge, La.,  and that's where you can get crawfish prepared about 500 different ways to be eaten in a variety of ways (with Cajun zydeco music and dancing to boot).  

Crawfish Festival - May 5 - 7, 2017
Breaux Bridge, La.

And there's plenty of gator as well.  I'm trying to work on these foods but shrimp, oysters, catfish and blue crab are as far as my palette has extended so far.

Bridge to Avery Island, La.

However, if you want to "kick it up a notch" and savor the spices used in foods in this area you usually use a hot sauce seasoning or seafood boil.

This just about says it all!

 The number one sauce would probably be some flavor of Tabasco Sauce, manufactured and distributed by the McIlhenny Company on Avery Island, La.

Life Size Bottles of Tabasco Sauces

McIlhenny Co. - Avery Island, La.

Tabasco Sauces aging in oak barrels - McIlhenny Co. - Avery Is., La

We leave this beautiful region of Louisiana with a large jar of Tums and Prilosec capsules, but resolve not to let indigestion and heartburn get us down.   It's on to Lake Charles, La. for a week of exploration,  rest and more delicious Cajun food.