I know this is a little OT, but I'm curious. Are there any specific types of dishes you guys cook for Thanksgiving besides the usual turkey and stuffing.

I grew up in a house where gumbo and stuffed shrimp mirliton were always on the table for Thanksgiving, but this year I want to try something a little bit different.


John

Go to Hebert's Meat Market in Maurice and get a turducken.

See http://www.hebertsmeats.com/asccustompages/products.asp?cartID=&affID=&categoryid=2&navParent=15

WF

Turkey and stuffing wasnt really had much in our area, it is one of those American things and a newcomer to Cajun areas. Well for that matter so is Thanksgiving.

We usually had panse bourré (stuffed pig stomach, called chaudin in some areas) or ham, gumbo, rice dressing, sweet dough pies, pecan pralines.

Now I'm hungry.

Bryan,
Then how come all these recipes for turkey bone gumbo from Emeril, etc. and fried turkey and bein' careful not to be burnin' down the deck and house by puttin' too much oil in the pot etc. and all that. And what do you stuff into that pig stomach? Rice or Oatmeal? Sounds like somethin only a Scot could love. Aye, Haggis and bagpipes, Laddies?
JB

Oatmeal?! LOL. Well, I'm always open for anything. It is basically just a big sausage, pretty much the same stuffing that you would see in cajun sausage, little more herbage sometimes, but the stomach itself is what I like.

I've been curious just where and when the fried turkey thing got going. Seems like that first popped up in the late 70's in our area. There's definately been a few things burned up from overflowing grease. It aint bad, but I'd still prefer gumbo, rice dressing, and panse. As far as I'm concerned, turkey is like fruit cake at Christmas, that's the only time anyone buys it for a reason.

The turduckin is another curiosity. A cajun invention from what I hear, but not from the area I'm from. I've never tried it, but would like to. Someone musta been short a pot or two to decide to stuff 3 birds together.

The version of the story of the first Turducken that I heard at Hebert's in Maurice is that a local customer described to one of the Heberts what he'd like to have (a chicken, inside of a duck that's inside of a turkey), and that with a bit of time and boning skills Hebert's developed the first turducken in the mid-80's...not bad tasting, either!

Brian,

I had one from Maurice's and it was wonderful.

You going home for Thanksgiving?? E-mail me.

Kirk

Ah, you wanting some panse huh? I emailed you.

OK, Brian,
Is Panse the by-product of sausage making? Here in the German-Belt of the Texas Hill Country, we make a concoction we call Pannas. After the finished stuffed pork and venison sausage has been boiled in the same water in which the stuffing meat has been boiled, there remains a thick, soupy liquid. Into this sausage juice you pour any left-over sausage meat, cornmeal, white flour and seasoning and boil it until the mass thickens. Then you pour this preparation into bread pans and let it congeal. For breakfast you slice off pieces and fry them in bacon grease. Good for your heart!
JB

Hey that sounds good. Kinda like hogs head cheese. No, panse is literally a sausage made with almost the same stuffing as our regular sausage except using the stomach as the casing. The inner lining is removed. The panse (also called chaudin in other areas of La) is baked or roasted and if cooked right develops a good dark coating on it's outside, and a good dark gravy, which, like everything else in Louisiana, goes on rice.

I work for a fire department in Dallas and brought some in as a curiosity. I didnt think anybody would eat it, they're kinda squeamish about me cooking sometimes. Well, one by one they tried little bites, then bigger bites, then it was all gone.