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Cooks Country S18E18 Cajun Cooking
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00:04Cook's Country is about more than just getting dinner on the table.
00:09We're also fascinated by the people and stories behind the dishes.
00:14We go inside kitchens in every corner of the country to learn how real people cook.
00:20And we look back through time to see how history influences the way we eat today.
00:25We bring that inspiration back to our test kitchen so we can share it with you.
00:31This is Cook's Country.
00:36Today on Cook's Country, Brian visits New Orleans and makes his version of Rion.
00:42And Lydie makes Bridget a Cajun meatball fricassee.
00:46That's all right here on Cook's Country.
01:01A true port city.
01:02New Orleans is known for its vibrant blend of cultures and traditions.
01:08And the city draws in big crowds with its rich and diverse food scene.
01:14New Orleans is always going to be this big, wonderful, melting pot of cuisine.
01:18I'm here to meet with Isaac Toupes, owner of Toupes Meadery and a Louisiana native.
01:23Isaac's food is a perfect example of pairing regional ingredients with Creole and Cajun cooking styles.
01:29A combination that makes New Orleans so unique.
01:32We've been mixing and collaborating for 300 years.
01:35So there are distinctions about Cajun food and about Creole food.
01:38But it's always going to be kind of a mix these days.
01:42You're obviously a Cajun restaurant in a typically Creole city of New Orleans.
01:47Where does the intersection of Creole and Cajun fall?
01:49We track our heritage from France to Nova Scotia.
01:53The Creoles have influence from Spain and Africa and then the Caribbeans.
01:58So some of my dishes are mostly Cajun and then some are a little Spanish.
02:02They say, mmm, this food is good.
02:04And that's more important to me than being true, authentic Cajun.
02:08I mean, look, I've got umami pickle over there.
02:10It's got balsamic and soy sauce on it.
02:12None of those things are Cajun.
02:13And no one cares.
02:16Isaac and his wife Amanda opened Toupes Meadery in 2012.
02:19His culinary approach was shaped by both his parents' cooking and his years spent working in the fine dining world.
02:25My father, he's a coastal Cajun.
02:27He's catching fish and flaying fish and frying fish, shucking oysters, bowling crawfish and bowling crabs.
02:33My mother, she's a prairie Cajun, a little more landlocked.
02:36She took care of the rice dishes, the pork dishes.
02:38So I got a great duality of the Cajun culture, which a lot of people don't realize they actually exist.
02:43Every dish showcases Isaac's play on tradition and innovation.
02:48But today, I'm here for Isaac's take on Rion's.
02:51Delicious, bite-sized pork belly braised in a red wine syrup.
02:55Or as Isaac affectionately refers to it, pork candy.
02:58I've never seen anything like this on a menu before.
03:02I've never seen anything like this on a menu before.
03:04I really have never seen anybody candy pork belly.
03:07I've seen people baking.
03:09I've seen people make cracklings with them, stuff them.
03:12But I've never seen this particular dish.
03:14I'm pretty proud of this.
03:15This is very Isaac Toupes.
03:16This is very Toupes Meadery, New Orleans.
03:19You start by slicing whole pork belly into strips.
03:22So let me help out.
03:23Let me teach them what to do here.
03:24Yeah, get to work, would you?
03:25Yeah.
03:25Start with some strips straight down.
03:27About like that?
03:28Yeah, a little tighter.
03:29Titer?
03:29Right about there.
03:30That was good.
03:32You're a natural.
03:33Set that off to the side.
03:34You should try to keep them as even as possible.
03:36Yep.
03:37You know, this isn't actually Cajun.
03:40It's really classical French.
03:42After the pork is sliced and cut into pieces, it's seasoned with salt and pepper.
03:46Then we make the syrup.
03:48Grab the red wine, pour those in.
03:54Got a big sachet of thyme and about equal amount of red wine to sugar.
03:59The syrup is simmered just long enough to dissolve the sugar and infuse it with the thyme flavor
04:04before getting poured over the seasoned pork.
04:06Just get a little good coat.
04:08So just enough to kind of coat the bottom of the pan?
04:10Just enough to kind of coat it because it's going to come down in the oven.
04:13Here you go.
04:13I'm going to hand that to you.
04:14All right.
04:14The pan's not hot.
04:15The rounds are cooked in a 450-degree oven for one and a half hours.
04:20Oh, look at that.
04:21Those look good.
04:22And we stir periodically to make sure they're evenly coated with the syrup.
04:26Nice and glazed.
04:27The goop, I tell everybody, it's like, don't serve them without the syrup.
04:29The syrup is just as essential as the pork belly here.
04:33Wow.
04:33All right, that's good.
04:34Pop them right back in.
04:35These guys are almost done.
04:37All right, these guys are ready.
04:38Smell ready.
04:40About 15 minutes later, the syrup is tightened up on the tender pork, and it's ready to go.
04:46All right, I'm going to plate some of these up.
04:47There's a bunch of other things I want you to taste.
04:49I'm going to make a big meat board so you can really get the meat sweats.
04:53Because I'm dangerously low on meat right now.
04:54Yeah, because you're dangerously low on meat right now.
04:58What is going on here?
05:00This is a little bit of everything.
05:02So we'll start on this side.
05:03Everything here is fresh.
05:04There's no air-dried charcuterie.
05:06In KJ country, you hang a sausage outside, you get a rotten sausage.
05:09So we don't have the dry climate of Europe.
05:12So all of these things either have smoked, fresh.
05:17This is a pate.
05:18This is cured.
05:19This is fried.
05:20This is candied.
05:22So all of these things were made with the intention of shelf life.
05:25But now we kept those traditions for deliciousness.
05:29All right, so I want to try our rillons.
05:31Have a rillons.
05:32Get a big juicy one.
05:34Big juicy.
05:35Yeah, I'm serious.
05:36The squishier it is, the better off you are.
05:40That's amazing.
05:44Here, I'm going to baby bird you.
05:49Oh, man.
05:51My whole experience here in Louisiana,
05:54spots like this are just incredible standouts, man.
05:57I mean, just somebody who puts a lot of heart and soul into the food.
05:59It just really comes across on the plate, man.
06:01I just think it's all been fantastic.
06:03I appreciate that.
06:04And if you want good food in New Orleans,
06:05what you have to do is find a local.
06:08Yeah.
06:08Isaac approaches cooking with creativity and an eye on tradition,
06:12honoring his family's legacy and the region's rich history
06:15by infusing classic flavors with his own unique spin.
06:19All right, man.
06:20I got cracklings to cut.
06:21Thanks, brother.
06:22Appreciate it, man.
06:22All right, man.
06:23These turkey necks are next level.
06:25Oh.
06:33I love how Isaac seems like the kind of guy
06:36that was just looking through a book,
06:37no instructions, an old French recipe,
06:39where it has pork belly.
06:40So he's like, I'm going to give that a go
06:42and just kind of made it up as he went along.
06:44Yeah, that's exactly the way I like to cook, too.
06:46You know, this recipe encapsulates every great thing
06:48about a pork dish that I love.
06:50It's got that fatty, unctuous, tender pork
06:52and that sweet, salty red wine caramel.
06:55Yes.
06:56This dish scratches every itch.
06:57It's phenomenal.
06:58So let's get started with this pork belly here.
07:00So the recipe calls for three and three quarter pounds
07:03of skinless pork belly.
07:04Okay.
07:04However, when you're in the grocery store,
07:05most of the time you'll find it with the skin on.
07:07Okay?
07:08So we're going to start off by removing that skin.
07:10If you can only find skin on,
07:11you want to buy it a little bit heavier,
07:13about four and a quarter pounds or so.
07:15Okay.
07:16So to remove the skin,
07:17I'm going to make it easy for us
07:18and I'm going to cut this pork belly in half.
07:21Okay?
07:22And the way I like to remove the skin,
07:25everybody's a little different.
07:26I like to put it down on the board here
07:28and kind of press flat.
07:29So you're getting full contact with the knife.
07:31Slide it in just above the skin.
07:34Oh, yeah.
07:34Kind of rock your knife back and forth.
07:37Oh, yeah.
07:37That looks easy.
07:38Yeah.
07:38I mean, sometimes it works,
07:40sometimes it doesn't, you know,
07:41but there's no right or wrong really with this.
07:43You know, if you have a little bit of skin on there
07:44at the end,
07:45you could just go back and peel it off.
07:47Boom.
07:48And then we're going to do the same
07:50for the second piece here.
07:52All right.
07:52So now we're looking for one and a half inch chunks.
07:54So we'll cut these in about thirds lengthwise.
08:00So I have this one and a half inch thick cube right there.
08:03Throw that into the bowl.
08:04That looks pretty easy.
08:06So to this,
08:07we're going to add five and a half teaspoons of kosher salt.
08:11And then one and a half teaspoons of black pepper.
08:15We'll just give this a toss.
08:17This salt will obviously season the pork,
08:19but while it sits,
08:21it's also going to help the pork retain
08:22some of its moisture as it cooks.
08:24So we're going to just toss this around
08:26until it's evenly coated.
08:27So we're going to cover this with plastic wrap
08:30and we're going to throw it in the refrigerator
08:31for at least 12 hours.
08:33If we can go 24 hours, all the better.
08:35Okay.
08:37Julia, we have a Dutch oven
08:39heating up with two tablespoons of vegetable oil.
08:41We have our pork belly
08:43that's been sitting for a good 24 hours.
08:45And we're just going to pat this dry,
08:47remove excess moisture from it with some paper towels.
08:50Okay.
08:50The drier it is,
08:51the better it will sear in the hot pot.
08:53And we're going to add half of it to our hot oil
08:57and begin searing it on all sides.
09:00So we're going to let this go
09:02for about 12 to 15 minutes,
09:03turning it as needed
09:04to make sure it's evenly browned all over.
09:06Okay.
09:07All right, Julia,
09:08you can see that this is all nicely evenly browned.
09:11It's gorgeous.
09:12It's gorgeous pork belly.
09:13It smells good.
09:15I know, it's so heavenly, right?
09:16So we're going to pull this off onto a plate here.
09:20Okay, so now we're just going to drop
09:21the second half of our pork right into the pot
09:24and we'll sear this up.
09:25Okay.
09:27All right, this batch of pork
09:28is looking as beautiful as the first.
09:30So we're going to pull that out.
09:31So this is all beautiful fat right here,
09:34but we don't need it for the rest of this recipe.
09:36So we're going to dump it into a bowl
09:38and you can save this fat
09:40for biscuits, cornbread, stir fries, potato salad.
09:45That is liquid gold right there.
09:47Okay, so now to this pot.
09:48It's still hot.
09:49You see we have this nice fond in the bottom.
09:50We're going to add three cups of red wine.
09:53Now it doesn't matter
09:54what kind of wine you use.
09:55Yeah, you want to get something
09:56with a nice complexity to it,
09:58but not a lot of oaks.
09:59So like a Cote de Rhone
10:00or an un-oaked Pinot Noir is fantastic.
10:02And then we're going to add
10:03one and a half cups of light brown sugar.
10:06That's a hot pot.
10:07So it just takes 30 seconds
10:08for that sugar to dissolve.
10:09So we're going to drop in
10:10nine sprigs of fresh thyme.
10:12Just nine.
10:13Just nine.
10:13Not eight.
10:13If you do eight or ten,
10:15I'm not responsible for what happens.
10:17Then we're going to add
10:17all of our pork back.
10:19So we're going to bring this up to a boil
10:21and then turn it down to low
10:23and throw a cover on it.
10:24And we're going to let it simmer
10:25for about one and a half to two hours
10:26until that pork is nice and tender.
10:28Give it a stir once halfway through.
10:30Okay.
10:31All right, Julia,
10:31we have our pork that's been simmering
10:32for about an hour and a half.
10:34Goodness.
10:35Look at that.
10:35And you get that pork and wine facial there.
10:38That is incredible.
10:38So we're going to test it
10:39and make sure it's tender
10:40before we pull it out.
10:42So I just want to, you know,
10:42just so it's fork tender,
10:44slides easily off the fork there
10:45because you don't want it
10:47to be so tender that it falls apart
10:48because otherwise when we stir it
10:50back into that thickened caramel sauce,
10:51it'll start to break.
10:52So this is exactly where you want
10:53because it's going to continue to cook
10:54when it goes back in.
10:55Okay.
10:55All right, so we'll pull all this pork out
10:58and we can just drop our lovely pork
11:00on over here
11:01and we'll pull out those thyme sprigs
11:03that are nice and neatly tied together.
11:06Now we're going to crank up the heat
11:07to high
11:08and we're going to reduce this red wine
11:10to a caramel stage.
11:12So about 225 to 229 degrees
11:14and that in caramel making
11:16is called the thread stage.
11:17It's also important
11:17when you're making jellies and jams
11:19because you get that nice thick consistency.
11:22Okay.
11:22So we'll just let this simmer down.
11:23It takes anywhere between 10 to 15 minutes
11:25and we'll temp it.
11:26All right, you see how this caramel
11:28is nice and luscious.
11:30It's kind of thickening up nicely.
11:31It starts to coat the back of that spatula
11:33and we're going to throw a temp on it.
11:36We're going to pull it down on one side of the pot.
11:38So it's at 228, which is perfect.
11:42We're going to now kill the heat
11:44and we're going to stir in our pork.
11:49Drop that over there
11:50and then we're just going to turn to coat.
11:53I'm just really trying to coat the pork lightly
11:55in the caramel.
11:57Yum.
11:58So the caramel doesn't look as thick
11:59as it's going to be.
12:00So at this point,
12:01keep in mind it's 228 degrees.
12:03It's still pretty liquid.
12:04We're going to let this sit
12:05for a solid 10 minutes
12:07during which point
12:07it'll cool down to its temperature
12:09where you can actually eat it.
12:10But it'll also give the caramel time
12:12to thicken up nicely.
12:13All right.
12:14It's been 10 minutes
12:15and you can see how that caramel
12:16has thickened up nicely.
12:18So as you give this a final stir,
12:20all that pork is super well glazed
12:23and shiny.
12:24So we could transfer our rions
12:26to our platter now
12:27and pour the remainder of the sauce
12:28right over top.
12:32Oh.
12:34All right.
12:35Can I, uh...
12:35Yeah.
12:36Don't hold back.
12:36Tempt you.
12:38All right.
12:38Let me get your plate here.
12:45Mm-mm.
12:46Mm-mm-mm.
12:47All right.
12:47All right.
12:48Well, cheers.
12:49Cheers.
12:53Oh, come on.
12:57The pork is so tender.
12:58And you get the red wine,
12:59but it's reduced
13:00and rounded out
13:02with the brown sugar.
13:03You don't taste the thyme,
13:04but it has that sort of freshness
13:06on the back end.
13:08Oh, and the pork.
13:09The pork is so good.
13:12Mm.
13:13It's got that real, like,
13:15pork characteristic.
13:15The belly gets a lot of that
13:16kind of flavor of the pig,
13:18you know?
13:19So it really comes through.
13:21Boy, this caramel is amazing.
13:23I love, too,
13:24the characteristic of the pork belly
13:25is you get that nice,
13:25fatty layer on top.
13:26Mm-mm.
13:27You also get some lean meat
13:28underneath that.
13:29Brian, this is spectacular.
13:31You're very welcome.
13:32So if pork belly braised
13:34in red wine with brown sugar
13:36sounds good to you,
13:37then you should make rions.
13:39Start by seasoning cubes
13:40of pork belly overnight,
13:42render and fry the pork
13:43until crisp,
13:44then braise in a sweet wine sauce.
13:47From Cook's Country,
13:48with special thanks
13:49to Isaac Toupes
13:50and everyone at Toupes Meadery,
13:52an incredible recipe
13:53for rions.
13:55Mm, pork candy
13:56goes with everything.
14:04You can't even swing your arms
14:06around in Louisiana
14:07without hitting some epic food.
14:09You've got gumbo,
14:10etouffee,
14:11jambalaya,
14:12all three favorites of mine.
14:14But today,
14:14we're gonna concentrate
14:16on a country-style dish,
14:18Cajun, in fact.
14:19It's called meatball stew
14:20or meatball fricassee.
14:21And Lydie's here,
14:23and she's gonna tell us
14:23all about it.
14:24That's right.
14:25Think meatballs
14:25and rich Cajun-style gravy.
14:28Yes.
14:28It's really delicious,
14:29and we wanna start
14:30by making sure the meatballs
14:31are nice and tender.
14:32A lot of meatball recipes
14:33begin with a panade,
14:34which is a mixture
14:35of bread and milk
14:36that helps bind the meatballs
14:37and keep them moist.
14:39We're using saltines.
14:40I have 22 saltines here.
14:42And saltines are nice
14:43because not only
14:44are they pre-seasoned,
14:45they've got salt already in them,
14:46but they're gonna keep
14:47the meatballs really nice
14:48and light and fluffy.
14:49Great.
14:50So I've got these
14:50in a plastic bag,
14:51and I'm just gonna work out
14:53any aggression I have
14:55with this giant rolling pin.
14:57Nice.
14:57And I'm just gonna smash these
14:58until they're, you know,
15:00pretty finely crushed.
15:01So we're gonna dump these
15:02into a bowl,
15:05and I'm gonna add
15:06one cup of whole milk.
15:08Okay.
15:09And two tablespoons
15:10Worcestershire sauce.
15:11Oh.
15:12And that's gonna start
15:13flavoring the meatballs
15:14by flavoring the panade
15:15with a nice, savory,
15:16meaty flavor
15:16of the Worcestershire.
15:17We're seasoning really
15:18at every stage of this recipe.
15:20So from the very beginning,
15:21we're making sure
15:21there's lots of flavor.
15:22I'm gonna give this a whisk
15:23and we'll just set it aside
15:25for five minutes or so
15:26to let the saltines
15:26really absorb the milk.
15:27Great.
15:28The crackers have been sitting
15:29for about five minutes.
15:30You can see they've
15:31really absorbed the milk.
15:32So I'm just gonna give
15:33them a little whisk
15:34and then we'll add our meat.
15:35Great.
15:36We're gonna add two pounds,
15:3785% lean ground beef.
15:41One cup of grated Parmesan cheese,
15:43and this is finely grated.
15:45Then I've got one and a half
15:46teaspoons of dried thyme,
15:48a teaspoon of pepper.
15:49Well, thyme and pepper,
15:50definitely we're in Cajun country.
15:52That's right.
15:53And speaking of Cajun country,
15:54we've got Tony Satchery's
15:55Creole seasoning.
15:56Now, I know this might seem
15:58confusing because it's
15:59a Cajun meatball
16:00and we're using Creole seasoning.
16:01Yes.
16:02But there's actually
16:02a lot of overlap between the two
16:03and the spices that are used.
16:05And Tony's cheese is something
16:06that's really widely available
16:07nationwide,
16:08and that's why we're using it here.
16:09Got it.
16:10So we've got one tablespoon.
16:11And this has also got salt in it,
16:13so between the Parmesan
16:14and the Tony C's,
16:15it's really gonna add
16:16all the salt we need
16:17to flavor these meatballs.
16:18All right.
16:19The fun part,
16:20I'm gonna use my hands.
16:21That's the perfect tool
16:22for the job.
16:22Getting down and dirty.
16:23And I'm just gonna mix
16:24this all together.
16:26So we don't wanna overmix,
16:27but it is important
16:28to get everything
16:28really well combined.
16:31I think this looks great.
16:32Evenly mixed.
16:33Beautiful.
16:33I'm gonna get cleaned up
16:34and then we'll scoop out
16:35the meatballs.
16:37Let's go ahead
16:37and scoop these meatballs.
16:38Great.
16:38I've got a portion scoop here,
16:40but you could also use
16:41a quarter cup measure
16:42if that's what you've got.
16:43We're looking for
16:44about 24 meatballs,
16:45and I'm just gonna scoop them
16:47onto a sheet pan
16:48that's lined with foil,
16:49and then we've got a rack
16:50over that.
16:51And the scoop just makes it easy
16:52because they come out
16:53already rounded,
16:54so when you go to roll them,
16:55you've done half the work.
16:57Nice.
16:58We've scooped the meatballs.
16:59Now it's time to shape them.
17:00All right.
17:01I'm gonna dip my hands
17:02in a little bit of water,
17:02and that's just gonna help
17:03make it really easy
17:04to roll these,
17:06and it'll prevent the meatballs
17:07from sticking to my hands.
17:08Got it.
17:09Want to help me a little bit?
17:10I would love.
17:10Roll up your sleeves?
17:11I would, yes.
17:12Already done,
17:12so I'm halfway there.
17:14There we go.
17:14I'll grab this one.
17:15You looking for perfect spheres,
17:17or can it be a little rusted?
17:18It can be a little rusted.
17:19You know,
17:19these are gonna get roasted,
17:21then they're gonna be simmered,
17:22so I like meatballs
17:23with a little bit of character.
17:24Yes.
17:24It's got its own personality.
17:26Yes.
17:27There you go.
17:28We've got all 24 meatballs.
17:29I've got the oven set
17:30to 425 degrees
17:31and a rack set
17:32in the upper middle position.
17:34These are gonna go in
17:35and roast for about 25 minutes
17:36until they're browned
17:37all over and cooked through.
17:39Like many Louisiana dishes,
17:42the sauce here
17:42begins with a roux.
17:44Great.
17:44And a roux is when
17:45we combine oil and flour
17:46to help thicken a sauce.
17:48So in my Dutch oven,
17:49I've got third cup vegetable oil
17:50already preheating,
17:52and I'm gonna wait
17:52until it's just about smoking
17:54before I add my flour.
17:55You can see the oil
17:57is just starting to smoke,
17:58so I'm gonna add our flour.
18:00Third cup.
18:01I'm just stirring
18:02to get this all combined.
18:04I like to keep a roux moving.
18:05Scraping the bottom
18:06and the sides.
18:07And you'll see, look,
18:08it's changing color
18:09almost instantly,
18:10and it's just gonna
18:11keep getting darker.
18:12We've got the heat
18:13on medium-high,
18:14and we're looking for
18:14a peanut butter-like color.
18:16Nice.
18:16Nice visual aid.
18:18And it's gonna take
18:19about two to five minutes,
18:20so just keep an eye on it.
18:21I'd say this looks
18:22like peanut butter.
18:23What do you think?
18:23It looks exactly
18:24like peanut butter.
18:25All right.
18:25We're gonna reduce
18:26the heat to medium
18:27because we want to
18:27slow this down a little bit.
18:28Okay.
18:29And we'll just keep stirring
18:30until we've got the color
18:31of milk chocolate.
18:32Mmm.
18:33Something else I also like to eat.
18:34Some delicious flavors here,
18:35right?
18:36Yes, yes.
18:36Would you mind
18:36keeping an eye on this for me,
18:38and I'm gonna get
18:38our vegetables ready?
18:39Great.
18:39This could take
18:40anywhere from five to ten minutes.
18:41It really just depends
18:42on the pot
18:42and how high you've got the heat.
18:44Bridget, I know you're familiar
18:45with the French term
18:45mirepoix.
18:46Yes.
18:46Which refers to
18:47the combination of celery,
18:49carrots, and onion
18:49that forms the base
18:50for so many French dishes.
18:52Sure.
18:52In Louisiana cooking,
18:54we've got what they call
18:55the holy trinity,
18:56which is like a mirepoix,
18:57but instead of carrots,
18:58green bell pepper.
18:59Got it.
18:59Onion, celery.
19:00Green bell pepper.
19:01And that is kind of
19:01the hallmark of so many
19:02of these Creole and Cajun dishes.
19:04The way I like to cut peppers
19:05is to start by cutting the top,
19:08turning the pepper,
19:09cutting the bottom,
19:10and then I just cut straight down
19:12on all four sides
19:13to end up with these
19:14nice, even pieces.
19:15Lovely.
19:16That makes it really easy to cut.
19:17The nice thing is
19:18these peppers and all the vegetables
19:20are just gonna go in
19:21to our sauce and cook together
19:22so you don't need to worry
19:23about having a perfect dice here.
19:25How's it going over here?
19:26Well, you tell me.
19:28What do you think?
19:28I think it looks perfect.
19:30Rich, chocolatey.
19:31It's exactly what we want.
19:32We're ready to add
19:33our vegetables to the pot.
19:34So I'm gonna add
19:35the bell pepper that we cut up.
19:39One onion we've chopped.
19:42One celery rib chopped.
19:44And then we've got
19:45two slices of bacon
19:47that are sliced
19:48into about half-inch pieces.
19:49These are gonna add
19:50a really nice, savory,
19:52smoky, salty richness
19:54to the gravy.
19:55Giving this a nice toss
19:56so everything will cook evenly.
19:58We're gonna let this cook
19:58for about seven minutes
20:00until the vegetables are tender
20:01and the bacon is starting
20:02to render some of its fat.
20:03Great.
20:07Ooh, these look good.
20:09They smell fantastic.
20:11Wow.
20:11Yeah.
20:12Beautiful.
20:13Nicely brown.
20:15Oh!
20:15We'll leave the meatballs
20:16to the side
20:17while we finish up our stew.
20:18Okay, these vegetables,
20:19they look nice and tender.
20:21I'm gonna add six scallion whites
20:23that are thinly sliced
20:25for that fresh onion flavor,
20:26which is also really a big part
20:28of Creole and Cajun recipes.
20:29Yeah, I think so too.
20:30Then three cloves of garlic minced.
20:32Definitely a part.
20:33Very important.
20:35And then we're gonna do
20:35another half teaspoon
20:37of the Tony Satchery's.
20:38Okay.
20:39Which is just gonna add
20:40more seasoning,
20:41more salt,
20:41and more of that
20:43Louisiana flavor.
20:44And I'm only gonna cook this
20:45for about a minute
20:46until, yeah,
20:47already smelling it.
20:48Just until that garlic
20:49is nice and fragrant.
20:51This is nice and fragrant,
20:52so I'm gonna add
20:53four cups chicken broth.
20:59Also adding
20:59one more tablespoon Worcestershire,
21:01more of that savory,
21:02meaty flavor.
21:03Just gonna whisk this in
21:05to really get that roux
21:06incorporated,
21:06and we'll bring this
21:08to a boil.
21:08That looks perfect.
21:10We are at a boil.
21:11We are at a boil.
21:13I'm gonna add our meatballs
21:14right in.
21:16And then these are gonna
21:17simmer in the sauce
21:19for about 20 minutes.
21:20Yes.
21:21And that's just gonna give
21:22everything a chance to melt,
21:23all those flavors to melt.
21:25The meatballs are gonna be
21:26nice and tender,
21:27and they're really gonna take
21:27on the flavor of that gravy, too.
21:29Okay.
21:30Lower the heat to low.
21:32Just want these to be simmering.
21:34Cover the pot.
21:36We'll let this go
21:36for about 20 minutes.
21:37Great.
21:39It's been 20 minutes.
21:40Let's check on our meatballs.
21:42Mm.
21:42Ooh.
21:43They've disappeared.
21:45They're in there.
21:45Don't worry.
21:47We're gonna crank the heat up now
21:49and let this sauce reduce
21:50for about 8 to 12 minutes.
21:53We're looking for about
21:54the thickness of heavy cream.
21:56And that's just really gonna
21:57concentrate the flavors here
21:58and make this really delicious,
22:01hearty sauce
22:01that we can spoon over everything.
22:03I'm gonna need a big spoon.
22:05Oh, yeah.
22:06Our sauce has thickened.
22:07Ugh.
22:07The time has come.
22:08Dinner time.
22:09So I've got some rice here
22:11to soak up
22:12all that delicious gravy.
22:14Let me get you
22:15a little extra sauce here.
22:16Yes.
22:18Final step here.
22:19Just gonna add
22:19some of the thinly sliced greens
22:21from the scallions.
22:22You a hot sauce girl?
22:24I am definitely a hot sauce girl.
22:25I'll let you sauce up your own.
22:27Let's dig in.
22:28All right.
22:29These meatballs
22:30are almost falling apart.
22:31They stayed together
22:32in that pot.
22:33They did.
22:33But I don't even need a fork.
22:35I can just stare at it
22:35intently and it'll fall apart here.
22:38Wow.
22:40Couldn't really taste
22:42that Creole seasoning.
22:43Oh, that's good.
22:44Mm-hmm.
22:45Very well seasoned.
22:46Just like you would expect
22:47from a Cajun dish.
22:49Got that depth of flavor
22:51from the Parmesan in there
22:52and the Worcestershire.
22:53Yeah, that's right.
22:54And that green pepper.
22:55Mm.
22:55And the hot sauce,
22:56let me say,
22:56the hot sauce is key here.
22:58Yeah.
22:58It gives it this really nice heat
23:00that really complements
23:01all the other flavors
23:02in the dish.
23:03It's waking you up.
23:04Mm-hmm.
23:05The gravy is spectacular.
23:07It's silky, it's rich,
23:08it's toasty.
23:09From that, what,
23:10milk chocolate roux?
23:11That's right.
23:12We got so much flavor here
23:13in so little time.
23:15Definitely.
23:15It's a winner.
23:16So are you.
23:17Oh.
23:18If you'd like to make
23:19these meatballs at home,
23:20well, you're going to have
23:21to start with the meatballs.
23:23Add flavor-packed ingredients
23:24like Parmesan and Creole seasoning
23:26to the meatball mix.
23:27Cook a dark, toasty roux
23:29as the base of the gravy.
23:30And finish cooking
23:32the roasted meatballs
23:33in the gravy
23:34until the stew is thickened.
23:35Well, there you have it
23:37from Cook's Country
23:38Cajun Meatball Fricassee.
23:40You can get this fantastic recipe
23:42and all the recipes
23:43from this season
23:44along with product reviews
23:45and select episodes.
23:47And those are all
23:48on our website,
23:49cookscountry.com
23:50slash TV.
23:52Mm.
23:53All right.
23:54Don't even need a knife.
23:55No.
23:56They're so tender.
23:57Mm.
23:57Don't even need a knife.
23:57Don't even need a knife.
23:57Don't even need a knife.
23:57Don't even need a knife.
23:57Don't even need a knife.
23:58Don't even need a knife.
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