Give Your Slow Cooker A Kick With Cajun Flavors

Cajun cooking originated in the Southern swamplands, bayous, and farmland. The Cajun people were hard-working and lived under very stressful conditions. Their meal choices revolved around local foods that were easy to find. To save time and money, and to feed as many people as they could, meals were very often cooked up in one big pot. This makes using a slow cooker for Cajun cuisine a natural.

The one thing you can be sure of is you can cook up Cajun foods in your slow cooker with great success and enjoy those potent Cajun flavors we have all come to love.  As a matter of fact, the key to great Cajun cooking is to simmer the dish for many hours, and that is why slow cooker cooking and Cajun foods go hand in hand.  Let's take a look at some dishes and the ingredients and seasonings that make them stand out from other southern cooking.

Cover of Slow Cooker Cooking

Cajun Meets the Slow Cooker

Jambalaya, gumbo, red beans and rice, and stew are all easy to cook in the slow cooker.  Why?  Because they're not complicated or fussy.  The neat thing about this type of ethnic cooking is recipes are not set in stone.

When recipes were passed from one generation to the next, ingredients were substituted as needed because of what was available at the time. That is probably why there are so many different variations of the same recipe. Shrimp, oysters, crab, wild game, fish, pork, beans, okra, tomatoes, and rice are all staples in Cajun cooking, but are specific to regions.

Because Cajun foods have an exotic multi-layered flavor and that 'bite' we love, many people think that the recipes call for dozens of different or complicated spices and mixes, but that is not so.  There are really just a few very recognizable spices and condiments that give Cajun food its unmistakable taste.  The following are considered essential in every Cajun kitchen and are perfectly suited for the slow cooking method we love – slow cooker cooking.

Cayenne pepper is the most common spice used in this type of cooking. The mature pepper is ground into a fine powder and is used in conjunction with white and black pepper to give recipes a potent kick.

Gumbo powder, called filé powder, made from ground sassafras leaves, is used in gumbos, soups and stews not only to flavor the food but to thicken the sauce as well.

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Tabasco sauce is one Cajun spice most of us are familiar with. It is used in cooking and as a condiment on the table. You will find other hot sauces to enjoy, but you don't want to eliminate Tabasco sauce from your kitchen.

Creole mustard is also a common ingredient found in Cajun cuisine. Although it is often used as a spread for sandwiches and as a dip, many recipes also call for it as an added ingredient in sauces, marinades, and other dishes.

Cajun slow cooker cooking is very flexible and tasty. Whether you want exotic dinners or just plain old good eating, Cajun foods and flavors fit the bill. Because many Cajun dishes are traditionally slow-cooked in one pot, you will find it easy to transform your favorite Cajun meals and make them right in your slow cooker.  All you need is the right ingredients, spices, and a little imagination.  Oh, yes, and a hearty appetite!

Be sure to check back later this week for some tasty Cajun recipes you can make in your crockpot!