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.

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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.

Etouffee (Photo credit: /\ \/\/ /\)

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!

Video - Cajun Cooking - The Holy Trinity

Here is a Cajun cooking video describing the "holy trinity" of ingredients - he shows some good chopping techniques, and the proper ratio of these important ingredients for most Cajun dishes, as well as making a good vegetable stock, and some sauteing tips.

If you want to try Cajun cooking yourself, this is a great beginner's video to help learn some simple tips that will yield you some tasty results!

Cajun Easy Cooking - "Cajun Holy Trinity"
This is a fun cooking video that is the first episode in a planned series of the soon to be famous hit internet series, Cajun Easy Cooking. For home chefs and amateur cooks who want to experience the tastes and styles of Cajun cuisine, Cajun Easy Coo...

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Mardi Gras Cooking Cajun Style

This time of year always makes me think of my time spent down "on the bayou" during graduate school.... While I didn't love everything about Louisiana, one thing I did love was the food! And during Mardi Gras was no exception. (I have some VERY fond memories of a Mardi Gras table laden with crawfish.... One of the best dinners I ever had in my life!)

Cajun Zydeco A. Kassebaum (28) (Photo credit: EBRPD Public Affairs)Mardi Gras is a special time of year down in Cajun Country. Even if you don't live down around New Orleans you can still celebrate some of the fun revelry associated with Mardi Gras by throwing a grand old meal fitting of King Rex himself. The trick with bringing Mardi Gras to the Midwest or wherever you may be is to also bring the celebratory state of mind that makes Mardi Gras such a fun and enjoyable event for people from all over the world. And if you're having trouble getting into the spirit, a bowl or two of gumbo followed by a hand grenade or hurricane and topped off with some Mardi Gras music should do the trick quite nicely.

A large part of the charm and intrigue of Mardi Gras and the city of New Orleans is the food that has made this city almost as famous as its ability to party. If you are wondering what to cook to bring the spirit of Mardi Gras into your home from afar try any of the traditional favorites. If ingredients prove difficult to come by, you might want to add a little rice, a little spice, and a lot of hot sauces to your favorite family meal.

Those who live in New Orleans often use rice to stretch the budget of the food. Rice is filling and has traditionally been quite cost effective. This makes rice a great meal for many of the families of New Orleans that have traditionally been quite poor. Rice is used in all manner of dishes from gumbo to red beans and rice to jambalaya and many dishes in between. It is probably the one staple of Cajun cuisine that you will find very few restaurants in the city without. Otherwise there are wide variances in cuisine according to cost and culture (though the more expensive foods are typically considered Creole rather than Cajun).

Spices are prevalent in these dishes for much the same reason that rice is. They have traditionally been an inexpensive method of seasoning dishes that would otherwise be quite bland (or that weren't quite fresh, back in the old days before refrigerators abounded). Expect to find plenty of spices and a little bit of heat in most traditional Cajun dishes throughout the city. Some restaurants that cater to tourists have slightly watered down versions of local favorites but for the most part you will find that Cajuns handle the heat quite well though they do keep plenty of iced tea on tap to help combat those dishes that get a teensy bit too hot to handle.

Image via WikipediaIf you want to try something with a little less kick a po-boy or muffaletta might be what hits the spot. These sandwiches are more than a little deceiving in appearance however as they are very filling. French fries are still a Cajun favorite though we also have a popular dish called fried sweet potatoes (yes in the south we fry everything, but it is something a little bit different and the sweetness of the fried sweet potatoes can often counteract some of the heat of other Cajun favorites). You can find recipes for all of these online quite easily though you will probably have a bit of time finding the perfect bread for a po boy anywhere outside the Crescent City. There is a unique "chewiness" to the perfect po boy bread that may be imitated elsewhere but I've never quite found anything to compare and I've been all over the country.

For the perfect finish for your Cajun cooking you should make a point of purchasing some chicory coffee. This is easily accomplished online if your local coffee shop doesn't have any on hand. Historically, chicory was added to coffee and often used instead of coffee because it was much cheaper than actual coffee. This meant it could stretch the more expensive coffee beans and provide a similar taste and texture with that hint of chicory. It's a rather unique flavor and for many people is synonymous with the city itself.

Try out some of these ideas, and you'll find it quite easy to plan your Mardi Gras cooking no matter how far from New Orleans you may roam. And for some great Cajun recipes, be sure to check back later this week - I'll be sharing one of my favorite gumbo recipes, which I've been greatly enjoying this past week!

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The Magical Art of Cooking Cajun Food

Having lived in Louisiana for several years during graduate school, I can tell you that cooking in the heart of Cajun country is truly an art form. There really is very little science to this particular form of cooking that includes a lot more than mere lagniappe from the pantry or the spice cabinet. Cajun cooking is something that has often been imitated around the country and around the world but can very rarely be accurately duplicated.

Image via WikipediaOne of the fascinating things about Cajun cooking is the fact that there are very few exact recipes. Most, if not all authentic Cajun cooking is done to taste rather than measurements. Even more amazing is that from day to day one person can make the same dish over and over and it is quite likely to taste a little bit different each and every time it is made. The major reason for this is that in addition to being an art form in and of itself, Cajun food is often made even more delicious or mysterious simply by the mood of the one doing the cooking (or at least so the legend goes)!

I'm sure that many of you have watched as Emeril Lagasse makes some special concoction and exclaims "Bam!" -- there is a good bit of the "Bam factor" when it comes to Cajun cooking. Something that goes far beyond the ingredients in the recipe and somewhere into the heart and the soul of the cook in question. There is a reason that many southern cooked dishes are referred to as soul food and you should not for one second forget that New Orleans is in the heart of the Deep South.

The most difficult thing, perhaps, when it comes to preparing good Cajun dishes outside of the New Orleans region is finding the right ingredients. It used to be nearly impossible to find the fresh seasonings and spices that are essential to most Cajun cuisine outside the heart of the old south. However, nowadays most large grocery stores do carry a number of Cajun ingredients. But fresh crawfish and andouille sausage are always a little difficult to come by during the heart of an Ohio winter!

Image via WikipediaIf you are determined to learn to make Cajun food on your own, you must first find the ingredients. There are some grocers that will carry a limited stock of Cajun seasonings on their international food aisles. Keep in mind that these sources can be extremely limited, depending on your area. If you can't find them in your local grocery, specialty food shops or those that will special order might be your best bet.

Once you have the ingredients, it's time to let a little jazz blare from your speakers in order to set the mood. Most of the best Cajun dishes require a substantial amount of time for simmering and this should be considered. Cajun food is not to be rushed-much like the citizens of the Big Easy. The food will be ready in time and as the one cooking the food you must learn to accept that about Cajun food. It has a way of letting you know when it is ready that is almost mythical until you've experienced it for yourself.

Cooking Cajun food will try your patience, try your talents, and in some cases zap your energy, as it tends to be an emotional process for many. On the other end however, Cajun food is some of the richest and most delicious food on the planet. Mastering the ability to cook this wonderful food will make you a slave to its flavors for many years to come.

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