A badass modern Cajun cookbook fromTop Cheffan favorite Isaac Toups and acclaimed journalist Jennifer V. Cole, featuring 100 full-flavor stories and recipes.
Things get a little salty down in the bayou...
Cajun country is the last bastion of true American regional cooking, and no one knows it better than Isaac Toups. Now the chef of the acclaimed Toups' Meatery and Toups South in New Orleans, he grew up deep in the Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana, where his ancestors settled 300 years ago. There, hunting and fishing trips provide the ingredients for communal gatherings, and these shrimp and crawfish boils, whole-hog boucheries, fish frys, and backyard cookouts--form the backbone of this book.
Taking readers from the backcountry to the bayou, Toups shows how to make:
- A damn fine gumbo, boudin, dirty rice, crabcakes, and cochon de lait
- His signature double-cut pork chop and the Toups Burger
- And more authentic Cajun specialties like Hopper Stew and Louisiana Ditch Chicken.
Along the way, he tells you how to engineer an on-the-fly barbecue pit, stir up a dark roux in only 15 minutes, and apply Cajun ingenuity to just about everything.
Full of salty stories, a few tall tales, and more than 100 recipes that double down on flavor,Chasing the Gatorshows how--and what it means--to cook Cajun food today.
Isaac Toupshas four times been named a James Beard Best Chef of the South Semi-Finalist or Finalist since opening Toups' Meatery in 2012 with his wife, Amanda. He was named anEaterYoung Gun of the South,Eater New Orleans' Chef of the Year, and aTop Cheffan favorite. Before opening Toups' Meatery, he honed his skill for a decade as a fine-dining chef at restaurants such as Emeril's Delmonico. His cooking has been featured by theWall StrlCĪ
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