34 replies to this topic

[bavila]

Anyone have suggestions for really good mail order suppliers? I'm an expatriated Louisianaian in Maryland. I already order Community Coffee, and can get my Tony's up here in some grocery stores, but right now I'm jonesing for some Louisiana pecans. Also, my mom used to get me file from a vendor at Festivals Acadiens, and I seem to have lost track of who that was to even look them up. Any ideas for artisanal file? In other suggestions would be great!

[Mayhaw Man]

Bavila,

First of all welcome to eGullet. We are always glad to help out an expat. I hope that you are doing well up North, as I understand that there are some nice folks there, but that they are in need of a cooking lesson or two.

Here is a pretty good, very inclusive site that carries lots of our native foodstuffs. You will notice, for example, that on the sausage page not only do they have variety, but they list who made the stuff. Sausage from Poche's in Breaux Bridge (it's not really in BB and it is a pain to find at night, but they think that they are in BB ), bacon from Richard's, stuffed chickens from Hebert's in Maurice, etc. The Cajun Grocer can fix you up. If you put together a decent sized order the shipping is pretty reasonable as well, especially if you are ordering dry goods.

Here is the link to Uncle Bill's File'. It is the best. Hand did! I am pretty sure that this would be the guy you bought it from as he is often at festivals and is a regular at the Crescent City Farmers Market as well.

Good luck and stick around. We always have people looking for local advice in Acadiana and you could be a big help.

[bavila]

I hope that you are doing well up North, as I understand that there are some nice folks there, but that they are in need of a cooking lesson or two.

Ha! Yes indeed, a cooking lesson wouldn't be a bad idea. Hubby and I continue our crusade to when over Old Bay fans to Tony's. It's slow going! Thanks for the tips. I've been on Cajun Grocer a few times, and it's good to get someone else's endorsement.

[Malawry]

Bavila, did you order? I am considering placing a fat order from Poche's directly and wondered if anybody had experience with their mail-order service. The Cajun Grocer's site was sooooo slooooow that I didn't seriously consider it--even though I want some good chicory coffee and Poche's doesn't sell it. (I mostly need andouille and tasso for an upcoming gumbo fete.)

[phifly04]

I hope that you are doing well up North, as I understand that there are some nice folks there, but that they are in need of a cooking lesson or two.

Ha! Yes indeed, a cooking lesson wouldn't be a bad idea. Hubby and I continue our crusade to when over Old Bay fans to Tony's. It's slow going! Thanks for the tips. I've been on Cajun Grocer a few times, and it's good to get someone else's endorsement.

although i love creole and have even purchased some books on mayhaw man,s excellent recommendations tony,s or anyone else,s will never supplant the great ,original Old Bay Dave s from lowerslowerdelaware

[joiei]

Hebert's Speciality Meats sent me a note today to get my holiday orders in now for my turducken and my boneless chickens with alligator stuffing.

[Malawry]

Hebert's does not appear to sell the andouille and tasso I need. However, the boudin-stuffed duck sounds a-freakin-mazing.

[Mayhaw Man]

Get dark roast with chicory straight from the source. I know lots of people that do, in fact, I did when I was working in San Diego.

And Poche's is tiny and well run. I beleive that Bleachboy recently got an order from there, so you might pm him, or perhaps he will check in tonight.

Bavila, did you order? I am considering placing a fat order from Poche's directly and wondered if anybody had experience with their mail-order service. The Cajun Grocer's site was sooooo slooooow that I didn't seriously consider it--even though I want some good chicory coffee and Poche's doesn't sell it. (I mostly need andouille and tasso for an upcoming gumbo fete.)

[bleachboy]

And Poche's is tiny and well run. I beleive that Bleachboy recently got an order from there, so you might pm him, or perhaps he will check in tonight.

I contacted Malawry with a small review of their web site, but more importantly the promise to give an andouille review as soon as it comes in.

Frankly, I'd say you can't go wrong if Mayhaw Man recommends it. I believe he has a truly refined yet egalitarian palate.

[bavila]

Again, I concur with Mayhaw Man on the coffee. We always order Community. Here's a tip -- if you place a standing order, you can choose from several thank-you gifts, including a Bodum grinder. At least this was the case in September.

I've not placed any orders as mom and dad have come through with freebie shipments.

I do endorse Poche's based on my brick-and-mortar experience with them!

[Mayhaw Man]

That sausage at Poche's is damn good. Their andouille is what it's supposed to be-basically spicy CHUNKS of ham held together with some spices and pork fat. The stuff is delicious.

Also, it's a great stop for lunch if you are traveling I-10. It's easy to find (in the daytime-at night, not so much-just ask Rachel P. ). They have a good little spot and it's always full of colorful talkative locals (most of us will talk to a stump, so we are just as happy to talk to animate objects like yourself). Great menu and the staff is really funny. Full of great stories told in wonderful accents. Just act dumb and ask some obvious question -"So, just what is this Gumbo stuff?" That gets them started. You won't need to say much else for about a 1/2 hour other than, "really?" or "you don't say!". They'll do all of the work.

You should always order a couple of chickens when you order from there. Those things are the ultimate in TV dinners. Just thaw and cook. Serves 2 of us or 4 Yankees. Delicious and virtually no effort.

[douginvirginia]

I had a great experience with Poches a few weeks back.

I bought tasso, andouille, boudin, smoked gator, & pork/crawfish - all KILLER.

My order arrived at 10:30 the morning after I placed it, everything in great shape. I believe the minimum order is 10 lbs. , wasn't a problem for me as I was sharing with a friend.

I had my first-ever Boudin this past Friday - for breakfast with bloody marys. I love this stuff! I find it similar in taste to the pudding we make at butcherin', must be the livers.

Anyway, I think you'll be quite happy with Poches.

Doug

[highchef]

Here is a source for boudin and some really, really great andouille and other sausages Rabideaux's Sausage 105 Hwy 165 (337) 582-3184
They are my source for venison, beef and pork smoked items.
The cracklins are good too, but I've had better...mainly nearer Opolusouses (sp), for some reason, they do a mean pork rind up there!

[Malawry]

I did end up ordering from Poche's. I had some trouble with their website--I was trying to pay with AMEX and I think something was wrong with their coding for accepting AMEX. So I called the store and spoke with a very charming lady who took my order over the phone.

Everything arrived two days later via FedEx, still frozen solid and packed in styrofoam. I didn't actually try any of it until yesterday, when I cracked into some andouille and some tasso for a big batch of gumbo. The andouille is particularly delectable--chunky, spicy, salty, porky goodness. The label suggests you remove the casing, which is thankfully easy to accomplish. The tasso is much spicier than the tasso I bought from Central Grocery while visiting NOLA in March, so I added a little less of it to the gumbo than I was planning to. It's a damned good tasso, and I enjoy the extra kick this version carries, but I didn't want to subject any of my guests to super-spicy gumbo (my best friend in particular is very sensitive to spices).

Anyway, good stuff.

[Mayhaw Man]

Everything arrived two days later via FedEx, still frozen solid and packed in styrofoam. I didn't actually try any of it until yesterday, when I cracked into some andouille and some tasso for a big batch of gumbo. The andouille is particularly delectable--chunky, spicy, salty, porky goodness. The label suggests you remove the casing, which is thankfully easy to accomplish. The tasso is much spicier than the tasso I bought from Central Grocery while visiting NOLA in March, so I added a little less of it to the gumbo than I was planning to. It's a damned good tasso, and I enjoy the extra kick this version carries, but I didn't want to subject any of my guests to super-spicy gumbo (my best friend in particular is very sensitive to spices).

Anyway, good stuff.

That tasso is awesome. Might a reccomend that you try a little carbonara and skip the bacon and go for tasso. You really don't need any other spices (much) if you use the tasso. SLice it really thinly and just heat it enough to warm all the way through.

The andouille is really good and your description is perfect. The deal with the skin is that because the stuff is mainly pork chunks, as opposed to some kind of ground pork, that it shrinks a bit as it is smoked and the skin gets kind of loose on the sausage, it is pretty easy to remove, although I don't always do it-out of sheer laziness. And if you think that woman was charming on the phone, you should go there for a little lunch sometime when you are down here. Those women could charm snakes.

[Rachel Perlow]

Rochelle, did you order any stuffed chickens as long as you were ordering from Poche's? Next time, do. Everyone.

[bleachboy]

I did order one of the (shrimp) stuffed chickens and I agree. It was SUPER delectable. I served it with a simple salad and reheated some frozen chicken jus (from a previous roast chicken) and it was a huge hit with all concerned. Moist and delicious and the stuffing was to die for.

[Malawry]

I thought about ordering a chicken after the suggestions here, but I was already breaking the bank as it was--the gumbo in question was part of the menu for my birthday party this past weekend. Feeding 25 people well ain't cheap, though it sure is fun and the gumbo was very popular.

Next time I order, I will be sure to get a chicken. Which kind have you guys enjoyed? (I think they have several stuffings, right?)

[bbq4meanytime]

That tasso is awesome. Might a reccomend that you try a little carbonara and skip the bacon and go for tasso. You really don't need any other spices (much) if you use the tasso. SLice it really thinly and just heat it enough to warm all the way through.

yep, I've been substituting the Poche's tasso for pancetta, bacon, and other hams in my recipes lately. A little bit goes along ways for flavor.

[Ktepi]

This looks like a good thread to bump.

I just got my order from Poche's about half an hour ago, so I can't report on the quality of any of it (not that I have any doubt, having eaten plenty of Poche's sausage in Louisiana), but the service was terrific. I ordered:

2 pounds boudin balls
1 pound boudin
1 pound andouille (it's huuuuge)
1 pound fresh chaurice
1 pound smoked chaurice
1 four-pound smoked chaudin (pig's stomach stuffed with sausage)

Ten pounds of food, total cost with shipping $80-something.

The idea was to get a variety of things while satisfying my curiosity about chaudin and incredible cravings for boudin. If you're wondering why I didn't order any tasso, I'll be honest: it's the holiday shopping season and I'm maxing things out to such an extent that I had to switch one pound of tasso to a pound of boudin balls (a dollar cheaper) in order to afford the ten pound minimum. ... I've had a lot of shopping to do.

I placed the order over the weekend, and got a call Monday morning letting me know that they didn't have any fresh chaurice on hand but would be making some that afternoon and Tuesday, and that I could either wait or change the order. I waited, obviously; bam, here it is this morning.

The chaurice arrived cold and only partially frozen (not because it had thawed, but because it's fresh), where it was nearest the frozen items and ice pack -- so we're having that tonight, and the rest went into the freezer to be portioned out over the holidays.

.. man, I wish I hadn't had lunch already.

[bavila]

Speaking of which, Brooks, what's up with the thread/list of companies up and running to order from? I'm trying to buy Louisiana merchandise for Christmas gifts.

[Mayhaw Man]

Speaking of which, Brooks, what's up with the thread/list of companies up and running to order from?  I'm trying to buy Louisiana merchandise for Christmas gifts.

There are lots of good links here (though, humorously, some of them don't work-they are fixing them now-bad html I suspect).

Southern Foodways Alliance Shopping List

You can't do any better than some of these folks, and I hope that some of you do choose to order from some of them-right now, today, only 21% of the pre Katrina number of food sources are open in Orleans Parish (this is easy to calculate, as they have to get a Post K permit to operate). We need the help, desperately, and it's a good way to do something meaningful (short of calling your congressperson and reminding them that some of us are still here-they seem to have forgotten).

[Mayhaw Man]

Speaking of which, Brooks, what's up with the thread/list of companies up and running to order from?  I'm trying to buy Louisiana merchandise for Christmas gifts.

There are lots of good links here (though, humorously, some of them don't work-they are fixing them now-bad html I suspect).

Southern Foodways Alliance Shopping List

Links fixed. Mary Beth Lasseter, the REAL head of the SFA, is incredibly efficient.

[douginvirginia]

Glad to hear about Poche's. They are great folks to work with, and wonderfull stuff!!!

I'll be placing an order soon.

[ruthcooks]

We had one of Poche's stuffed, boneless chickens for Christmas dinner. The stuffing was not what I would call pork, but rather a blazing hot sausage. Thank the stars I wiped off all that red goop on the outside, which looked like cayenne pepper to me, or no one would have been able to eat it.

Now I'm wondering about the rest of the pork sausage I ordered, which I plan to have for New Year's Eve. My son and SIL (son, not sister) can eat about anything, but there will be six of us who don't care for food that's too spicy.

Can those of you who have ordered a range of Poche's products please rank them for me in order from mild (if any!) to red hot? I have Boudin, smoked sausage, Andouille and Tasso. I was thinking of serving the Boudin and smoked just plain and putting some Andouille or Tasso in cheese grits.

What would you serve with these to cool down the mouth? Purely by accident, I discovered that a berried Jell-O with a whipped cream and cream cheese layer was absolutely the most effective cool down food I've ever tried, but I'm trying to make this an all NOLA meal and there will be those present who don't like Jell-O.

Suggestions? Help, help.

[Mayhaw Man]

We had one of Poche's stuffed, boneless chickens for Christmas dinner.  The stuffing was not what I would call pork, but rather a blazing hot sausage.  Thank the stars I wiped off all that red goop on the outside, which looked like cayenne pepper to me, or no one would have been able to eat it.

Now I'm wondering about the rest of the pork sausage I ordered, which I plan to have for New Year's Eve.  My son and SIL (son, not sister) can eat about anything, but there will be six of us who don't care for food that's too spicy.

Can those of you who have ordered a range of Poche's products please rank them for me in order from mild (if any!) to red hot?  I have Boudin, smoked sausage, Andouille and Tasso.  I was thinking of serving the Boudin and smoked just plain and putting some Andouille or Tasso in cheese grits.

What would you serve with these to cool down the mouth?  Purely by accident, I discovered that a berried Jell-O with a whipped cream and cream cheese layer was absolutely the most effective cool down food I've ever tried, but I'm trying to make this an all NOLA meal and there will be those present who don't like Jell-O.

Suggestions?  Help, help.

To begin with, I am probably not the guy to be giving you advice on how to "tone down" the fine pork products from Poche's. I have never considered them to be overspiced and I suppose that you can base that on local palate development. I love those chickens (though, admittedly, I almost always eat the crawfish or shrimp stuffed ones because that is my families preference) and at my house they are kind of used in the vein of fast comfort food. They can come straight out of the freezer and 90 minutes later be a very good centerpiece for a simple meal. Of course, I pick them up locally, they don't have to be delivered, and they are so dear price wise as they are when you have them shipped by air.

You should have tasted the "red goop" that you were wiping off. You would have found that it is not nearly as "blazing hot" as you might have thought. As it bakes it gives the bird a beautiful color and adds a nice flavor to the skin of the bird.

And of course, while user opinion will vary, neither the andouille or the tasso is hot in really any way. The tasso, in particular, is a really, really flavorful seasoning meat and would be a nice touch in grits-it is also a great replacement for dried ham products in many Italian dishes. The andouille is not hot, at least in my opinion. What it is has more to do with the smokiness of the sausage than with the spices in it. In fact, I enjoyed some last night as a side of Gumbo Z'Herbes and it was really delicious.

The boudin might be a different deal (I don't know if you bought spicy or mild). It can be pretty zippy. Usually, here, it's a snack food that is consumed with crackers of some sort and iced soft drinks and beer. It can be steamed or, better yet, grilled on the pit over low heat and charred a bit before serving.

Anyway, if you don't like spicy food, I suppose that there is not much to be done about it, and I certainly can't speak for exactly what you have in your hands, but I don't think that most of us would consider it to be "blazing hot" Of course, like I said, it's probably got alot to do with conditioning, both culturally and palate wise.

I do hope that you enjoy what you have left though, and I suspect that you will.

Happy New Year,

Brooks

[Jason Perlow]

Poche's Tasso and Chaurice and Andouille is certainly not very hot at all. We used a good amount of it in a jambalaya recently and without adding extra cajun/creole seasoning to the dish, the entire casserole of it was very well balanced in flavor.

[ruthcooks]

You should have tasted the "red goop" that you were wiping off. You would have found that it is not nearly as "blazing hot" as you might have thought. As it bakes it gives the bird a beautiful color and adds a nice flavor to the skin of the bird.

Brooks

I thought about tasting it, but who's going to taste something that's sitting atop a raw chicken? I do know that it was very salty, because I had to add lots of barely salted chicken broth so the sauce/gravy wouldn't be too salty.

We could not have one of the seafood stuffed chickens because my SIL is very allergic to bivalves and the inclusion of "seafood base" did not give any clues as to which seafood were used. He often gets ill in restaurants eating seafood soups because of the inclusion of clam broth.

My definition of "blazing hot" is anything which is painful to eat. I am very clear on this: eating is for pleasure, not pain. It will be interesting to taste the remaining products to see what my palate says about them.

Thanks for the comments, Brooks and Jason.

[Rachel Perlow]

I agree that the andouille is not overly hot, however the tasso we used from Poche's in last week's jambolaya was coated in a reddish seasoning, and tasting an individual piece, it was quite hot to me. However, you just use a little to flavor a recipe, so I think using it to spike cheese grits would be an excellent way to perk up a relatively bland dish. (Don't use as much salt as you might otherwise, as it is salty too.)

[Diner Girl]

We placed an order for about $100 worth of product from Poche's right before Christmas and it was our favorite gift to ourselves.

We had the cornbread-stuffed chicken for Christmas Eve dinner, and absolutely loved it. Juicy, delicious, and heartwarming (if that makes sense).

Over past few days, we've gotten together with family and friends to sample the tasso ham, andouille, chaudin, and both the smoked and regular alligator sausage. I grew up in the Amish country and am accustomed to "interesting" sausages and uses of pig stomachs. Their food was right on the money and incredibly delicious and satisfying. Thanks to everyone for their postings about it -- I think we'll make it a regular ordering spot.

Happy new year everyone!