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Cajun Andouille for an outsider

Nondescriptentity
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Nondescriptentity

Nondescriptentity

Posted
Posted

Hello,

 

I'd like to make some of my own cajun cousine, without the stuff needed to do so if possible.

 

I'm from Austria, so making Cajun can be quite hard lol, hence why I joined the forum.

 

Now I'd like to know how to go on about this, here's a list of ingredients I can call available:

 

https://www.alfies.at/shop

 

How do I go on about this? 

Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
54 minutes ago, Nondescriptentity said:

Hello,

 

I'd like to make some of my own cajun cousine, without the stuff needed to do so if possible.

 

I'm from Austria, so making Cajun can be quite hard lol, hence why I joined the forum.

 

Now I'd like to know how to go on about this, here's a list of ingredients I can call available:

 

https://www.alfies.at/shop

 

How do I go on about this? 

 

What specific Cajun dish(es) do you hope to make? If you want to make Andouille, as your topic title suggests, then you need to be prepared to make sausage. If you're simply trying to find out what makes it Cajun in the first place, then you'll be interested more in the approach than the finished dishes. If you're simply looking to make gumbo, jambalaya, etouffee, or any other regional dishes, then there's a wealth of reading for you in this forum -- and the possibility to revive old topics!

 

Here are some specific topics you may find interesting:

Gumbo, Jambalaya, Etouffee, Creole... (which, I admit, doesn't stick strictly to Cajun cuisine)

Really Good Red Beans and Rice

Gumbo: Cook-Off #3

 

For a general discussion, which is where you may be wanting to start, there's this topic:

So, what makes it "Cajun"?

 

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Nondescriptentity said:

I'd like to make some of my own cajun cousine, without the stuff needed to do so if possible.

 

I'm not sure how anyone can make something without the things needed to make that something. Can you explain what you really mean?

Edited by liuzhou (log)
  • Like 2

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted (edited)
15 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

I'm not sure how anyone can make something without the things need to make that something

I have to agree, especially with Cajun food. Unless you have a source to order things or someone that will send it to you it seems like it will be an exercise in futility. One of the most important elements in Cajun food is the roux. This is a pretty good website that will explain what you are up against.

Here is the Forum discussion About Roux.

Living in Costa Rica, I am pretty good at faking things and at substitutions but Cajun food is one thing that I could never be able to find substitutes for and learning to make the necessary roux is one battle I would never tackle.

Edited by Tropicalsenior (log)
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heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted (edited)

Well Austrians know how to make roux (Einbrenn) - just need guidance on dark roux. Not brain surgery - just the fear factor of how dark one lets it go - the proper tipping point. Flour and fat are cheap experiments. Kitchen smoke - not so pleasant... Microwave roux has found some fans here on eG.

Edited by heidih (log)
  • Like 1
KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I have to agree, especially with Cajun food. Unless you have a source to order things or someone that will send it to you it seems like it will be an exercise in futility. One of the most important elements in Cajun food is the roux. This is a pretty good website that will explain what you are up against.

Here is the Forum discussion About Roux.

Living in Costa Rica, I am pretty good at faking things and at substitutions but Cajun food is one thing that I could never be able to find substitutes for and learning to make the necessary roux is one battle I would never tackle.

I don't know if making the roux would be that much of a non-starter, but to me, much more complicated would be making the ingredients that most people down there buy at the market - yes, andouille as posted above, but also sourcing tasso ham (a highly seasoned and smoked ham mostly used as a seasoning agent than a protein) as well as a good hot sauce, like Crystal.  I know there are Tabasco lovers out there but as one of my favorite jambalaya joints used to do, they kept their stash of Crystal behind the bar for people that asked for it, even though the bar was seemingly sponsored by Tabasco with their neon signs all over the place.

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heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted
25 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Isn't there a German sausage similar to andouille, @Duvel?

 

And when it's found, make jamabalaya.

I don't think so. But again OP has not said his/her experience or why of this so we are sorta shooting blanks.

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haresfur

haresfur

Posted
Posted

Might not be able to get an exact substitute for ingredients but can probably still make something tasty. You should be able to find a somewhat similar sausage but I'm not sure which one would be the best fit. Can you get okra? Maybe you have an Indian grocery that would have it.

It's almost never bad to feed someone.

Mjx

Mjx

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, Nondescriptentity said:

Hello,

 

I'd like to make some of my own cajun cousine, without the stuff needed to do so if possible.

 

I'm from Austria, so making Cajun can be quite hard lol, hence why I joined the forum.

 

Now I'd like to know how to go on about this, here's a list of ingredients I can call available:

 

https://www.alfies.at/shop

 

How do I go on about this? 

 

If you're sourcing ingredients from Germany, @Duvel may be able to offer helpful suggestions; there must be online shops that have more specialized selections than this supermarket.

Michaela, aka "Mjx"
Manager, eG Forums
mscioscia@egstaff.org

Duvel

Duvel

Posted
Posted (edited)

Thanks, @weinoo and @Mjx for pointing me to this thread ... I am not sure if the OP poster wants to (1) make Cajun Andouille, (2) cook with it or in general wants to (3) prepare Cajun food:

 

(3) I'll start with the last option: it is not a particular challenge to source the ingredients required to prepare Cajun food in Austria, especially if you don't limit yourself to one supermarket chain. The spice cabinet, most of the veggies (sure, okra is maybe not everywhere stocked, and for certain items you'll need to substituete, e.g. the local kale cultivar for collards), the dry ingredients (cornmeal, ...) - all available easily. 

 

(2) For Andouille you can either substitute the easily obtainable Debreziner or soft Spanish chorizo (look out for "pikant"), or for the sake of authenticity, you'll mail order from Germany, e.g. here ...

 

(1) For making Andouille there are plenty of recipes out there, with in Austria easily accessible spices and pork meat. If the OP is up the the task, I am sure someone in eG has a favourite recipe.

 

 

Edited by Duvel (log)
  • Like 4
Duvel

Duvel

Posted
Posted

Just checked the Turkish veggie market next to my office: plenty of okra …

 

IMG_0508.thumb.jpeg.3038df53f035986de9769edfb89006d6.jpeg

 

And for @KennethT: Crystal hot sauce is easily available from Amazon.de … and for spicy, heavily smoked ham I am sure Austria has a proper substitute 😉

  • Like 4
Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted
20 hours ago, Nondescriptentity said:

How do I go on about this? 

I can't help feeling that we are being played. If you really want to cook Cajun food at least let us know what you are interested in. There are all kinds of topics in the forum that will give you good advice on Cajun food and there have been a lot of suggestions here. The site that you gave us doesn't tell us anything unless we speak German.

  • Like 3
Duvel

Duvel

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, weinoo said:

Something like this, @Duvel?

 

Tiroler Schinkenspeck - though you'd definitely have to punch up with cayenne and garlic (also, tasso is generally shoulder vs. leg). Smoked hock might even be a better sub.


I’d go for this …

 

Garlic & chili would go extra, indeed !

  • Like 1
Duvel

Duvel

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

The site that you gave us doesn't tell us anything unless we speak German.


IMG_0510.gif.194634bf251edad2c748b15bff86c8fd.gif

  • Haha 1
Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Duvel said:


IMG_0510.gif.194634bf251edad2c748b15bff86c8fd.gif

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you spoke German. Still, having a whole list of products doesn't mean a thing if you don't know the particular dish that someone wants to put it in. I wish the OP would check back in and give us some kind of feedback. As it is we are all just talking to each other.

  • Like 2
MaryIsobel

MaryIsobel

Posted
Posted

Sad but true; the best sub I can get for andouille in this one horse town is keilbassa. I add a bit of smoked paprika and fortuantely, most people that I serve gumbo to have never had the real thing. 

  • Like 3
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Duvel

Duvel

Posted
Posted
10 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you spoke German.


Hehehe … seriously ? 😜
 

11 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Still, having a whole list of products doesn't mean a thing if you don't know the particular dish that someone wants to put it in. I wish the OP would check back in and give us some kind of feedback.


Fully with you. The link provided is the online catalogue of a minor supermarket chain. It’s a bit like handing out a supermarket inventory and ask: what can I cook with this …

  • Like 1
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Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Duvel said:

It’s a bit like handing out a supermarket inventory and ask: what can I cook with this …

Exactly! It's like some of those stupid shows on Food Network where they hand them a basket full of food and say try and cook this and we will try to look like we are eating it and enjoying it.

Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted
22 minutes ago, MaryIsobel said:

most people that I serve gumbo to have never had the real thing. 

That's me. I've never had gumbo but I have made it. It was delicious but I would be scared to death to serve it to a real Cajun.

I suspect that @Nondescriptentity is going to have to settle for a reasonable facsimile unless he/she goes to New Orleans and experiences the real thing.

TdeV

TdeV

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

That's me. I've never had gumbo but I have made it. It was delicious but I would be scared to death to serve it to a real Cajun.

I suspect that @Nondescriptentity is going to have to settle for a reasonable facsimile unless he/she goes to New Orleans and experiences the real thing.

 

Me too. I have been cooking with okra for a few years because it grows commonly around here, and I've been feeding friends and neighbours with the results. But, I have no idea what Cajun food properly tastes like. The other day I realized that many of those folks have been eating Southern food all their lives. No one has said a word to me. But still. 😜

  • Like 1
  • 2 weeks later...
Nondescriptentity

Nondescriptentity

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

It sounds really hard to do. I'm a bit amiss when it comes to the quality. I apreciate your input and thank you all for your contributions. I don't know what to say. Making Cajun food out of Austrian food sounds really impossible.

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