Lets face it. Louisiana is well known for our cajun and creole cusine but the barbecue available here sucks. I have eaten at hole in the wall barbecue shacks in Texas, Mississippi and Memphis that blows away any barbecue I have ever eaten in Baton Rouge. Does anybody have any ideas about how to go about combining Cajun or Creole flavor into traditional barbecue recipes that would combine the best of both worlds of flavors?
Stuff a brisket or Boston Butt with an onion/garlic/bell pepper/cayenne combo (like your Mom would stuff a pork roast) then sloooooooooooowwwwwwwwly cook over a wood or charcoal fire and never...repeat...never add sauce while cooking. It'll take 3 6 packs to a case to get the meat fork tender. Slice the brisket or pull apart the Boston Butt and the stuffing will (as John Folse says) marry with the meat and add that cajun zing you're looking for.
Barbeque in Baton Rouge really sucks. But there are a few places around the state where they do it right. My favorites: Graysons in Clarence, LA on Hwy 71 near Natchitoches has the best beef brisket in the state. They also bake their own buns, so their sandwiches are the best, too. Orders come in from all over for holiday smoked turkeys and hams. Pig Stand on Hwy 167 in Ville Platte has the best pork barbecue and some pretty damn good plate lunches, too. other people agree: http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2002/12/16/editorial4.html http://www.frommers.com/destinations/villeplatte/D41890.html
This may help the local situation, although I've always thought Dreamland in Tuscaloosa was overrated. Dreamland BBQ opening in Baton Rouge (May 2004)
I don't know. Every now and then a good local joint comes up, but they never seem to last very long. In the 70's there was a fine BBQ place in Scotlandville called Rib Shack and they later opened up one in the Rebel Shopping center that got good business. Yet both closed after a few years. There have been others. The best BBQ cooks are not always good businessmen. Right now there is a pretty fair new BBQ place at the corner of Burbank and Gardere. Also on Government St. near BR High there is fine small rib place that probably won't last long. No big sign and no advertisement and folks just don't know that it is there. I smelled it out. :hihi:
There's a place here in New Orleans called "Cajun Zyde-que", at the corner of Iberville and Bourbon that I thought was pretty good. They combine Cajun spices w/ barbeque and it works out all right. They also give very generous portions...I wasn't able to finish mine.
The place on Burbank and Gardere is called Couyons. They serve large portions but I thought the flavor was only fair.
