Youngbonner,
The next time you go to see your Dad run on in to Palestine
and look up "Iron Gate" feed store, they have the big bags of
UPM for $13.00+

Cecil

Hi Cecil,

Thanks for the hot tip. I went to Fairfield on the 16th but went through your area after 8:00pm. Had a great trip and wil go back soon.

young

$13 is a good price for the big bag of UPM. I just had a local nursery order some for me and got some in $16 + per bag. It was a bit cheaper than the $18 + that I paid last year. Its performance in rooting cuttings makes it well worth every penny.

Gene.....my very early WAG is that your unknown fig may turn out to be a Kadota. When you later post pictures one of us will ID it for sure.

Dan

Hi Young, good to hear from ya. The farmer I got it from said it was a green fig that turned somewhat brown as it ripened. Now I don't know exactly what he meant by that. You see the mother tree is near Crowley and it was 5:30 PM when we got to his house. Besides, it was raining lightly and threatening much harder stuff. It's about a 3 1/2 hour drive back and we had to stop to eat, so I didn't have much time to yap, can you imagine that. I did ask him if it split or soured badly and he said that it did a little when it rained a lot but that more figs were available later.

I only got my UPM because of Dan's generosity in getting it for me. Thanks Dan and I hope you're right about being able to ID the fig. I just hope it's a great one. For it to be there for 57 years must say something about it.

"gene"

Gene,

Keeping a fig tree growing for 57 years in South Louisiana where there are some really good tasting figs available........tells me your new find is likely a very good fig. When fig hunting in our area, I especially look for old heirlooms that have been re-planted multiple times because the trees were killed by hurricanes. A fig grower with a dead fig tree would normally replace a marginal cultivar with a better one when the re-planting time came around. When a Cajun re-plants his unknown fig cultivar MULTIPLE TIMES......that's a sure sign of a very good fig. And when a Cajun replaces his Celeste with another cultivar....that too is a sign of a very good fig. Hurricanes have a way of weeding out those marginal cultivars and improving the lot...........

Dan

Dan I've got to agree with you 100 percent. That's what got my interest in this tree and the fact that's it ever bearing. When it comes to eating a Cajun knows what good eating is all about, so no use in planting something that is mediocre.

bonne santé,
"gene"

The Cajun palate has given us a very unique kind of cuisine known and appreciated around the world for its great taste. During my fig hunting trips whenever an old Cajun fig lover gives me a taste rating on his figs........I listen.

Dan

Dan and Gene,

We have to sit down one day and do a Crawfish Boil.
Cajun style: Shrimp, Crablegs, Potatoes, Corn and Cajun Sausages with some ice cold beer.

Then we'll have figs for dessert.

Rafed

I'm ready, how about you Dan? Of course I know better than to ask because we stay ready.

"gene"

The crawfish are now in full season and many Crawfish Boils are underway in our area. Family and friends gather around the pot and celebrate the good things in life. Tons and tons of crawfish will be eaten during one of our little party celebrations.... a public party that we call MARDI GRAS. Attend a Crawfish Boil, or Saints tailgating party, or LSU tailgating party, or attend a Mardi Gras parade in South Louisiana and you will get an idea of what we mean when we say "Laissez les bon temps rouler!! (Let the good times roll!!)". Mardi Gras is the last BIG PARTY before the Lenten religious season of fasting arrives. Italians have their St. Joseph alters of food......and Cajuns have their Mardi Gras of food and festivity just before Ash Wednesday.

We are expecting to have two huge Mardi Gras style parties this year.....the first one will occur in two weeks just after the New Orleans Saints win the Superbowl for the first time in 43 years. The "Who Dat Nation" will throw one huge party before and after that big win.....

Dan

Offer up some boudin and I might crash your party ;)

Jason,

I'll be in your area this weekend ( Braselton ).

Dan,
Now I'm hungry.

Rafed

I have been smoking some "Richards Brand" Hot boudin in my new smoker using Apple wood at 225 deg F for an hour and a half............it is to die for good!!!! It is even better than the smoked boudin that they sell at "The Best Stop" in Scott, La. Best Stop only sells 1000 lbs. of their boudin per day and always has a continuous line of customers. Anyone going over to see JR should drop by that store and pick up a few pounds of their great tasting products.

Dan

The only place that had any good boudin near me just went out of business. They actually shipped in all their bread straight from NOLA, and had regular crawfish boils.

I miss the boudin. I think I miss the Patton's hot sausage even more, though.

Rafed - I was near Braselton buying a Montmorency cherry tree this weekend. That's a ways up there! I'm about 8 miles NNE of the airport, about 2-3 miles southwest of downtown/the capitol building (couple blocks southeast of the zoo).

Gene or Dan or anyone,

What is boudin? I see it advertised when I am passing through La.

There are a couple of Cajun places around Detroit and that's it.
The closest I've ever been to a real Cajun place ( maybe ) was in Tulsa, Ok. called The Boiling Pot and that was a long time ago. They would cover the table with the white deli paper and dump everything on the table. No plate, spoons or forks. Just your hands.

Rafed

No point in reinventing the wheel, so here you go!

Here is a link that might be useful: Wikipedia - Boudin

Dan,

Is it near Frog city travel plaza off I-10 in Rayne, La.?

Gene sorry, Didn't mean to hijack your thread.

I think I'll hit two birds with one stone. I would like to visit JR to pick out a couple of figs one day and make a pit stop to try this stuff.

Pork and beer are a couple of good friends of mine.

Rafed

You might want to swing by Durio Nursery as well, it's just up the road from JR. Has quite a few more heirloom and named varieties. www.durionursery.biz

Rafed,

You will enjoy visiting with James and Dalton at those two nurseries. The Best Stop is located in that general area just north off of I-10. Best stop has one the best seasoned crackling products in the world.....goes great with beer. Below a link to their website.

Jason, that Wikipedia write-up on boudin was 100% accurate. The stuff is becoming legendary like other recent Cajun cooking inventions.....deep fried turkey and blackened Redfish.

Re figs.......I do plan on lightly smoking some of my figs this year.

Dan

Here is a link that might be useful: The Best Stop........ for Boudin

Dan,

I will sure pay them a visit the next time I pass through or when I visit JR and Dalton.

I was in the area a couple weeks ago. My truck broke down in Sulphur with a huge repair bill.
I could have used some boudin to take my mind off the issue.

Thanks for your help and I would for sure keep you posted when I visit.

Smoked figs sound good but I wonder if they can be candied like yams?

Rafed

Rafed, While in Sulphur you were in the thick of some fine cajun food. Cajuns go to the border and even claim some of Texas.
"gene"

Ate some mighty fine boiled crawfish and shrimp at Sabine Pass, Texas a number of years ago at a place called Sartin's.....home of the BBQ crab. Lots of Cajuns in that area who may not mind if they got annexed.

There are two legendary places to get the absolute best boiled crawfish......#1 in taste is Jimbo's on Jone's Creek road in Baton Rouge. #2 in taste and #1 in sheer volume is Tony's Seafood on Plank's road in Baton Rouge.....see link below. Tony's sells literally tons of crawfish daily and he ships anywhere in the US. There are so many customers for their products that a policeman is usually present to direct the traffic flow in and out of their parking lot.....no joke. They have may workers so the wait is not too long. They could use a larger facility; however,the current owner does not want to move away from their nearness to the airport......they routinely ship vast quantities all over the US out by air mail. No doubt lots will end up at the Superbowl parties in Miami.

If you have not had boiled crawfish from either of these two places.....then I can assure you that you have not yet had The Best.

I know the well guarded secrets to Tony's boils and have the cooking equipment and know how to produce such an boiling event if there is any real interest by forum members.

.......way off topic. Sorry Gene.

Dan

Here is a link that might be useful: Tony's in Baton Rouge......legendary boiled seafood.

Dan, figs are food and so are crawfish! I see a link.
"gene"

Sartins was in Sabine Pass years ago, but has since moved to Nederland and Beaumont. Same great Shrimp and BBQ Crabs as Dan mentioned. Lots of Cajuns here in this area(just over the Texas border) as Gene stated. Nick's grocery in Port Arthur is Boudain King in these parts(Regular and Crawfish Boudain). In case any of you are ever in this area.

Tim

Gentlemen and ladies,

If the world leaders were to meet at the buffet table I don't think the problems would be as bad as we have now.

I have decided to visit at least one of the places mentioned the very next time I'm in the area.

Crawfish are in season and I'm not letting it pass be by.

I'll be passing through Louisiana on I-20 this Friday.
Any leads there?

Rafed

Hi Rafed, I-20 might be a little too far north. If you stop, ask the locals---I'm sure there's plenty of transplanted Cajuns up that way. Tim

The old Cajuns in my area say anything north of Alexandria, La. is Yankee territory.....go figure.

Dan

keep heading I-20 east and you can crash at my place!

(is there anything worthwhile north of I-10? ;)

Seems like crawfish lose their good flavor the farther north one goes. My buddy and I cooked about 250 pounds of deep water crawfish up in Mountain Home, Akansas about 20 years ago. It was for a Diving Club who caught all of their crawfish one by one BY HAND during a day long dive near a river dam in that area. It was for there annual "CrawDad Dive" as they called it. We prepared them in the same manner in which we do it in South Louisiana with the same vegetable/meat extras, seasoning mix, and party music. Those crawfish had a sweet taste to them that became very nauseating to me after I ate a few. I couldn't eat them. What surprised me was how many divers wanted us to really spice up the last batch for them even though we had the spice level a bit on the hot side.

They also asked us to cook up some Red Beans and fried catfish for those who did not care to eat the crawfish. I was quite surprised to see MANY members of this Diving Club pour cooked Red Beans all over their unshelled crawfish...kinda like it was a sauce. That is the way they ate it.....I did not tell them any better. Those divers came from many parts of the US....several were from California. We all had a GREAT time. I remember drinking one too many Shiner Bock beers that night which resulted in me having to get a special ride back to the motel. I gave up drinking shortly after that and still do miss that great tasting beer from Texas.

Dan

Dan, that sounds like a trip I got to have. At this time of the night reading all those delicious boiled crawfish, prawns etc makes me very hungry. Perhaps you could let us know when the fig season is around. Then we can have cajun figs & boil's all at the same time.

Paully,

Unfortunately Crawfish season ends before fig season begins. Fig season begins in Mid June in my yard....with LSU Purple and Improved Celeste the first cultivars in my collection to bear fruit. Most of the fig trees in South Louisiana are Celeste and most are ripening real well around the fourth of July.....as the old timers will tell you when fig season officially begins. While crawfish are out of season at that time, the brown shrimp season and blue crab season is just beginning and will continue throughout the entire fig season. Shrimp are real cheap in our area and readily available for large shrimp boils. Lots of crabs too. Fig season ends in late November in my yard just before Crawfish season begins again. So figs and crawfish are really out of sync.

Dan

Thanks for the info Dan. Would mark down as spot to visit with Mrs. I have seen on food channel how the folks filled the tables with boiled seafood. What an experienced with a gang of friends to chow down.

What you saw on the food channel is very common in south La. Cajuns love to get together with family and friends. Anytime a couple of Cajun men gather near a pot, you can bet that SOMETHING will end up going into that pot. Many Cajun men cook and the foods that come out of their pots often is much better than what the trained chefs prepare. Jambalaya, deep fried turkey, blacken Redfish, crawfish boils, crab boils, shrimp boils, and fried seafood of all sorts (including frogs) all are performed is a RITUAL fashion outdoors. WATCHING the food cook and SMELLING the aromas during cooking and then finally SHARING it with family and friends are all part of these Cajun rituals. I love to cook and often cook for hundreds of people.....have won quite a few awards in cooking competitions at local festivals.

When my son was in the Navy, his ship was stationed in New Orleans for fleet day. He and the cooks from his ship came over to my house to learn how to cook Jambalaya. We prepared enough Jambalaya for 500 servings. After cooking it we took the food on board the ship and placed it on a helicopter pad where all of the young seamen could come and get a serving. I met a lot of FINE young men that day and will always remember that event. My son was proud to share this bit of Cajun culture with his shipmates as we "gathered around the pot".

Dan

RE: frogs

one of the first things i learned as a kid was how to fashion a giggin' stick, use it to get a mess of frogs, then learned how to clean them in 4-5 seconds flat, leaving nothing but four bare, meaty legs. skin comes right off like a pair of socks if you do it right.

good eatin', too.

Jason,

This is where I draw the line.
RE: Frogs

Rafed

That line could be the "Mason/Dixon line".

I too am on the Frog eating side.....

From East Texas

Cecil

I can go with bull frogs....but draw the line at opossum, nutria, and armadillo. Too many other better ingredients for gumbos and sauce picantes.

Dan

anyone that has spent any time with cajuns knows, some cajuns will eat anything that moves. armadillo is actually not too bad tasting, but not something i would ask for openly if there were other things offered. and nutria...possum...i cringe remembering seeing what came out of pots when i was a young'un. i eat a lot of crazy stuff, but that's taking it a bit too far. i'd rather go to south america and eat guinea pig.

amazing, squirrels taste so good, rabbits do too...not sure why nutria is so unpalatable.

O.k. another question,

What is Nutria?

And Opossum? You've got to be kidding me.
Thanks but no thanks,
I'll just head on down to Burger King and I'll have fries with that.

Rafed

Hi Rafed, you got an interesting job. You sure get around & run into some adventurous food or suggestions. On the kidding side, I suppose you can one day in your retirement write an interesting book on travel gourmet pit stops and funny people in N.America. Let me know if you are heading this way and I will see what I can lined up as interesting gourmet apart from Burger King across from Husky pit stop. A tip -- I have many First Nation(Natives)& samurai friends here.

Nutria, short decription: Gigantic, non-native swamp rat. I could tell you stories about what they're capable of, and the hunting programs that the state has sponsored, but want to keep this short ;)

Swamp rat?
How large of a firearm would you suggest?

Paul,
Lets just say my book would not include opossums or nutria as having ever been any part of my diet.

Samurai? I like that!

To answer your question in short?
Been there, Done that and probably ate it, Accept for opossums and nutria.

I've seen places in U.S. and Canada that most never thought existed. Breath taking!

Rafed

Dan,

I'm sorry but I forgot to mention that I hope you feel better, Got caught up in other issues.

Maybe a plate full of crabcakes would lighten your spirits.

Rafed

Doing better Rafed. Thanks.

Re Nutria, those big rat looking animals came to us from South America. They are fur bearing animals that live in the swamps and marshlands. They will burrow into levee banks causing leaks that eventually undermine the levee.....not a good situation in South La. where an extensive levee system exists.

There is a small trade in Nutria fur for coats, with the meat going to local Alligator farms for feed. There was a BIG push a number of years ago to encourage the human consumption of Nutria. Local chefs were paid to develop many recipes in hopes of developing a market for the meat. I recall seeing one recipe for roasted Nutria with fig glaze. For awhile Nutria meat and sausage was available at local supermarkets. However, that new marketing scheme went over like a lead balloon with the locals.....and now mostly it's just the Alligators that get to dine on them ....sans figs.

Dan

Dan,

Started out in San Antonio, Tx this morning and headed west on I-10. Planned on going to The Best Stop to try some Boudin.

Six hours later I got there and to my disappointment there was no room to park my truck. The parking lot was loaded with cars and didn't want to take a chance in driving in the back because I didn't know if there was any room to turn and with that traffic I didn't want to back up either.

Oh well, Better luck next time and I'll just try something that's right off the freeway next time.

I would have made plans on visiting JR for some figs but I'm going to Newfoundland again so I didn't want to risk it with the Customs. This is my longest haul ever!
Picked up in Laredo, Tx. and going to Mt. Pearl, NL., 3650 miles.

Hopefully the next time I'm in the area I'll have a chance to meet you and Gene and Tim.

Happy figging!

Rafed

Rafed, I wished you'd of given me a heads up because I could have met you at a truck stop there and we could have driven over to get some boudin and cracklins and had some fine conversation. Next time you're near here, holler.
"gene"

Give me a heads-up too.

Dan

Gene and Dan,
The thought came across my mind but just didn't have time but the next time I will plan on making a day out of it.

Took forever for this load to come across from Mexico and they hinted they wanted it delivered by Thursday, I said ya right, It's not going to happen.

If I don't have a load on board then I will rent a car and spend a few days. I want to visit Bourbon St.. I like to get hammered too.

Also, I'd like to visit JR and Durio Nursery and buy some plants.

Rafed

Rafed I'll gladly take to to Robin's and Durio's. I'll also get you some boudin and crackin. But.......... if you want Bourbon Street I'll have to defer to Dan. It's out of my league.
"gene"

Gene,

If it's against any of your beliefs then I will respect you and stay away from Bourbon St. during my visit.
If or when the time comes my purpose for the visit will be to meet you and Dan and eat. And then go plant hunting.

Just hope when the time comes I will not have any freight so I can spend a couple of days there.

Rafed