Louisiana Cookin’ – September-October 2019

27 louisianacookin.com

RIB-EYE

IN THE SKY

ITWASWHILElyingonmybackandlookingupthe

sightofa 12-gaugeshotgunata skyblackenedwithbirds

thatI realizedI wasnota hunter.EventhoughI came

froma longlineofhunters,I couldn’thitthesideofa

barn.Mydestinywastocookgame,nothuntit.

Myfatherwasa phenomenalhunterandas

comfortableintheswampashewasonourfrontporch.

Asa youngman,hemadea livingtrappingandhunting.

Mybirthcertificateshowsmyfather’soccupationas

trapper.Ourlarderwasfilledwithingredientsfromthe

swampfloor,andourback

porchdécorwasstretched

hidesdryinginthesun.

Myculinaryeducation

inpreparingwilddelicacies

camefromthe“Escoffiers”

ofCajunCountry.At

UnclePaulZeringue’scamponCabanoceyPlantation,I

learnedtomakeduckandandouillegumbo;atIvyBye’s

camponBurtonLane,I learnedtocookgoosebreast

saucepiquante;atGuyCaire’scamp,I watchedasswamp

mealswerepreparedforgovernors,senators,andstate

representatives.

Louisiana’sabundantwetlands,marshes,andbayous

makethisa waterfowlparadiseyear-round.Whatelevates

thestatefrombeinga greatplacetohunttobeing

Sportsman’sParadiseis itslocationatthesouthernendof

theMississippiFlyway,thepathhundredsofbirdspecies

taketotheirsouthernwinteringgroundseachyear.

The NativeAmericanswhofirstroamedthisarea

knewabouttheseasonalarrivalofducksandgeese,

namingonespotinpresent-daySt.JamesParish

Cabanosse,“mallards’roost.”Onecanimaginehowthe

abundanceofwaterfowldelightedthenewlyarrived

Acadians,discoveringthatLouisianawaswherethebirds

theyhuntedinNovaScotiainthespringandsummer

disappearedforthewinter.

It seemswaterfowl-huntingwouldbefamiliarto

anywhoarrivedinLouisianafromforeignshores.Even

inEgypt,a shrineinthe

tombofKingTutankhamun

showsa depictionofthe

pharaohhuntingbirds.

Becausehishuntinggrounds

wereknownas“Swampsof

Enjoyment,”I venturethathe

wouldhavebeenathomeinLouisiana’smarshes.

Whileduckswerecommon,geeseheldconsiderable

distinctionthroughouttheages.The Romansconsidered

geesesacred,andtheGreeksdomesticatedandfattened

them.InmedievalEurope,geeseofthevillagewere

presentedtoconqueringheroes.InEngland,roasted

goosewasstandardfareforSt.Michael’sDayand

Christmas.Forme,too,geesearemyfavoritewaterfowl

toeat.I lovewoodduckasmuchasthenextguy,but

givemea specklebellyandI’minheaven.I guessothers

feelthesame,becauseinsouthLouisiana,wedon’thunt

geese;wehunt“rib-eyeinthesky”!

AFIELD & AFLOAT

by chef john d. folse

“LOUISIANA’S ABUNDANT WETLANDS,

MARSHES, AND BAYOUS MAKE THIS A

WATERFOWL PARADISE YEAR-ROUND.”

Chef John D. Folse is an entrepreneur with interests ranging from restaurant development to food manufacturing, catering to culinary education.

Similar recipes can be found in After the Hunt: Louisiana’s Authoritative Collection of Wild Game & Game Fish Cookery (Chef John Folse & Company).