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SHORT
AND SWEET
New Orleans falls
for Abita Brewing Co.’s
fruity seasonal brews
—but only for a
few months at a time
When beloved Louisiana
craft brewer Abita first
rolled out its Strawberry
Harvest beer, in 2005, it
was a one-off—a yellow
lager made with ripe local
strawberries for the annual
Ponchatoula Strawberry
Festival. But the beer was
so popular that the brewery
started bottling it commer-
cially the following year. It’s
now such a favorite that
Louisianans reach near-
panic when it approaches
the end of its limited run
eachMay, says Abita
president David Blossman.
Luckily, summer brings
Buggin’
Out
During the spring harvest,
Louisiana residents
go crazy for crawfish
YOUKNOWIT’S SPRINGTIME
in Louisiana
when the newspaper-coveredpicnic tables
piled high with fire engine–red crusta-
ceans—heads snapped and tails peeled to
reveal apinkie’sworthof tastymeat—start
to appear in public parks. Ninety percent
of the U.S. crawfish haul comes from the
Bayou State, and the locals are passionate
about celebrating the beginning of har-
vest season. At the Louisiana Crawfish
Festival in Chalmette this month, mud-
bug lovers can get their fill of the boiled
beauties—as well as all kinds of crawfish
specialties, from po’boys to quesadillas—
sometimes evenraccoon. “Weviewevery
animal from the swamp-floor pantry as a
possibility,” Folse says, as he a empts to
flush out some grub from a copse of oaks.
There’sanold joke insouthernLouisiana:
If theDepartment ofWildlife andFisheries
wants to control the population of a par-
ticular species, all it needs to do is circulate
a few recipes. Famously voracious eaters,
theCajuns residing in thesepartshave long
incorporated into their cuisine all manner
of wild game, whether it flies (quail, snipe,
chukar), runs (squirrel, raccoon, nutria) or
swims (gator, bullfrog). It’s a tradition that
dates back to 1765, when French-Canadian
exiles settled in swampland 65 miles up
the Mississippi River from New Orleans.
With the help of their Native American
neighbors, these se lers and their descen-
dants—called Cajuns—became capable
hunters and even be er cooks, serving up
country meals that took full advantage of
the area’s bounty.
Back on the bayou, their ingredients
bagged and skinned, the two culinary stars
spend the a ernoon cooking in a simple
log-cabin kitchen, fine-tuning dishes for
their opening menu. Folse
stuffs two fresh quail with
oysters, andouille sausage
and rice for a clever creation
he calls “Death by Gumbo”;
Tramonto prepares a saffron-
infusedwhitewine sauce that
he pours over plump frog legs
crusted with yellow flour.
Chukar, a kind of partridge, is braised in
a stock made from the bones of deer and
boar until theflavorful darkmeat becomes
melt-in-your-mouth tender. All the dishes
are solid country fare made with elegant
techniques, honoring Louisiana’s rich
culinary heritage while simultaneously
pushing it forward.
Alas, the chefs’ hunt for nutria, the
semiaquatic rodent that may represent
the swamp-floor pantry’s outer boundary
of palatability, came up empty. But Folse
predicts that the animal’s “magnificent
white meat … similar to domestic rabbit”
will appear on specialmenus at Restaurant
R’evolution—aswill gumbomadewith rac-
coon,whoseslightlyredmeat isan“absolute
delicacy” when smoked over pecan wood.
“Knowing how to cook these meats and
present them makes all the difference in
theworld,” Folse says. “If you’re going to eat
raccoon, I want you to eat it withme.”
BOARDING PASS
Getting to the
Big Easy is easier
than ever with
United’s service
direct to New
Orleans.
40
MARCH 2012
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