The family has been bugging me for another sauce piquant and corn maque choux, and I also wanted to push the limits on my big Magnalite pot and see just how many pounds of meat I could comfortably fit in the pot and still have plenty of gravy (the answer is 18 lbs of meat by the way). So, I got after it.
First, I cut up and browned 6 lbs of boneless smoked ham hocks (Tasso is better, but I'm out). See that goodness start to accumulate on the bottom, that's not burnt, that's flavor for your gravy.
Then season up 10 lbs of skinless/boneless chicken thighs with the infamous Fremin's Magic Dust , then cut into good size chunks and brown all that up.
Then brown 2 lbs of smoked sausage (I'm out of homemade need to make some more). Now 18 lbs of meat is browned and time to get to work on the gravy.
Caramelized onions in butter, with green & red bell pepper, celery, jalapenos, & garlic. Got all that goodness off the bottom.
Once the veggies are done, I add some flour to make a little roux. Some folks do, and some don't do this in a sauce piquant. I've done it both ways, and I prefer a little roux in mine. Once that's done, then I continue building my base by adding 2 small cans of tomato paste, & season with Pickapeppa, Worcestershire, & Louisiana Hot Sauce. Once that toasts for a little bit and gets thick, I added 2 cans of Hot Rotel, 1 large can of diced tomatoes, 2 cartons of tomato sauce, and add chicken broth to your liking.
I let that tomato gravy simmer for a little bit and come together, then taste for seasoning. At this point, add more hot sauce and cayenne to adjust the heat level to your liking. Remember, if it's not spicy it's not a piquant! Once I'm happy with the gravy, then it's time to add all of browned meat back to the pot, stir, cover and let simmer until the chicken finishes cooking and is fork tender. Taste for seasoning one last time, and add more Magic Dust/hot sauce/cayenne accordingly. If you season your meat correctly before browning, you normally only have to add a little (if any) more Magic Dust. Coming along nicely....
The final countdown...
Good & spicy, but not too hot. Served over rice and garnished with green onions, and cooked up a batch of corn maque choux to go with. Had some help from Selena to wash it all down.
Langpie speciality meats has all kind of Cajun goodies about a hour drive one way but worth it don't know if they ship or not but worth the stop if your in Texarkana area.
Man that sauce looks fantastic (that's coming from a born and raised South Louisiana boy). I personally like mine with a little more tomato (my sauce comes out red) but I think I'll try your recipe the next time I cook one. Anytime I get my hands on some rabbit or gator, sauce piquante is my go to recipe.
Man that sauce looks fantastic (that's coming from a born and raised South Louisiana boy). I personally like mine with a little more tomato (my sauce comes out red) but I think I'll try your recipe the next time I cook one. Anytime I get my hands on some rabbit or gator, sauce piquante is my go to recipe.
Thank you Sir. My sauce comes out red too, but the reflection off the grease makes it look like it's not rich & red when taking pictures.
I normally make at least one pot of rabbit & dove sauce piquant every year. Gator and turtle is something special to me.