Chasing the Gator: Isaac Toups and the New Cajun Cooking

A boss present day Cajun cookbook from Top Chef fan most loved Isaac Toups and acclaimed columnist Jennifer V. Cole, including 100 full-flavor stories and plans.

Things get somewhat pungent down in the straight...

Cajun nation is the last bastion of genuine American territorial cooking, and nobody realizes it better than Isaac Toups. Presently the gourmet specialist of the acclaimed Toups' Meatery and Toups South in New Orleans, he grew up somewhere down in the Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana, where his progenitors settled 300 years prior. There, chasing and fishing trips give the fixings to mutual social events, and these shrimp and crayfish bubbles, entire hoard boucheries, fish frys, and terrace picnics - structure the foundation of this book.

Taking perusers from the boondocks to the inlet, Toups tells the best way to make:

A damn fine gumbo, boudin, messy rice, crabcakes, and cochon de lait His unique twofold cut pork hack and the Toups Burger And more genuine Cajun claims to fame like Hopper Stew and Louisiana Ditch Chicken.

En route, he discloses to you how to build an on-the-fly grill pit, work up a dull roux in just 15 minutes, and apply Cajun creativity to pretty much everything.

Loaded with pungent stories, a couple of fanciful stories, and in excess of 100 plans that twofold down on flavor, Chasing the Gator shows how - and what it implies - to prepare Cajun food today.

About the Author
Isaac Toups has four times been named a James Beard Best Chef of the South Semi-Finalist or Finalist since opening Toups' Meatery in 2012 with his wife, Amanda. He was named an Eater Young Gun of the South, Eater New Orleans' Chef of the Year, and a Top Chef fan favorite.

Before opening Toups' Meatery, he honed his skill for a decade as a fine-dining chef at restaurants such as Emeril's Delmonico. His cooking has been featured by the Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, CNN, and Tasting Table, among many other outlets. He is a passionate advocate for the protection of America's wetlands.

Jennifer V. Cole spent nearly a decade getting to know the intricacies of the South at Southern Living magazine, where she served as deputy editor and where her annual restaurant lists were considered the final word on where to eat in the region. Her writing appears widely in other publications, including Food & Wine, Garden & Gun, and Wildsam Field Guides.

Isaac Toups is the REAL thing, 100% pure de Cajun. Myself, being a pseudo-Cajun (French ancestry- not Acadian and from Baton Rouge) with ancestors from Pointe Coupee Parish {not prairie or coastal}, BUT I do know the real thing when I see it. I've played Boure (Cajun card game) and lost my money (don't get the idea from Isaac that it's a friendly game - he's trying to set you up) and have had boudin from the Best Stop, Billy's and Don's. I've been to, through and eaten in Rayne, LA. (Isaac's hometown) many times, mostly on the way to Pecan Island to go duck hunting. A Cajun (well at least most) make a loyal friend and terrible enemy. Cajun's are a sincere people but sometimes are prone to exaggeration and maybe stretching the truth a little and are some of the best story tellers alive.Isaac has prepared a real great Cajun cookbook with ingredients that were available to Cajun's in the past when they were mostly isolated and absolutely self reliant. All recipes are authentic and all ingredients are pretty easy to find. The most important thing that I can pass along is to PAY STRICT ATTENTION TO HIS COMMENTS ON ROUX. Do what he says with regard to ROUX or you will not be pleased with the results. In my opinion, there is a very real difference between Cajun and Creole and this is real CAJUN. -Big All

This book breaks the mold for cookbooks with both reverence and irreverence for life and food. After living in Louisiana 60 years and cooking every style of Louisiana food, I still found revelations in some of these recipes. One recipe alone is worth the price--the Quick Poached Shrimp. I thought I'd made shrimp every possible way, but this and the accompanying cocktail sauce are my go-to recipes now. The secrets include tequila and lemon zest and garlic or course! The perfect gift. -Patricia D.

I liked the fact that some history was added to the "stew" too!! I am always trying to find "quick and dirty " ways of working recipes that I can use without pulling my hair out!! Early family Cajan cooks would never stand for all the "drama" that our modern day chefs try to imply is involved....Grandmere was just trying to put hardy food on the table!! This author does that!! PAY ATTENTION.sil-vous-plait!! Buy it, cook it , rous it!! -Ken