Michigan native now living in the heart of Cajun country (by way of Baltimore). Discovering the joys of smoker cooked boudin and other regional delights! I love cooking pork ribs, wild game and homemade sausage on my WSM. Learned to BBQ from some Armenians (informally) and the 3 Eyez BBQ team through a class sponsored by 5.0 BBQ in Hampstead, MD. Great guys. I started on an Old Smokey grill and moved to a 18.5" WSM after I took the class. I cooked on a Pit Barrel Cooker for a year but sold it when I moved south and kept my Weber. The PBC is everything they say it is but I had room for one cooker. Thinking of upgrading to an offset (Houston is a few hours away) or a Louisiana made Backwoods...but am inclined to double down on the WSM. Looking forward to learning and sharing.
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Welcome Beefchop! I use an offset, there are a few of us here and if you have a good heavy one they, IMO, make some of the best meat when you use logs ("sticks"). What brand are you thinking of going with? Texas sure has a lot of quality pit makers. Backwoods are also very nice smokers, I had to make the hard choice between a Yoder and a Backwoods. I opted for the Yoder offset since they are more versatile and can be used as a giant charcoal grill too, compared to a cabinet smoker. It was not an easy choice though.
Beefchop, when you get a minute check out Pit Boss' Welcome & Announcements channel, as well as the tips posts in that channel. These will help you learn your way around The Pit, as well as set up your signature. There's also a post that explains the best way to post nice big pics here... we like to see bragging pictures of your equipment and your cooks. We look forward to hearing more from you! Enjoy! -
Thanks, I checked that out but was too lazy to set it up from my iPhone last night! I'm looking at offset makers in the Houston area to minimize shipping and freight, although I'm very impressed with the Yoder lineup!Comment
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Welcome to the pit Beefchop. I live about 60 miles west of you in Sulphur. Dons in Scott near you is where I like to get my cajun treats for the grill or smoker. Hope you enjoy your time in La. and The Pit.Last edited by Deuce; October 29, 2014, 04:45 PM.Comment
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Hey thereBC! Welcome to the pit.Comment
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Welcome Beefchop! We're glad you're here.Comment
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Hey Beef, look up Gueydan, La....that is where I am from.
Check out Lonestargrillz.com
Great bang for the buck on offset smokers. I have no affiliation with them, they are just soooooooo sweet.Comment
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Thanks Jerod. You have a popular surname here in LA! Gueydan looks to be about an hour from Lafayette. : )
I've been looking at Lonestar's smokers and am impressed...considering one of their vertical offsets but there isn't much info. out there on them.Comment
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Yeh, Lafayette was our gateway to civilization.
Johnston street and Ambassador Caffery. Only roads I knew.
I actually snuck a fifth of Crown into the Cajun Dome for a USL (now ULL) basketball game. I was in the 7th grade.
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Or as some more affectionately call it: Ooh La LaOriginally posted by Jerod Broussard View Post
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Laugh e yette. Love the town. I was in the oil business for a decade and we had some operations in Lafayette. I don't know if things have changed since the BP disaster in the gulf, but I used to stay at the Hilton Hotel on the Vermilion River (riiiiiight, slowly flowing mud was what it looked like to me
). There was a restaurant on the opposite side that I walked over to. The first time in, I sat at the bar, order a beer and a dozen oysters. The bartender looked at me funny and said I oughta try 6 first. I'm thinking, yeah, OK.
I had to cut those things in 3 pieces to eat them. They were huge. And delicious. And not the least bit tough. But I never went back there. Why?
Gumbo hopping!!!! Dayaam, but the gumbo in Lafayette is awesome. And different at each place. My colleagues and I would hit 3 to 5 restaurants per night. Pitcher of beer and a bowl of gumbo. Each.
At each restaurant.
Most of the dives (sorry, restaurants) we loved had super-lacquered tables (bit of humidity down there). If you let go of your pitcher, it'd slid off onto the floor. Waste of good beer. (Not one level table anywhere in Lafayette. )
And the crawfish were awesome, too.
LOVED my time there! Welcome aboard! Looking forward to your Cajunization!!!
Here's a local joke for you.
What are the only two things that Cajun men think about?
Right! What they're eating. And what they're gonna eat next!Comment
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Thanks Ozric, that's a great anecdote about life here! I'm telling you, the food has been awesome. I love to eat, so this town suits me just fine! Can't wait for crawfish season.
What I think is interesting is that it's not a big BBQ town. I had some ribs at 2Pauls that were just ok. So far the best place I've found is Johnson's Boucaniere - they do a boneless country style rib in a spicy rub that is mighty tasty. Seems like a BBQ joint with a Cajun flair, but it's the only one I've found that does good ribs. I haven't tried their pulled pork, chicken or brisket yet.
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