Glossary of Cajun Cooking

Andouille -- a Cajun sausage of pork and special seasonings which is smoked.  Typically used in red beans and rice, gumbos, and jambalaya.

Bisquie -- a meat or seafood cream based thick soup with a little extra spice.

blackened -- fish or meat cooked in a cast iron skillet with butter at high heat with a heavy coating of spices and seasonings

Etoufee -- to smother with onions and other vegetables  -- usually bell peppers and celery

Fricasse -- a stew made from meat or chicken which has been previously cooked in butter

Gumbo -- a Cajun Soup which uses a roux as a base

Jambalaya -- a rice dish where everything cooked into one pot

Panné -- to fry a breaded or floured meat at high heat with a small amount of oil

Roux -- a half and half mixture of oil and flour that is used as a thickening and flavoring ingredients in gravies or gumbos

Stock -- The most important part of any soup or gumbo.  It is water which has been boiled with a mixture of vegetables and animal parts and then strained.  A favorite saying, "To make a good gumbo, you must first have a good stock."

Tasso -- very lean pork cut into strips that is highly seasoned and smoked.  I like to think of it as a Cajun Beef Jerky

Trinity -- one of the fundamental building blocks of many Cajun recipes the most basic ingredient mixture of over half of all Cajun recipes -- chopped onion, bell peppers, and celery