Market Bulletin 11/06/08
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Veteran’s Day is Nov. 11 VOL. 91, No. 23 www.ldaf.state.la.us November 6, 2008 Whats on your holiday table? As you begin to plan the holiday menu, consider a Louisiana delicacy for your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner table. By Sam Irwin When you think Thanksgiving in Carolinas, Barrington said. sunk their teeth into. In addition to his holiday business, Louisiana you’re usually talking But even if we don’t home-grow Scenic Highway is one of the Bellue’s daily plate lunch service turkey. our turkeys there are many places busiest streets in Baton Rouge the grew by leaps and bounds with the Louisiana’s chicken industry is the where Louisiana consumers can find day before Thanksgiving as capital establishment of Bellue’s Fine Cajun state’s number one food animal crop a delicious smoked turkey and other city residents crowd the tiny restau- Cuisine #2. but turkeys are a different bird alto- pre-prepared meats for their holiday rant to pick up their holiday orders. Son Shannon opened a third loca- gether. repast. But Bellue’s Scenic Highway loca- tion earlier this year on Hwy. 61 near “Turkeys are a tough bird to grow,” Wirt Bellue of Bellue’s Fine Cajun tion isn’t so scenic. The street runs Port Hudson. The visibility on the said Mike Barrington, D.V.M., Cuisine in Baton Rouge wants to through Baton Rouge’s industrial busy highway means everyone who Louisiana Department of Agriculture share his smoked turkeys with the complex and Bellue’s is located lives in Baton Rouge’s bedroom and Forestry poultry specialist. “We world. across the street from the Exxon communities of Zachary, Pride, grow a lot of fryers but growing For the last 30 years Bellue’s tiny Refinery physical plant. Jackson and St. Francisville will be turkeys requires a different infra- Scenic Highway kitchen in Baton Bellue decided to expand in 2006 driving by the new Bellue’s at least structure.” Rouge has produced some of the and opened a second location on twice a day on their work commute. Most of the United States turkey tastiest fried and smoked turkeys restaurant-friendly Jefferson “We do 90 percent of our business industry is in the Midwest and and turduckens Louisiana folks ever Highway. See Holiday, continued on page 2 The place for smoked ham in central Louisiana is Grayson’s Barbecue in Clarence. 81-year-old Joe Cobb in Bossier Parish has been cooking hams and turkeys for his holiday customers since 1952. Wirt Bellue (left) says he has perfected his turducken. Floyd Poche (right) of Breaux Bridge special- ly prepares old-fashioned chaudins for his Cajun customers. Page 2 MARKET BULLETIN November 6, 2008 Holiday, continued from page 1 in November and December, about 5,000 meat trays here.” tral Louisiana. own bread. smoked and fried turkeys, 3,000 turduckens The meat trays are not fancy so if you’re “There’s not much left to Clarence any- Turkeys became the tradition for many and a 1,000 hams,” Bellue said. looking for a table setting more,” said 40- American families over the years and south- For the uninitiated, a turducken is a bone- you’ll have to create it year-old Gregory west Louisiana’s French Acadian holiday less combination of turkey, duck and chick- yourself. “We sell meat Grayson, Ollie’s custom typically feature a turkey as the Joe Cobb Bossier City Barbecue en. on our trays,” Sue said grandson. “But main course. But many rural Cajuns cele- 203 McCormick St. “I like to say we didn’t invent the turduck- “We don’t sell parsley.” our customers brate the holidays by slicing into a chaudin en, but we perfected it,” Bellue said. Sue said Joe Cobb Bossier City, La. 71111 have known about to feed the clan. Bellue’s ships nationally. The details are Bossier City Barbecue is 318-221-6512 us for years and Stemming from the traditions of the early listed at www.belluescajuncuisine.com flexible and can take an Grayson's Barbecue we also get a lot Cajuns who believed that “everything on Shreveport and Bossier City residents order for a smoked turkey 5849 Highway 71 of business just the hog is good,” a chaudin is a pig stomach have to look no further than the Joe Cobb or ham up to a week Clarence, La. 71414 from word of stuffed with a highly-seasoned ground pork Bossier City Barbecue in old downtown before the big holidays. 318-357-0166 mouth.” mix. Bossier City to order a delicious smoked If Joe likes you he may Bellue's Fine Cajun Cuisine Grayson said Floyd Poche of the Poche Bridge commu- turkey or ham. Joe Cobb’s is the best kept needle you a bit, she 3110 Scenic Highway they specialize in nity just north of Breaux Bridge said his secret for holiday fare in Caddo and Bossier added. Baton Rouge, La. 70805 a bone-in ham father, Lug, perfected the Poche chaudin parishes. “He likes to harass the smoked with the recipe in 1962. 225-356-7798 “We don’t try real hard to do too much customers,” Sue said. “It fragrant wood of “Poche’s Market started out as a boudin, with smoked turkeys and hams for the holi- just means he likes to talk www.belluescajuncuisine.com the red oak. They cracklin and Sunday barbecue lunch kind of days,” said 74-year-old Sue Cobb. “We’re to the customers.” Bellue's Fine Cajun Cuisine 2 can usually han- thing,” Poche said. “It seems like a long really just a restaurant.” In Natchitoches Parish 7949 Jefferson Highway dle orders up until time ago, but my father only had it for 14 It doesn’t really matter too much anymore meat lovers have associ- Baton Rouge, La. 70809 Thanksgiving years and I’ve been having it for 28.” if Joe Cobb Bossier City Barbecue is trying ated Grayson’s Barbecue 225-216-1990 Day but Grayson Poche said the chaudin, roughly shaped to get more holiday business or not. The in Clarence with their Bellue's Fine Cajun Cuisine 3 said customers liked the pigskin kicked around on the grid- cat’s been out of the bag for a long time. Joe holiday ham needs for 462 Highway 61 need to get their iron, is still in demand in Acadiana. Cobb, 81, and wife Sue have been smoking decades. Jackson, La. 70748 Christmas orders “The Cajuns made use of everything that fine meats with hickory wood in northwest- Though the Clarence 225-658-6582 in early. came off the hog,” Poche explained. “It’s a ern Louisiana for 56 years. community declined “With all the tradition now and it’s still real popular. We Poche's Market & Restaurant “They say location, location, location but when Interstate 49 rolled companies that sell quite a few of them. we really don’t have the location anymore,” through in the late 1980s, 3015 Main Hwy. order multiple “Quite a few” is approximately 3,000 Sue said. “We do have the reputation. They Grayson’s Barbecue has Breaux Bridge, La. 70517 hams we have to stuffed chaudins a year. Poche smiled as he just know to come here.” quietly built its reputa- 337-332-2108 cut off the orders described the exotic chaudin. Sue said in addition to smoking whole tion for fine meat prod- www.pochesmarket.com early,” Grayson “We have the only USDA approved pig turkeys and hams for their customers they ucts. said. “It takes 12 stomach on the market and if you buy one also prepare cold cuts for sandwiches. Started in 1959 by Ollie hours to smoke and you don’t like it, you can always play “We do a lot of meat trays for customers Grayson at the crossroads of Highway 71 the meat.” football with it,” he quipped. for the holidays,” Sue said. “Turkey, ham and 84, Grayson’s Barbecue continues to be In addition to specializing in smoked Poche’s offers their meat products on the and beef. People know they can get their a hot spot for ham and turkey lovers in cen- meats Grayson’s Barbecue also bakes its Internet at www.pochesmarket.com. La. Agriculture & Forestry Today Agriculture and Forestry engine. LDAF’s new mobile command center Commissioner Mike Strain, Its features include complete D.V.M., said the new Louisiana satellite linkups that will enable Department of Agriculture and connection to the Internet, satel- Forestry mobile command cen- lite phones, cellular phone sys- ter will greatly enhance the tems, television, fax machines, department’s ability to manage scanners, printers and copy or coordinate emergency machines. responses to forest fires and hur- “It is basically an office on ricanes. wheels that can keep us connect- “This is a tremendous asset,” ed in the field to our headquar- Strain said. “We’ll be able to ters in Baton Rouge,” Strain establish a mobile incident com- said. “Forest fires are often in mand post at the site of any crit- remote locations and having a ical emergency.” reliable communications link is The $280,000 mobile com- vital.” mand center was purchased with A 12.5KW ultra-quiet onboard funds from a United States gasoline generator powers all of Forest Service grant. The vehi- the command center’s electronic cle was delivered on October 20. communication components. The 36-foot vehicle was manu- The vehicle will be on display factured by Farber Specialty Friday and Saturday at the State Vehicles of Columbus, Ohio. Fair of Louisiana in Shreveport. The specialty vehicle was built Photographs of the new mobile on a Ford chassis and is powered command center can be viewed by a Ford V-10 362 horsepower at www.ldaf.state.la.us.