This last week and this weekend was the Bayou Bounty Festival where I put together the Bayou Beast Feast! The festival was all about showing off the gifts that nature can give and the diversity of the venue for many facets! So we camped out from Wednesday until this morning to truly get the whole experience! On the first day, I received a toy to play with for the entirety of the event.
Yes, that's right! One of my smokers for the event was a transformed Volkswagon Beetle. This thing was incredible, even though it took a bit to get the rhythm of logging to keep the heat regulated. Once that pattern came out, it was easy as pig!
Speaking of pig, how does a 17 hour slow and low smoked feral hog sound?
Who cares about the sound, even though the skin crackled oh so crisp; the taste was absolutely to die for! 140 pounds and it was gone to just bones in 4 hours. No better way to show success than people cracking open bones and sucking marrow because there was no more meat!
Many other animals went on at this event and they went even faster. In all, I smoked 1 sow, 6 wild rabbits, 4 nutria (about 18 lbs a piece), a handful of squirrel and dove, venison haunches and backstraps, and 2 suckling pigs! One long day of smoking to feed some very adventurous artists!
I went a bit overboard with one of the suckling pigs. And it was too fun to just type about so I'm going to add some visuals.
Everyone loves Hawaiian style pig so I figured... what the hell! Cavity stuffed with pineapple, lard, fresh ginger, onion, and garlic. On the outside ground ginger, black pepper, alae salt, and brown sugar.
Then more pineapple and to keep that in place, of course I wrapped the whole suckling pig in 4 pounds of bacon! What else you say?!
Stuff it all inside of a banana leaf pouch and smoke it! That pig was out of control awesome!
The event went amazing, everyone had a great time and romance sparked between a girl and a nutria!
It truly was love at first site. AND then love at first bite!
There is something about a girl who chomps a nutria cheek straight off the smoker that is kind of arousing! It is kind of like the girls with guns concept! Now if only I can find a girl into charcuterie and I can go ahead and settle down!
And I promise to everyone that I am back so you will not have to go so long without reading my corny writing and jokes. I am still working on adding instructional videos still, trying to get someone to come film... Continue to follow me on twitter as @ChefGrantKeaton or on Facebook and feel free to send me any suggestions of cuisines you want to adventure next with me. We shall see, until next time, FOLLOW THE FLAVOR!!
