Get ready for some good eating. This tempting Shrimp and Chicken Etouffee was prepared by Phillip Toups from Houma for the 2016 Cajun Creole Cook-off benefiting United Way. The recipe will be featured in the Cypress Bayou Casino•Hotel and The Daily Iberian’s Cookbook headed to subscribers Sept. 22.

Now is the time to stock up for later eating

The rains may have dampened this year’s Delcambre Shrimp Festival, cutting short the days of celebration but the shrimping and eating continues.

This weekend the Delcambre Seafood & Farmer’s Market will be held. According to its Facebook page, the Cajun Stompers Trio will be back to entertain.

Cooks can start getting recipes ready to join the Shrimp Boat Boogie Tailgate Cookoff to be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Bayou Carlin Cove Boat Landing and Pavillion. Cooks start earlier of course.

First, second, third and people’s choice awards will be given. Categories include best meat, appetizer and seafood dishes with showmanship and decorations as part of the competition.

As in all cook-offs, cooks have to supply their ingredients and all the tools needed, with a $50 fee for one dish, $10 for each additional dishes entered. Teams can be up to four people or more with additional fees. Visitors to the festival pay a $5 gate fee.

Ethan Hunt will perform also. For more information visit the Facebook page where an entry form can be downloaded and printed, or call 800-884-6120.

Tradition Verses Perfection

Growing up in New Orleans and Lafayette, the Branton family ate a lot of shrimp. Working in the oil fields near Grand Isle, Golden Meadow and throughout south Louisiana, the ice chest often arrived home filled with fresh shrimp or a sack of oysters as part of the norm. Getting the oysters into the house after shucking was the challenge since the shucker ate a lot of the salty meat directly from the shell before washing up for dinner.

Only recently with the advice of many top cooks in the Teche Area, was the family tradition of boiling shrimp corrected. Fifteen minutes was expected, but as an adult, watching the shells pull away from the meat was a true indicator.

Andy Soileau would faint if he ate at the Branton house in the old days. He was the first to insist on the three-minute boil. Seasoning is of course to the cook’s liking, but over cooking is frowned upon by the pros.

Seasoning Other Dishes

Another trick to the trade of really knowing how to cook seafood is to save the boiling water as shrimp stock. Ann Patout is the one that beat that idea into remembrance. Some area cooks have been known to dehead their shrimp and perhaps peel them before adding the meat to a sautéd dish — but never throw the shells away without putting them into a boiling pot and making stock for a later use.

Season the water as you would for a main dish and let the shrimp or seafood, other vegetables and herbs, onion skins and all, give the water flavorings that will make a gumbo come to life. The stock can also be used for cooking pasta or anytime a basic stock is required in a recipe — preferably a seafood dish, but who’s watching. Chicken and pork can use a little perking up as well.

Secrets Revealed

Another secret to cooking shrimp, which many readers may know but new southerners or newlyweds might not, when removing the shrimp from the water, be sure to rinse with cold water or dunk in ice to stop the cooking. Without halting the process, shrimp can become mushy. A dash of cooking oil in the water also helps with peeling.

It doesn’t take much to cook a great meal when you start with shrimp. Today’s recipes are some favorites but it’s really hard to beat a pot full of boiled shrimp for dinner. Anyone in south Louisiana already knows how to cook the way their family likes to eat them. Competition is stiff when looking for the best.