This is a general Glossary of Cajun phrases and terms. Where necessary, the English pronunciations are displayed in the square [ ] brackets. If you’d like to contribute, please contact us.

Cajun Glossary

Allons dancé

Let's dance!

Allons [a-law(n)]

Let's go!

Andouille [ah(n) doo' ee]

Creole sausage

Années passées [a nee pass ay]

Years gone by

Au revoir

Goodbye

Bateau [bah toh]

Flat bottom boat

Baton Rouge [bat n rooj]

Capital city of Louisiana

Bayou [by yoo]

Slow moving stream

Beaucoup [bow koo']

Very much

Beignet [bin yay]

A fried square French donut coated with powdered sugar and served hot with cafe' au lait

Bisque [bisk]

Thick and rich cream soup made from seafood

Bon ami

Good friend

Bon appetit

Good eating!

Bon jour

Good morning

Bon temps

Good times

Boucherie [boo-shuh-ree]

A community butchering which involves several families contributing the animal(s) - usually pigs - to be slaughtered. Each family helps to process the different cuts of meat, like sausage, ham, boudin, chaudin, chops, and head cheese and gets to take home their share of the yield

Boudin [boo da(n)]

Sausage made with cooked rice and seasoned ground pork

Bouillabaisse [boo ya baze]

Creole seafood stew

Bourre' [boo ray]

Cajun card game

Brûlot

Caramelized sugar

C'est la vi

That's life

Ca c'est bon!

That's good!

Café au lait

Even quantities of fresh hot coffee & chicory and warm milk poured simultaneously

Cajun [cay-jun]

Slang for Acadians, the French-speaking people who migrated to South Louisiana from Nova Scotia in the eighteenth century

Cayenne pepper [ky yan]

Hot red pepper

Chachere [sash ree]

Famous Cajun seasoning, by Tony Chachere

Cher

Sweet

Chere [sher ee]

My sweet

Chicory [chick-ory]

An herb, the roots of which are dried, ground; roasted and used to flavor coffee

Cochon de Lait [coo shon du lay]

A "get together" (party) to roast a pig over an open pit and have a good time!

Cocodrie [ko kuh dree]

Alligator

Comme ci comme ca [cum see cum sah]

So-so

Comment ca va?

How are you?

Coonass [koon-ass]

A controversial term in the Cajun lexicon: to some Cajuns it is regarded as the supreme ethnic slur, meaning "ignorant, backwards Cajun"; to others the term is a badge of pride. The word originated in South Louisiana and is derived from the belief that Cajuns frequently ate raccoons. Also may have a negative (black) racial connotation

Couche couche [koosh koosh]

Steamed cooked cornmeal eaten with milk like a cereal

Courtbouillon [coo-boo-yon]

A rich, spicy tomato-based soup or stew made with fish fillets, onions, and sometimes mixed vegetables

Crawfish / Crayfish

"Mudbug" - Crustacean resembling (small) lobsters, served in etouffees, jambalaya, gumbos, boiled or fried

Creole [cree-ol]

Native born inhabitants of French and Spanish descent

Cuisine

Prepared food

Demi-tasse

Small size or half-cup serving of rich coffee

Dirty Rice

Rice dish cooked with seasoned meat, parsley and onions

Écoute [ay coo tay]

Listen

Encore

More, again

Étouffée [ay too fay]

Smothered seafood, Cajun stew

Excuse-moi

Excuse me

Fais do do [fay-doe-doe]

The name for a (street) party where traditional Cajun dance is performed. Ironically, this phrase literally means "to make sleep" - the exact opposite of these lively toe-tapping dances!

Faux pas

Mistake

Filé

Dried sassafras leaf powder, used on gumbo as a thickening agent

Fini

End

Flambeau

Torch with flame

Fricassee [free-kay-say]

A stew made by browning then removing meat from the pan, making a roux with the pan drippings, and then returning meat to simmer in the thick gravy

Fromage

Cheese

Grand [grawn]

Great

Gratis

Free

Gumbo

African word for okra, which is used as a thickening agent in a dark stew of seafood or meat-served over rice

Ici

Over here

Jambalaya [jum buh ly ah]

Well seasoned rice dish with any combination of rice, meat and vegetables, cooked in one pot

Joie de Vivre

Joy of life

Joli

Pretty

King Cake

A ring shaped oval pastry (yeast cake), decorated with colored sugar in the traditional Mardi Gras colors (purple, green and gold/yellow), which represent justice, faith, and power. Contains a plastic baby (to represent baby Jesus) - according to tradition, the person who gets the baby provides the next King Cake

Lagniappe [lan yap]

Something extra

Laissez les bon temps roulet! [lay zay lay bon tom roo lay]

Let the good times roll!

Levee [le-vee]

An embankment built to keep a river from overflowing; a landing place on the river

Maque-Chou [mock-shoo]

A dish made by scraping young corn off the cob, frying the kernels in ol and smothering them in tomatoes, onion, and spices

Mardi Gras [mar dee graw]

(French for "Fat Tuesday") The day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is the final day of the Carnival season

Merci beaucoup

Thank you very much

Mirliton [meer li taw]

Tropical squash, available in the Louisiana area in early fall. Commonly called a vegetable pear or chayote

New Orleans [nu or leens, nu awlins]

Largest city in Louisiana - home to jazz, fine cuisine, the French Quarter and Mardi Gras!

Oui [wee]

Yes

Pain perdu [pan-pear-doo]

(Means "lost bread") French toast; breakfast treat made by soaking stale bread in an egg batter, then frying and topping with cane syrup or powdered sugar

Parish

Dating back to the time of Napolean and a strong Catholic influence, parishes are local political divisions, similar to "counties" in other States. BTW Louisiana is the only State with parishes

Pecan [puh kawn]

Nut

Petit [puh teet]

Very small; tiny

Pirogue [pee row]

A Cajun canoe

Po-Boy

A sandwich extravaganza that began as a five-cent lunch for poor boys. Always made with French bread, po-boys can be stuffed with fried oysters, shrimp, fish, crawfish, meatballs, smoked sausage and more!

Poisson

Fish

Praline [praw leen]

Very sweet candy, made of pecans, cream and brown sugar

Quand

When

Quelle

What

Qui

Who

Rémoulade

Well seasoned sauce

Roux [roo]

A mixture of oil and flour, heated slowly until chocolate brown, found in many Louisiana recipes

Sac-á-lait

Freshwater fish

Sauce piquante [saws pee kaw(n)]

Tomato based, spicy stew

Savoir-faire

Know-how

Tasso

Spicy seasoned jerky used for flavor in cooking

Two-step

Popular Cajun dance

Une

One

Vie

Life

Vieux

Old

Vieux Carre [voo ca-ray]

French, meaning "old quarter," and referring to the French Quarter

Voila

There it is

Zydeco

Cajun music, influenced by Black culture

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Two very common superstitions Cajun’s believe in are If you cut a potato in half and rub the juice on a wart and you throw it over your shoulder not looking where it fell, it will definitely get rid of your warts. The second one is To make someone not ever come back to your house, when they leave, throw salt in the shape of a cross as they leave.

This is just some fun information about Cajun’s and their traditional superstitions. Feel free to comment below with any thoughts or questions!

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Post tags: Cajun, folklore, superstitions, traditions

Many wonder, where did this outrageous recipe come from? Well, most say that in the 1980′s, a lower-class, anonymous farmer decided to do something creative for Thanksgiving, and bought a turkey, duck, and chicken at a meat market, Hubert’s Specialty Meats, located in Louisiana. The story says that the farmer requested Hubert make this outrageous recipe with chicken, inside duck, inside turkey. Now, Hubert’s Specialty Meats makes over 5000 turducken’s per week!

Of course, the recipe for turducken is extremely complicated, hard to make, and lets not forget, EXTREMELY time consuming. So if you are interested in having a turducken, I would strongly suggest buying at a meat market nearest you. The average price for one is around $60, varying from store to store.

But if you are interested in making turducken on your own, About.com has a great step-by-step recipe photo tutorial. Also, courtesy of cajungrocer.com, here is another fantastic recipe to make turducken:

Cajun Style Turducken

What you’ll need:

20 – 25 lb. whole turkey, deboned with wings and legs still intact.
5 – 6 lb. whole duckling, deboned
3 – 4 lb. whole chicken, deboned Poultry seasoning blend
Cornbread Stuffing (recipe listed below)
Cajun Rice Dressing (recipe listed below)
Shrimp Stuffing (recipe listed below)
Kitchen string Cotton thread and a large needle
Have the birds deboned by your butcher to save yourself quite a bit of time, but if you’re a particularly adventurous cook you can do it yourself. Professional Cutlery Direct provides step by step instructions for deboning poultry. Just be sure to keep the wings and legs on the turkey, that way the finished turducken will still look like a turkey.

It’s best to prepare each stuffing ahead of time so that they have time to cool before you are ready to assemble your turducken. A basic stuffing recipe is listed below, and it can easily be adapted for any flavor that you choose.

Cornbread Stuffing

2 Tbsp. cooking oil
4 cups cornbread (crumbled)
1/2 lb. chopped chicken livers
1/2 lb. chopped chicken gizzards
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
Poultry seasoning, salt and black pepper (add according to taste)
Butter or olive oil for sautéing vegetables
Chicken broth
Brown chopped chicken livers and gizzards over medium heat in cooking oil. Add celery, onion, and bell pepper cook until soft. Season with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Add crumbled cornbread to vegetables and meat. Pour chicken broth into mixture until it reaches the desired consistency. Adjust seasoning and cool before stuffing bird.

Cajun Rice Dressing

2 Tbsp. cooking oil
lb. ground beef
4 cups cooked white rice
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 clove minced garlic
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups beef broth
Salt and black pepper (to suit taste)
Brown ground beef over medium heat in cooking oil. Add celery, onion, bell pepper and garlic cook until soft. Season with salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning. Add the cream of mushroom soup to the pot and heat through. Mix cooked rice with beef and vegetables. Pour beef broth into mixture until it reaches the desired consistency. Adjust seasoning and cool before stuffing bird.

Shrimp Stuffing

2 Tbsp. cooking oil
4 cups cooked rice
2 lb. chopped shrimp (raw)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped celery
1 clove minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
Salt and black pepper (to suit taste)
Dash of red (cayenne) pepper
Saute celery, onion, and bell pepper until soft. Pour in diced tomatoes. Add chopped shrimp, cook until slightly pink. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Combine with cooked rice. Add a little water if stuffing seems dry. Adjust seasoning and cool before stuffing bird.

Assembling the Turducken

Begin by placing the turkey skin side down and seasoning it well with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Then spread the cornbread stuffing over the turkey. Next, place the duck on top of the cornbread stuffing and spread the Cajun rice dressing over it. You will then place the chicken on top of the Cajun rice dressing and add the shrimp stuffing. Each stuffing layer should be approximately 1/2 inch thick. Any leftover stuffing can be placed in casserole dishes and baked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 30 minutes.

Once you’ve stuffed each bird, fold the sides of the turkey together to close the bird. Enlist someone to help hold the turkey closed as you begin to sew up the opening. The stitches should be spaced about 1 inch apart. You finish sewing the Turducken tie the legs together, just above the tip bones. Be sure to place the Turducken breast side up while cooking.

Once the turducken is assembled, place the turducken in a large roasting pan and cook in a 325 degrees Fahrenheit preheated oven. Alternatively, you can place the turducken on aluminum foil or in an aluminum pan, and then cook on a 350 degrees Fahrenheit grill or smoker.

Regardless of which method you choose to use you should cook the bird until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest area on the bundle reaches an internal temperature reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Fahrenheit is the minimum temperature for cooking poultry, but 180 degrees Fahrenheit will ensure that the turducken is fully cooked all the way through). The USDA recommends that a stuffed turkey of this size will generally take 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours to cook, but your best bet is to rely on the meat thermometer.

[Source]

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Post tags: Cajun, chicken, duck, recipe, Thanksgiving, traditions, turducken, turkey