Baby, “sauce piquant” sounds French and fancy. It ain’t. It’s Cajun for “we had some meat and a pantry full of cans and we made supper.”
Nana found this one in an old church cookbook. Mrs. Hebert’s recipe. 2½ to 3 lbs meat. Can be gator, turtle, coon, nutria, whatever meat the swamp gave you & you got in the freezer. Chicken is also delicious if you ain't got nothing from the swamp. Cream of mushroom soup. Mushroom steak sauce. Stuffed olives WITH the juice.
Pawpaw took one bite and said “Tee, this tastes like hunting camp.” That’s the highest compliment. Tomato gravy, thick and spicy, with trinity and swamp meat that eats like chicken. Spoon it over rice and watch 12 people get quiet.
This is not etouffee. Etouffee is smothered. Sauce piquant is ANGRY. More tomato. More pepper. More hot sauce. More everything. If your sinuses ain’t clear after one bowl, you did it wrong.
Let’s make it.
Why Mrs. Hebert’s Sauce Piquant Works
`1. Cream of Mushroom Soup: Yes, really. 1950s church cookbook trick. Thickens it, adds umami. Nana don’t knock it till she tried it.*
`2. Mushroom Steak Sauce: That’s Heinz 57 or A.1. + mushrooms. Tang + savory. Old-school flavor bomb.
`3. Stuffed Olives WITH Juice: Briny, salty, cuts the rich. Don’t skip the juice. That’s Grandma’s secret.
`4. Alligator OR Turtle: Both work. Both taste like veal if you don’t overcook. 30-40 min max or you got rubber.
`5. “Cook slowly until done”: Mrs. Hebert wasn’t giving times. She cooked by feel. Nana gives you times. You’re welcome.
Nana’s Sauce Piquant Recipe
PREP TIME: 25 minutes
COOK TIME: 1 hour 15 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 40 minutes
YIELD: Serves 12 to 15 over rice
INGREDIENTS:
- 2½ to 3 lbs meat, cut in 1-inch cubes: turtle, chicken thighs, pork, gator, nutria, coon. Use what you got.
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour – for dredging
- 1/3 cup cooking oil or shortening – Nana uses vegetable oil
- 2 large yellow onions, chopped – about 3 cups
- 2 bunches green onions, chopped – white + green parts, divided
- 3 stalks celery, chopped – about 1½ cups
- 1 bell pepper, chopped – green
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup – 10.5 oz
- 1 jar mushroom steak sauce – 10 oz, Heinz 57 or A.1.
- 1 small can tomato sauce – 8 oz
- 1 small jar stuffed green olives, 3 oz, WITH juice
- 3-4 cups water or chicken stock (Nana uses this Better than Bouillon)
- 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp cayenne – plus more to taste
- Louisiana hot sauce – Crystal or Tabasco, to taste. Nana starts with 2 Tbsp.
INSTRUCTIONS – NANA’S WAY:
Step 1: Brown the Meat – Flour is Your Friend
Pat cubes DRY. Season with salt + pepper. Roll in flour, shake off excess. Heat 1/3 cup oil in this heavy 6 quart Dutch oven on medium-high. Brown in batches, 4-5 min till golden. Don’t crowd. Remove to plate. Leave drippings. That’s flavor.
Step 2: Trinity – Plus Some
To same pot: Add 2 chopped onions, 3 celery stalks, 1 bell pepper, 6 cloves garlic, and white parts of green onions. Save green tops for end. Saute 15-20 minutes till soft and onions are clear. Don’t brown. Low and slow. This IS your roux.
Step 3: Build the Gravy – Cans and All
Return meat to pot. Add 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 jar mushroom steak sauce, 1 can tomato sauce, and 3 oz stuffed olives WITH all the juice. Stir. Add 3 cups water with Better than Bouillon to cover meat. Bring to boil.
Step 4: Simmer – “Until Done”
Reduce to low simmer. Cover. Cook 30-40 minutes. Stir every 10 min. Meat should be fork-tender, not rubber. Gravy should be thick, red, and coat a spoon. Too thin? Simmer uncovered 10 min. Too thick? Add 1/2 cup warm water.
Step 5: Finish Hot – This is PIQUANT
Turn off heat. Stir in green onion tops. Season to taste: 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp cayenne. Add Louisiana hot sauce till it bites back. Nana uses 2-3 Tbsp. Pawpaw uses 1/4 cup. Taste it. It should make your nose run.
Step 6: Rest + Serve
Let sit 10 minutes off heat. Oil will rise, flavor settles. Serve over white rice. Big ladle. French bread on side. Salad if you want, but nobody eats it.
Nana’s Sauce Piquant Rules + Fixes
Meat tough/chewy
Overcooked. 40 min max. Pull when fork-tender. Simmer, don’t boil hard.
Gravy too thin
You added too much water. Simmer uncovered 15 min. Or mix 1 Tbsp flour + 2 Tbsp water, stir in.
Too salty
Olives + soup + steak sauce = salt. Don’t add salt till END. If salty, add 1 peeled potato, simmer 15 min, remove.
Not “piquant” enough
Add more cayenne + hot sauce. Sauce piquant should burn twice. Going in, coming out.
Can’t find swamp meat
Use chicken thighs or pork. Cook time same. Still church cookbook legal.
What’s “mushroom steak sauce”?
Heinz 57 or A.1. + sauteed mushrooms. If store ain’t got it, use 1/2 cup A.1. + 1 small can mushrooms.
What Nana Serves With Sauce Piquant
*1. Rice:* Always. 1 cup per bowl. This is gravy, not soup.*
2. Potato Salad: Cold, mayo-based, right next to rice. Scoop both in one bite. Louisiana law.
3. French Bread:* For sopping. If you don’t sop, Mama judges.
4. Sweet Tea: Cuts the heat.
5. Nothing Green: Mrs. Hebert didn’t list salad. Neither does Nana. This is supper.
*From Nana’s Kitchen:* Pawpaw ate 2 bowls and didn’t ask what was in it. That’s trust.
Sauce piquant ain’t pretty. It ain’t healthy. It’s Cajun. It feeds 15 people for $25 if you got a gator. If you don’t like it spicy, make spaghetti. If you do, welcome home.
`Tell Nana: Team Alligator or Team Chicken Thighs? How much hot sauce is “to taste” at your house? You put olives in yours? Tag @NanaTeesCajunHome – Nana wants to see your pot!
*Shop Nana’s Piquant Kit:*
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