Cajun meals is pretty mainstream — and gumbo, jambalaya and bread pudding will be discovered on restaurant menus nationwide.
However one dish – gravy – has remained one thing of a hidden gem of Louisiana. And the “Gravy Boys,” eight finest associates from school, are devoted to perfecting the dish and preserving their cultural heritage.
The story of the Gravy Boys begins, technically, within the 1700s when Cajuns first arrived in Louisiana.
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“They have been kicked out of France. They have been kicked out of Nova Scotia. They ended up right here,” Sullivan Zant, one of many Gravy Boys, advised Fox Information Digital in a Zoom interview. (See the video on the prime of this text.)
Zant is government chef at Vestal, a restaurant in Lafayette, Louisiana.
The Gravy Boys, 4 of whom are pictured right here of their customized denim jackets, met in school on the College of Louisiana at Lafayette. They have been associates ever since. (Joshua Mata)
The Cajuns, Zant mentioned, “have been a individuals of a lot useful resource however undoubtedly not some huge cash. Gravy, together with jambalaya and lots of different dishes which might be standard all through Cajun delicacies, are, for lack of a greater time period, ‘poor individuals meals.'”
Gravy, Zant mentioned, is “a solution to take a bit of little bit of meat and a bit of little bit of greens, fortify them and actually give them not solely the vitamins, but in addition [make them] filling.”
He added, “So, it basically consists of some kind of protein, usually the Cajun holy trinity, which goes to be onions, bell pepper and celery and, virtually all the time, however not all the time, it should be served over rice.”
“From the ashes of ‘Taco Tuesday’ arose ‘Gravy Thursday.'”
The Gravy Boys met in school on the College of Louisiana at Lafayette. The group started a practice of throwing gravy events each Thursday.
“From the ashes of ‘Taco Tuesday’ arose ‘Gravy Thursday,'” Zant mentioned with fun.
These events attracted a crowd, and the group used them as a possibility to finetune their cooking abilities. They now have customized denim jackets, and a few of the Gravy Boys compete collectively in Cajun cooking competitions.
Along with Zant, the Gravy Boys are Trey Delcambre, Tanner Dimmick, Samuel Frazier, Jacab Gibson, Jordon Konow, Joshua Mata and Derrick Savoie. Dimmick not too long ago received married, and the opposite Gravy Boys served as his groomsmen.
The Gravy Boys have stayed shut within the years since school and not too long ago served as groomsmen at member Tanner Dimmick’s wedding ceremony. From left to proper, Derrick Savoie, Jacab Gibson, Joshua Mata, Dimmick, Trey Delcambre, Sullivan Zant and Jordon Konow. Not pictured: Samuel Frazier. (Joseph Vidrine )
Many of the Gravy Boys grew up consuming Cajun meals, Mata, the “self-proclaimed CEO of Gravy Thursday,” advised Fox Information Digital.
“Rice and gravy has all the time been a part of my eating regimen, a minimum of,” he mentioned.
Delcambre has reminiscences of watching his grandmother make gravy and different Cajun delicacies.
“That is simply stuff we grew up seeing and watching and observing our members of the family do,” he advised Fox Information Digital.
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For the Gravy Boys, gravy is greater than only a solution to feed scrumptious meals to many individuals comparatively cheaply. It is a solution to protect their tradition, their friendships and the group they’ve constructed.
“Certainly one of our good associates, who can also be a really, very profitable and implausible musician from round right here, has this factor the place he likes to cease at reveals and yell in the midst of it, ‘In case you’re not residing your tradition, you are killing it,'” Zant mentioned.
“And that is one thing that basically rang true to me in the intervening time, I feel for all of us as nicely. That is actually all we do.”
“In case you’re not residing your tradition, you are killing it.”
Cajun tradition “is exclusive and clearly very particular to us,” Zant mentioned, however he insists he is “not gatekeeping it.”
He mentioned, “We simply need you to return and have an excellent time to satisfy us and hang around. That is the way you get to interrupt down obstacles and actually get to know anyone — everytime you really sit down at a desk and break bread with them.”
Zant mentioned they “discover extra commonalities that method than virtually something. And I feel that that is actually vital to what we do and why we do it.”
The Gravy Boys shared a fundamental gravy recipe with Fox Information Digital for these seeking to begin a practice of their very own.
Gravy started as a straightforward and scrumptious solution to create a filling dish for a comparatively low value, mentioned Zant, one of many Gravy Boys. (Joshua Mata)
A part of the attraction of gravy is that there isn’t a official recipe – the selection of meat, seasonings, greens and cooking time is completely different for every chef and is essentially primarily based on one’s private style or what is offered on the time of cooking.
This recipe, the Gravy Boys mentioned, is extra of a suggestion and is supposed to be adjusted.
Primary Gravy Recipe from the Gravy Boys
Elements
Any low-cost cuts of meat (7-bone steak, pork chops, “no matter is on sale”)
Cajun spice combine (salt, black pepper, cayenne, garlic powder, quantities to style)
Vegetable oil
Beer, wine or water (for deglazing)
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1 onion
1 bell pepper
1 bunch celery
Inventory (hen, beef “and even simply water, if that is all you have got”)
Lengthy grain rice (for serving)
Gravy is made finest with low-cost cuts of meat, the Gravy Boys mentioned – no matter is offered. (Joshua Mata)
Instructions
1. Pat dry meat and season with Cajun spice combine. Cube onion, bell pepper and celery or no matter greens you’re feeling like.
2. Warmth pot (ideally a cast-iron dutch oven) over medium excessive warmth. Add vegetable oil. As soon as oil is sizzling, add seasoned meat and sear for about 4 to 5 minutes on all sides, “so that you get some good fond happening in there.”
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3. Take away meat after browning and deglaze pot with “beer, wine or water – no matter is readily available,” and scrape up fond.
4. Add veggies to the pot, cook dinner for about 10 minutes, till delicate. Add extra seasoning if desired.
5. Add inventory (or water), sufficient to cowl all meat. Carry to a boil, then add meat again to the pot and scale back to a simmer. Put the lid on the pot.
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6. Simmer for about an hour and a half, stirring often. Afterward, take away lid to let the gravy scale back.
7. As soon as meat is tender, serve over lengthy grain rice.