Cuisine
J U LY 2 0 2 2 42 GET YOUR 52
A
HEAD
CHANGE IN
IN
THE GAME
// 4 4
THREE
NOLA
DINING
PERSPECTIVE FROM CHEF CORY BAHR
CULINARY INGENUITY
EXPERIENCES
TO
EAT OUTSIDE
THE
B O X //
W
BOUCHERIE
Use Your Head
JARRED ZERINGUE ON ALL THINGS HOG’S HEAD CHEESE
W
Story by Kristy Christiansen • Photos by Paul Christiansen
hen we arrived at Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse, tucked away in Old LaPlace, we were greeted by owner Jarred Zeringue and a disembodied, smoked hog’s head encircled by peppers, parsley, onions, garlic, and green onions. Although known for its andouille, Wayne Jacob’s offers a range of preservative-free smoked meats prepared in the old-world style— including hog’s head cheese. Recently my husband and I visited after hours for a behind-the-scenes demonstration on how to make the delicacy affectionately known around these parts as Cajun pâté, but not before learning more about the smokehouse’s history and how Zeringue became a part of it. Nolan “Nat” Jacob started the smokehouse in April 1950 as a seasonal operation, waiting until the weather turned cool to whip up his gumbos and jambalayas featuring his smoked meats. His son, Wayne, later took over the business and opened it year-round. Zeringue 42
J U L 2 2 // C O U N T R Y R O A D S M A G . C O M
showed us black-and-white photos on his wall and then turned to look out the front window at an elderly man sitting on a front porch across the street. “That’s Mr. Nat’s sister’s son. He’s in his eighties and sells Creole tomatoes,” explained Zeringue. As if on cue, a truck pulled up, its bed brimming with the shiny red fruits. Zeringue, former owner and chef of two French Quarter restaurants—Eat on Dauphine Street and Vacherie in the Hotel St. Marie, bought Wayne Jacob’s in 2016 and continues to carry on the smokehouse’s time-honored traditions. “As a kid, I came in here with my grandma. I remember the fluorescent lights humming,” Zeringue gestured at the ceiling. His family, of French and German descent, has lived in the River Parishes for nearly three hundred years. “I grew up in Vacherie, and we did a boucherie every year with my family. All the aunts, uncles, cousins, and neighbors would gather at three in
the morning. We’d kill the pig at daybreak, bleed it, and shave it.” In his newly released cookbook, Southern and Smoked: Cajun Cooking Through the Seasons, Zeringue evokes the excitement of the annual boucherie, describing the expected family squabbles and the joy of an afternoon spent dancing to Cajun or zydeco music once the day’s work is completed. Because of how long it takes to cook, hog’s head cheese is always one of the first meats started at the boucherie and it enjoys a spot as one of the first recipes featured in the cookbook, slightly adapted for the average family kitchen. Zeringue led us through to the kitchen, where andouille hung in rows to dry for the night. Wayne Jacob’s slogan is “Home of Andouille Smoked the Old-Fashioned Way,” and Zeringue explained they make two to three hundred pounds of andouille at a time. After it’s stuffed, the andouille is hung to dehydrate before being smoked for eight to twelve hours. Out back, Zeringue showed us
