Since my father was a Boy Scout leader for years, he mostly cooked his favorite one-pot meals over a wood fire at our camp on Catahoula Lake (in St. Martin Parish) or in our backyard at home.
Included in his repertoire were dishes like chicken aux gros onions (chicken smothered with lots of onions in his large cast-iron Dutch oven); chicken and smoked sausage gumbo, simmered long and slow; and his courtboullion, my personal favorite.
But when he had frog legs, turtle meat or rabbit, he prepared his version of a sauce piquant.
For those of you who are not familiar with sauce piquant — long popular in Acadiana — it’s simply a hot, spicy stew made with a roux, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, celery, garlic and whatever meats — rabbit, squirrel, turtle, frog legs — are available. Note: As I recall, chicken was rarely used — but of course, these days, it’s almost impossible to find rabbit, squirrel, turtle or frog legs.
As with other local dishes, like gumbo and jambalaya, just about everyone has his or her own version. There are those who will tell you that yes, a sauce piquant begins with a roux, but then the question is, how much? Papa didn’t like a lot of roux, but others prefer to use more for a thicker stew. The next item up for discussion is whether or not to use tomato paste. Some like to use a whole six-ounce can; others say a tablespoon or two is sufficient. Everyone seems to agree that the rabbit, squirrel or turtle should be browned first, then removed from the pot, and that the roux be made with the oil in the pot. I agree with this premise in part. I brown the meat but make my roux in a separate pot because the browned bits left in the pot sometimes burn, making the roux bitter. It’s also very important that the concoction simmers for at least two hours and sometimes more, watched closely by the cook, who usually has a cold beer or two to pass the time.
It’s one of those dishes that one has to experiment with to get it to please one’s own taste buds. For instance, I like to add a little red wine while the gravy simmers. Brother Bruce likes a lot of garlic. It all depends on who is tending the pot.
