Stomaching Dinner

I'm just going to throw this out in the open.  First thing.  That way if you have a weak stomach, you can move on.

See how goooood I am to you?

This post is going to be about stomachs.  

Pig stomachs if you're wondering.  And other pig parts.

But not the "bacon makes everything better" kind of parts with sexy bacon pictures that will be Pinned and shared
on Google +.

No.  I'm risking being that weird kid who never quite fit in.

But the fact is food is not always magazine perfect.
On clean wiped plates.

Where and how we get our food is not always neat, uniform packages or rainbow lines of produce.

There are people behind the scenes handling the dirty, grisly tasks so we don't have to.

In Cajun country, we have these things called boucheries.  My city holds one the Sunday before Mardi Gras.  I've given the details before--here...and pictures here...of why and how these hog butcherings take place.  

The gist: a throwback to a time lacking refrigeration but a want for meat, multiple families pooling resources, and nothing wasted.

Blood is drained and used to make boudin rouge (blood sausage).  The head is used to make hog's head cheese.  There's also backbone stew.  And pork steaks.

Intestines are cleaned and stuffed with a mixture of ground pork, cooked rice, and seasonings to make the popular Cajun breakfast (and snack): boudin.

Chunks containing layers of skin, fat, and meat are fried in the hog lard to make another popular Cajun treat: cracklins.

Nothing is wasted.  Not even the stomachs.

This is ponce.  A Cajun delicacy.  Often served for Sunday dinner and for holidays.  Because it's deemed special.

It is a pig stomach that is cleaned and stuffed with a pork sausage type of mixture--ground pork with seasonings, onions, peppers, etc.  Most often it is smoked.

I know. 

What you're thinking.

I know because I thought it too.

I once wrote about plate lunches, saying that if the offering was ponce, I'd go elsewhere.  Not something I was eager to try.  I get it.  I do.

It's weird.  And shocking.  And maybe even...ick.

But then I tried it.  And maybe it is still weird.  And shocking.

But it wasn't ick.  Far from it.  It was smoky and rich and succulent.

It's really not all that different from sausage.  The casing is stomach instead of intestine.
Just moving a little higher up in the world is all.

The Husband cooked--made rice and gravy with the ponce.  The butcher told him the leftovers make good sandwiches.

We didn't have leftovers.


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Ponce with Gravy

1 smoked ponce
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
salt, pepper, Tony's Creole Seasoning, to taste
cooked rice

First, simmer the whole ponce in water for about 45 minutes.  Use a the smallest pot possible so that the ponce is submerged.

Heat oil in a cast iron or other heavy pot.  Brown the ponce on all sides.  Poke a few holes in the ponce so some of the juices can flow out and contribute to the gravy.  Add a small amount of the water used to simmer the ponce and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.  Repeat this step 3-4 times to develop a dark, rich gravy.  Add the onions, peppers, celery, and garlic and saute until very tender.  Add stock to come up about halfway on the ponce.  Season with salt, pepper, and Tony's to taste.  Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Remove the ponce to a carving board.  Slice into rounds, removing any butcher's twine.  Spoon the gravy over cooked rice and place the sliced ponce over the top.

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