Luckily for us, our good friends Lisa and Jayson have been quarantining, staying safe, and are as in need of real human contact as we are, so we felt comfortable enough to share a Sunday dinner, which (more often than not) means soup!! Go figure, right? ;-) Lisa had two smoked pork shoulders in her freezer that she needed to use, so I found this Cajun soup that looked like it had some promise...
This recipe came from: https://www.nibblemethis.com/2015/02/smoked-pork-bayou-soup.html
Variations from the Recipe as Written: I made 1.5x the recipe and, though I did not measure exactly, I likely used a little over double the pork called for.
General Thoughts: This one took a bit to prepare... I used fresh peppers, which the recipe said was an option (since it would have been even more work to make the dried), so I spent a little time dicing. There was also some time involved in making the roux and baking corn muffins (which I burnt a little because I am not a baker!). But, the most time-consuming task was trimming all of the smoked pork off the bone. It took a bit of nimble knife work, and it was well worth it in the end, but it still took a bit of effort.
The first thing I noticed was that the soup was super hearty (which was good)! However, the meat, veggies, and rice combined to make it almost "heavy" and, as time passed, it got more so (which was not as good). The dirty rice soaked up most of the liquid. When we all took our first bowls, I would have characterized the soup as a thick-ish chowder, but by the time people got around to seconds, it was more like a jambalaya with very little broth.
This recipe came from: https://www.nibblemethis.com/2015/02/smoked-pork-bayou-soup.html
Variations from the Recipe as Written: I made 1.5x the recipe and, though I did not measure exactly, I likely used a little over double the pork called for.
General Thoughts: This one took a bit to prepare... I used fresh peppers, which the recipe said was an option (since it would have been even more work to make the dried), so I spent a little time dicing. There was also some time involved in making the roux and baking corn muffins (which I burnt a little because I am not a baker!). But, the most time-consuming task was trimming all of the smoked pork off the bone. It took a bit of nimble knife work, and it was well worth it in the end, but it still took a bit of effort.
*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it
The first thing I noticed was that the soup was super hearty (which was good)! However, the meat, veggies, and rice combined to make it almost "heavy" and, as time passed, it got more so (which was not as good). The dirty rice soaked up most of the liquid. When we all took our first bowls, I would have characterized the soup as a thick-ish chowder, but by the time people got around to seconds, it was more like a jambalaya with very little broth.
The flavor was very good! The taste of the smoked ham was present in every bite and there was a delightful Cajun flavor throughout. That was likely a result of the dirty rice mix (I used Zatarain's), which also made the soup surprisingly spicy. I added just the amount of hot sauce called for by the recipe (I chose a medium-spicy Cajun-style sauce), but the soup turned out quite spicy overall. It was at the perfect level for me, but the heat built over time, which pushed some of my guests past their spice thresholds. Despite that, all of my diners, even the picky ones, thought it was delicious!
Potential Improvements? Next time I would add more broth (maybe even double) and leave the hot sauce out to make it more palatable to all diners (I can always sauce my bowl to taste after-the-fact!).
Polling the Fam: I think this one definitely needs to be made again, with the above changes; only its consistency and spice kept it from being 5 stars. Becky said she'd give it 5-out-of-5 but wished it was a bit milder. Jayson, likewise, really liked it but was kept from getting seconds by how spicy it was, and he thought it needed to be brothier. Lisa really liked it and was fine with the spice level but said it could have used less rice and more broth/meat/veggies. Andrew said it was a "home run," with good spice and texture. Hunter said he'd give it a perfect score and wouldn't change anything. And, Fox said it was good despite getting too spicy for him by the end.
Verdict: Liked it. (4 stars)
Potential Improvements? Next time I would add more broth (maybe even double) and leave the hot sauce out to make it more palatable to all diners (I can always sauce my bowl to taste after-the-fact!).
Polling the Fam: I think this one definitely needs to be made again, with the above changes; only its consistency and spice kept it from being 5 stars. Becky said she'd give it 5-out-of-5 but wished it was a bit milder. Jayson, likewise, really liked it but was kept from getting seconds by how spicy it was, and he thought it needed to be brothier. Lisa really liked it and was fine with the spice level but said it could have used less rice and more broth/meat/veggies. Andrew said it was a "home run," with good spice and texture. Hunter said he'd give it a perfect score and wouldn't change anything. And, Fox said it was good despite getting too spicy for him by the end.
Verdict: Liked it. (4 stars)
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