Wishing ya'll a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Hope you have a safe & Happy Holiday Season!

Varmint Control

One at a time

Check out Bow Adventures magazine a great publication, you will find my Crawfish Etouffee recipe featured inside! 

Also if you want to watch the video of my cooking segment click here:

Crawfish Etouffee Video

Venison Neck Roast Recipe

by: Papa Scott

This one really came out nice hope you enjoy

Ingredients: 

• One medium size neck roast 
• vegetable oil, enough to cover the bottom of  pot  (I use cast iron pots from  Ironcooker
• 1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped    
• 1 bell pepper chopped  
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic (optional)   
• 6 oz. can of mushroom steak sauce, you can also add mushroom pieces as well
• Camp Dog Cajun Seasoning, original or non-typical blend   
• 4 oz. of golden cream of mushroom soup to thicken gravy   
• 1/2 cup of Daigle's Cajun sweet & sour sauce   
• 2 or 3 potatoes cut (optional)  

How to cook:
First rub the roast down with Cajun Seasoning & stuff cloves of garlic in 4 places around the neck, then pour sweet & sour sauce over the roast and place in frig. for a few hours, preferably overnight.  

Preheat oven to 400 deg. F and coat bottom of black pot with oil.  Once the oven is ready place the pot with roast in oven uncovered for about one hour flipping the roast over 1/2 way during the browning process, adding just a little water if needed to keep from burning.  It's ok if it sticks to the bottom a little, this will help make a nice brown gravy.   Once you are satisfied that the roast is browned enough remove from oven, place on stove top remove roast and add onions to be browned.  Once onions are browned stir in bell pepper & mushroom steak sauce, return roast to pot add about 4 cups of water cover and cook on stove top until tinder.  Check gravy often and add thickener if needed.  If you are adding potatoes add them 30 minutes before cooking time expires.
Serve over white rice along with sides of choice.  Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by and please remember to visit our website at www.campdogcajunseasoning.com 

 

Fishing Memories

    Guest Post by: IronCooker

Fishing is different for a lot of people. Some fish for a living with big boats on lakes or ocean fishing everything from tuna to lobster & shrimp; while others simply enjoy an afternoon out on a back woods pond watching a loon slowly swim across a lake. Bluegill fishing in evenings is a fun sport and are very good eating too.

I can remember growing up in northern Michigan where we would dig worms in our barnyard every spring so we could go fishing down by a creek about a half mile away. Mosquitoes & black flies so thick you couldn’t see through some of them but we were kids & it was some of the best times I can remember. One time we came home with a huge snapping turtle.  I could go on forever with this story but more interesting than this is the story I was reading that reminded me of our turtle that hot summer night.  I found a recipe for turtle called Turtle Sauce Piquant that caught my eye & reminded me of that huge snapping turtle us boys came dragging home to grandma.

She cooked that swamp monster up in a big cast iron kettle & made soup out of it. I sure would have liked to have tried this recipe back then. So if you are fond of turtles like I have always been, follow this link. From the bayous of Louisiana; you will enjoy this tasty treat. 

 Iron Cooker

CrawFish, CrawDad or CrayFish

Guest Post by: Iron Cooker

Anyone that reads our blog knows that we try to connect with others that have posted more recent stories & bring our readers the most updated news we can. This morning we were doing our best to connect with friends across this country when a conversation on crawdads came to be a topic of the morning. We do love fishing here in my home state of Michigan; we trap & catch some crayfish to boil but if you really want to know how a good crawfish boil is done you have to go where it is done right.

 

 In the state of Louisiana they do not take this lightly you know. Well don't take my word for it just look at this recipe for crawfish etouffee that they say it’s the way their mom did it.

 
They raise them on farms and harvest their catch from sometime in January & continue till late April or may. With Louisiana leading the nation producing over 90% of the country’s domestic crop of crawdads you know they have to know what they are doing when it comes to putting on a fish or crawdad boil. I don’t know about you folks but this just makes my mouth water when I read these articles on a good cookout with good friends to share with. If you are planning a crawdad cookout or a fish fry you are going to want a good kettle to cook them in. We have a great selection of 10 quart enamel coated Dutch ovens or seasoned cast iron kettles to choose from. Leave a comment and tell us your experiences you have with seafood cookouts! 

Posted by  Iron Cooker

CrawFish Boil "A Cajun Tradition"

The Aroma of CrawFish Boil fills the air as my brother Mitch and his son 

Jake along with the help of Troy Vidrine remove the first batch from the boiling pot.  It's a Louisiana tradition to boil CrawFish at this time of year, mainly because you can't get em' any other time.  The Boiling Rig being used is a commercial one of course but you can do smaller batches with amazing results using smaller pots like the ones found here at IronCooker.   

Enjoy your outdoor cooking and don't forget to stock up on our 
 Camp Dog Cajun Seasoning!

Preparation for a Hunting Trip

 Guest post written by: IronCooker 

     With springtime on its way into our lives we are all thinking about warm summer days. It’s a time of year that we all get excited about after a long winter. Where we live it is snow and ice 5 months out of a year and other months we are getting ready for winter.  On my way home from a trip to our local store this morning I spotted 5 deer standing in a field and it made me think of a post on deer hunting huntography. 

Yes I know you are thinking what the heck is this guy talking about; working on preparation for a hunting trip this time of year? If you are a sportsman or sportswoman that enjoys being outdoors as much as we do then you owe it to yourself to check out this story and follow links to these great ideas.  It’s a good place to read and leave your comments on issues you find.  

We enjoy hunting & fishing all over this country so we want to bring you some of our experiences as well. Share your hunting experiences, from snow covered back roads in Wisconsin to a hot dry Arizona desert. We want to hear what you pack into your camp, what kind of tents & cookware you use. We are fond of our cast iron frying pans & Dutch ovens when it comes to camping, and oh yeah we never leave home without our Camp Dog Cajun Seasonings in our cooking supplies.  

You might be thinking more of fishing this time of year, in fact just yesterday I was reading a post that my friend posted on his site. www.campdogcajunseasoning.blogspot.  I was looking for a fried fish recipe but was pleasantly surprised to see that he came up with another great recipe using his fish fry mix for chicken instead.

We are here to share our stories and ideas like this recipe. You will find a lot more of these great stories and recipes with ways to prepare for your next hunting trip, so come on in to read and share your ideas with us.

Kentucky Camping trip

This is a Guest Post by my friend IronCooker

Boonesborough, Kentucky

 Kentucky Camping trip

We all have our memories of great summer camping trips that come to mind when we look out our windows to see this snow covered landscape. We have Cast iron skillets hanging on hooks, with Dutch ovens sitting on shelves & a tripod in a corner waiting for our next adventure. 

 One memory that will always come to mind is a trip we made to Kentucky last fall. We packed our camper with anticipation of our trip. Everything we could think of was going to be taken on this trip because we were going to be staying at Boonesborough State park. What an adventure this was & one you will not want to miss out on if cast iron cookware & outdoor adventures are as much an interest to you as it is for us. When we arrived there was a welcome that was almost like coming home; People sharing ideas & cookware recipes for everyone that wanted to listen to their stories. Our campfire was burning bright with orange flames while we prepared Jambalaya in one of our largest Dutch ovens. 

 There are several versions of Jambalaya as you know these changes from one family to another. We make it special with an addition of a special Cajun seasoning that we purchase from Camp Dog Cajun Seasonings. We use a little more of this than some people in our Jambalaya but you can adjust to your taste. From experience at our campsite is that almost everyone asked for a second helping of this when they visited our camp.
We also picked up some pork tenderloins at a local market for this evening that we are preparing with camp dog mild Cajun seasoning as a rub. 

You cannot believe how this fills a campground with a smell of pine, Cajun spices & cooked chicken, pork & lots of burnt marshmallow. Now folks tell me that this doesn’t get you in a mood for a cookout? We had everyone in our side of this campground coming over to see what was going on at our site.. Some brought their chairs back to sit and tell about their Old Dutch oven that was handed down from generations before, some wanted to know where we bought our new heavy built tripod. This was our memorable experience that we wanted to share with you. Be sure to get out in this great outdoors & make memories like this one of your own. We would like to hear from you & hear what experiences you have had. Leave your comments so we can share your ideas too!

Boiled Crawfish

It's that time of year in south Louisiana! Oh they smell so good, can't wait to get me some.

Pot Roasted Wood Ducks

Ingredients:

• 2 or 3 cleaned wood ducks

• 1 lb. smoked pork sausage cut into bite size pieces

• vegetable oil, enough to cover the bottom of  pot  (I like to use cast iron black pots)
• 1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic (optional)
• 1/2 cup of pure orange juice
• Cajun Seasoning to taste I use (Camp Dog Cajun Seasoning) original blend.

• 8 oz. of golden cream of mushroom soup to thicken gravy.
 

How to cook:
 Season ducks a couple of hours before and refrigerate until ready for use.  Pour oil into pot and heat.  Once oil is hot put ducks in and start the browning process.  Brown the ducks slowly for about an hour or more if needed adding a couple of ice cubes as needed to keep from burning.  It's ok if it sticks to the bottom a little this will help make a nice brown gravy.   Once you are satisfied that the ducks have browned enough remove from pot and add sausage, brown them up then add onions and bell pepper and get them browned up nice and slow while stirring.
Once this has browned up nicely cut the ducks in 1/2 (poultry scissors work well) then add back to the pot.  Pour in orange juice and 2 cups of water and cover.  Cook in oven at 375 of on top of stove for about 1 1/2 hours or until ducks are tender.  Check often and add water as needed.  Add golden cream of mushroom soup about 15 minutes before cooking time expires. 

Serve over white rice along with sides of choice.  Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by and please remember to visit our website at www.campdogcajunseasoning.com/products

CatFish Courtbouillon

Serve over white rice with a side dish, corn, hot bread rolls etc…





Ingredients: 

• 4 to 5 lb. CatFish, (This is approx. weight before cleaned) you can cook with or without bones.
• 2 tbl spoons of vegetable oil to coat bottom of  pot (I like to use a cast iron black pot)
• 1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
• ½ cup of green onion chopped  
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• ¼ cup of parsley flakes
• 1  8oz. can tomato sauce  
•  2 tbl spoons of flour
• Cajun Seasoning to taste (I use Camp Dog Cajun Seasoning) original blend
• 1/2 cup of water to mix with flour to use as a thickener.

How to cook:

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• Clean and cut catfish into steaks
• Season fish with Cajun Seasoning only
• Pour oil into pot and heat on medium setting
• Once oil is hot stir in cut onions and sauté for a few minutes then add green onions and cook slow for about 15 minutes, once onions get transparent add tomato sauce, garlic and parsley and cook slow for about another 30 minutes stirring often, add just a little water to keep from sticking.
• Now you are ready to lay your fish steaks in, try not to double stack if possible.
• Reduce heat cover and let cook very slow, do not stir but shake the pot often to keep from sticking. If the fish is fresh it should produce its own water. (you may add just a little if needed.)
• Cook for about 30 minutes then mix the flour and water and pour over the fish. Shake, cover and continue to cook for another 20 to 30 minutes until fish is cooked and sauce is just covering the fish.
• Serve over a bed of hot rice with sides be very careful with bones if left in: ENJOY!    

Fried Fish or Not

    We love our fried fish as much as anybody but sometimes we opt for fried chicken instead.  Today we are frying up some chicken wings cut at the joint minus the tips.   

For small pieces of chicken such as wings or boneless breast strips, we batter up using our (pre-seasoned) Camp Dog Fish Fry  with amazing results. 

Using a Fry Daddy (deep fryer) we add the amount of oil recommended by the manufacturer and bring oil to about 375 deg.

While waiting on oil to heat up, we coat the pieces of chicken with yellow mustard then shake em' up in the Fish Fry batter until well coated. 

Once oil is ready drop 5 or 6 pieces in and cook until golden brown, about 6 to 7 minutes depending on the size of the pieces making sure they are fully cooked inside.  Once they are fully cooked remove from oil and place on a paper towel covered tray of bowl, then repeat the process for another batch.

 

Between batches of chicken I like to fry up some french fries and sprinkle a little Cajun Seasoning on them for sides. 

This batter is ideal for these small pieces that take little time to cook.  We do not recommend using this batter on larger pieces of chicken because of cooking times needed to fully cook the chicken.  The cornmeal in the batter will get too dark if cook for too long a period of time. 

As always thanks for stopping by and reading our blog, please visit our website and try our products  www.campdogcajunseasoning.com/products   All prices include shipping and we also have a Free Sample option.

 

 

  

Baked Rabbit

Our Recipe for Baked Rabbit was featured in Bow America magazine, an online publication for the outdoor enthusiast.  We are very excited to be a contributor and looking forward to writing many more recipes for BA in the future.  Click below and enjoy lots of great stories, download or print a copy if you like.

Bow America

  Please visit our website for some great Cajun Seasoning products: www.campdogcajunseasoning.com
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Drunken Chicken

 

Drunken Chicken or Beer Can Chicken, it's one of my favorite ways to cook chicken.  It's easy and it comes out so moist and tender, Oooh so good. There is so many variations but here's my simple recipe for you to start experimenting.

Give it a try, hope you Enjoy!!!

Ingredients:

•    1 whole chicken (fryer)

•    Cajun Seasoning

•    BBQ sauce

•    8 ounces beer of choice

Directions:

Prepare your BBQ grill for medium to high heat.
Rinse chicken and pat dry.

Season inside and out with Cajun Seasoning to your taste.

Pour half of beer out of can (yeah right) and refill with 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce & 1 tablespoon of Cajun Seasoning. 

I like to inject the chicken with some of that same mixture.  

Place can on a disposable baking sheet or aluminum foil. 

Set chicken over beer can, inserting can into cavity of the chicken.
Place baking sheet with beer and chicken on the preheated grill. Cover, and cook about 1 1/2 hours or until chicken is fully cooked and no longer pink and juices run clear. 

Serve with sides of choice.

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Homemade Pork Cracklins

Cracklin Recipe/Instructions:

Homemade pork cracklins are made by slowly rendering the fat from a slab of pork belly with a little meat left attached. Check with your local butcher or meat department for a slab. I'm using a 1/2 slab or 6 1/2 pounds cut into 1 inch squares, they will shrink down to about 1/2 that size once cooked. This will yield about one pound.












Start with a big enough pot so that you have enough room to stir. I always use a black cast iron pot. Coat the bottom of the pot with about a 1/2 inch of cooking oil or lard, just enough to keep from sticking, put cut pieces in pot and cook slowly until they start to float and turn brown.

Remember: cook slow and stir often. This could take 2 to 3 hours depending on how much and how fast you cook them. 

Once they start to float remove the cracklin for the first time and set aside to let air cool. They will be a little soft at this point.

While they are cooling clean out the crumbs from the bottom of the pot then get the oil good and hot without burning it. Return cooled down cracklins back to the pot and they should start to crackle and complete the cooking cycle within a few minutes.

Once they are cooked, remove them again and spread them out on a tray lined with paper towels and season them up with Cajun Seasoning. or just a little salt if you prefer.
Save the rendered lard after it cools down and use it for other recipe. 


You can crush them up and use them in cornbread or just eat them as a snack, goes well with a cold beer also. Enjoy!

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Pork Ribs in my Cajun Microwave

When time is not a factor I love cooking in my Cajun Microwave. My ol' friend from North Carolina, Mr.  Lenox Harrelson showed me his way of cooking pork ribs on the pit to perfection, so I thought I would share the way we do it down here in the cajun microwave.

Ingredients Needed: 

• Cajun Seasoning
• BBQ Sauce
• Pork Ribs

 

First I rub down the ribs with Camp Dog Cajun Seasoning and let marinate overnight in the frig.

Next I will steam the ribs for about an hour depending on the size of the pig. This one was about 40 lbs. so its pretty tender already. I will do this by putting about 4 inches of water in a large pot then put the ribs in a metal colander, cover with foil and let it steam while sitting over the pot. The meat will start shrinking away from the bone, that's when you know it's getting tender.

While this is steaming I will get my trusty cajun microwave ready by layering the bottom of the tray with charcoal and lighting it. Once my charcoal is ready I place the ribs on the grill to brown for about 15 minutes per side then adding BBQ sauce to both sides. I use a local favorite called Jack Millers. The plant is about a mile from my home and when the wind is just right I can smell them cooking it in the mornings, (oooh so good).

 

Once the ribs are browned I will remove the tray of coals and place the ribs inside the microwave in a pan, replace the charcoal tray and cook for about an hour at 350 deg. then add a little water in the pan and cover with foil and cook for about another hour and 1/2 or until tender. 

But while the ribs are cooking inside don't let the heat on the outside go to waste. I like to keep the kids happy by putting on some spiced up burgers with a touch of BBQ sauce on the grill. Once the ribs are done add a lil more sauce and serve with rice dressing and baked beans or whatever you like.  I hope you enjoy and don't forget to visit our website at www.campdogcajunseasoning.com for your cajun spice. Enjoy!

 

So what's in your Back Yard?

Knobbhill Hunting?  That's what I found in mine.  It was just a few days ago I got a new addition to my followers list on Twitter, when I checked it out it was a local address so I looked into it further. To my surprise it was one of the guys from a hunting paradise that I never knew existed and was only 7 miles from my home, WOW!  Where have I been?

I work out of town and spend most of my weekends at camp when I'm not at shows promoting my products. Maybe I should slow down and take a closer look at my surroundings this new year.

 It's called Knobbhill Hunting Lodge and it's just across from the beautiful  Chicot State Park near Ville Platte La.

 They offer a variety of hunts such as whitetail deer, hog hunting, duck hunting as well as exotic animals and more, not to mention a 50 acre lake for fishing. Now I'm not into exotic hunts but what a great place to take a kid for their first youth hunt. I think my granddaughter would love to take her first deer in a nice place like this. Check these guys out at www.knobbhillhunting.com and give them a follow @knobbhillHunts On Twitter.

You just might get lucky and have them cook you up some great Cajun meals seasoned with my Camp Dog Cajun Seasoning
Get "U" Some!

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