Cajun Cooking Methods

• Barbecuing - similar to "slow and low" Southern barbecue traditions, but with Cajun seasoning.
  • Baking - direct and indirect dry heat in a furnace or oven, faster than smoking but slower than grilling.
  • Grilling - direct heat on a shallow surface, fastest of all variants; sub-variants include:
    • Charbroiling - direct dry heat on a solid surface with wide raised ridges.
    • Gridironing - direct dry heat on a solid or hollow surface with narrow raised ridges.
    • Griddling - direct dry or moist heat along with the use of oils and butter on a flat surface.
  • Braising - combining a direct dry heat charbroil-grill or gridiron-grill with a pot filled with broth for direct moist heat, faster than smoking but slower than regular grilling and baking; time starts fast, slows down, then speeds up again to finish.
• Boiling - as in boiling of crabs, crawfish, or shrimp, in seasoned liquid.
• Deep frying
• Étouffée - cooking a vegetable or meat in its own juices, similar to braising or what in New Orleans is called "smothering".
• Pan-Broiling, also known as pan-frying.
• Injecting - using a large syringe-type setup to place seasoning deep inside large cuts of meat. This technique is much newer than the others on this list, but very common in Cajun Country
• Stewing, also known as fricassée.