I grew up as a Jew in the Southern United States with corn grits for breakfast and fried chicken for special occasions. A non-kosher fried chicken chain was my family’s go-to spot for quick comfort food with buttery biscuits, spicy fried chicken, and dirty rice (rice with meat, peppers, and cayenne pepper).
I don’t recall ever meeting another Southern Jewish person in my childhood. There wasn’t one within 45 miles that wasn’t part of my immediate family, at least that I knew of. My Jewish friends were on TV: Adam Sandler and Jerry Seinfeld. For decent bagels, we made the annual shlep to visit family in New York City.
I now live in New York, but I still love the Southern and Cajun foods I grew up with. New Orleans boasts the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience and kosher versions of my childhood classic foods.
Jewish Cajun Cooking All Started with Brisket
Brisket certainly isn’t unique to New Orleans. Brisket is a centuries-old food, going back to the grandmothers of Ashkenazi Jewish grandmothers. In 1800’s New York City, Ashkenazi families would eat the flavorful and cheap cut of beef on holy days. In the same time frame, Cajun cooking emerged in Louisiana, a combination of French and Southern cooking that was very meat based and often smoked. Parts of the U.S. South take credit for “inventing” smoked brisket, but it originated with Jews and the smoked meats from Cajun culture.
With the commonalities in cooking between the two food cultures, it makes sense that dinner tables in Jewish homes 30 to 40 years ago started to include Cajun-spiced brisket.
Cajun seasoning is a flavorful combination of herbs and spices that can include cayenne pepper, garlic powder, oregano, paprika, and sea salt. To make your own, start with a teaspoon of each. Then, add more of the spices you prefer the most. If you want a bit more of a kick, add cayenne pepper generously.
Naomi Brown, an Orthodox Jewish woman and kitchen manager of the Kosher Cajun restaurant with her husband Joel, shares the recipe for kosher Cajun brisket that she cooks for her family.
Naomi Brown’s Kosher Cajun Brisket
Purchase Pecan Oil
It’s a tradition in the South to use so much butter, you feel like you’re buttering butter. Oy Vey on both the saturated fat and the inability to pair almost any dish with meat in kosher cooking. Luckily, pecan oil is just as tasty and much healthier. To prove it, I made beef grillades, cheesy grits, bananas foster, and other classic Southern dishes with pecan oil in cooking classes at New Orleans School of Cooking. No one believed that it would taste as good, but it did.
The staff in the kitchen came out to try my grits. So did the chef. By the time I finished two 3-hour classes and cooked six Cajun and Creole dishes, one of the school’s chefs let me know that the use of pecan oil would now be added as a healthy alternative in her cooking classes.
Grits and Faux Shrimp Cooking Tips
Shrimp and grits is a staple in the South and can be a fabulous kosher food — with a twist. The chef at the Kosher Cajun restaurant in New Orleans, Alvin, shares tips for making his version of shrimp that’s famous among the kosher set in New Orleans.
Make Faux Shrimp
The secret to making good faux shrimp starts with picking the right fish and serve with creamy, cheesy grits. Get the recipe here.
