Top 5 Mardi Gras Recipes

The Best recipes for Mardi Gras

We have been to many Mardi Gras celebrations in our travels. My husband went to a crawfish festival in Gillette WY before I started joining him on the road. He was out there building our nations biggest Power plant. I was so jealous that he got to go without me a few months later I decided that I was going to start traveling with him. That same year we attended a Mardi Gras Festival in the streets of Deadwood South Dakota. It was so much fun but none of this compared to the southern experience of Mardi Gras that we were able to be a part of when we were working in SETX building one of our nations biggest fuel refineries.

Crawfish Etouffee for Mardi Gras

With this recipe PMGK had me at Crawfish. Add in one of his amazing sauces and you are in for a real treat. I’ve been calling him the sauce man for years. He knows his sauces and with this dish he has taken traditional Etouffee to the next level. If you don’t already know what I mean you need to make this recipe for Mardi Gras. You’ll soon be calling him the sauce man too.

Bourbon Chicken for Mardi Gras

Bourbon Chicken is a dish named after Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana and for the bourbon whiskey ingredient. The dish is commonly found at Cajun style and Chinese restaurants. When we were living in the south we ventured into Louisiana a few times. For some good food and some gambling. The horse races and the buffets were a few of our must haves. Southern food is like nothing else and the people are such a breath of fresh air. Plus, it was only 20 minutes from where we were living so we couldn’t pass up the experience.

Jambalaya for Mardi Gras

What I love about Jambalaya is that you can just throw all the ingredients in one pot and it comes out with such a great flavor and ready to dish up. It’s so simple anyone can make this recipe. Plus, sausage and shrimp all in one dish. Whoever came up with this idea is a genius.

Oysters Rockefeller for Mardi Gras

My favorite thing about Oysters besides eating them, of course, is shucking them. I’ll admit I was intimidated when I was helping PMGK shuck these for the video but after the first two, I felt like a pro. I’ll never be even half the cook he is but he really makes it seem so easy. When I’m in the kitchen with him I feel empowered like I can make any dish. When you’re done preparing a recipe like his Oysters Rockefeller you’ll wonder how you managed to pull off making something so fabulous. Your guest will also be in awe.

Crawfish for Mardi Gras

We Chose this Crawfish video for the top five for a few reasons. It’s our newest crawfish video and most people don’t have access to live crawfish. We really do recommend getting them live if you can. The experience is what it’s all about. Just watch my daughter and husband in this video it’s priceless. We’ve had some really good times showing the little ones how to prepare live crawfish. We have caught them ourselves in the gulf coast and we’ve been able to buy them live at amazing deals. Once we got such a good deal on a bag that was way more crawfish than we needed. We made half the bag and used my resources from my side business to sell the rest. We had them in the bath tub to keep them alive until the person came to pick them up but they were such a good deal they were sold within the hour. This is what PMGK is all about. Using what you have to make cooking and eating not only a Gourmet experience but also a fun one.

Are you ready for your Mardi Gras party?

If we’ve helped you decide what you’re going to make for your celebrations then we’ve done our job. If you’re still undecided I’d like to make just one more suggestion that didn’t make the list. Boudin. I tried it for the first time when we were in the south and I fell in love. It has such a unique flavor that you just can’t find anywhere else. To me it’s not Mardi Gras without it.

Shrimp Cocktail and Oyster Shots

The Best Shrimp Cocktail

In my opinion, Shrimp Cocktail is only as good as the seasoning. Technically the shrimp only need to be steamed or boiled in water but without salt or a good Crab Boil seasoning, the prawns aren’t going to have that much flavor. So, I highly suggest adding flavor to the water that soaks into the shrimp as it cooks. Even Bouillon or a good stock would be perfect. I also show you how to make Cocktail sauce. I know that it seams like a no-brainer but there are several different ways to make it and I show you 3 different versions in this recipe. First, the basic recipe, then I show you a more diverse recipe and, finally, the Bloody-Rita style Cocktail sauce recipe for the Oyster Shots.

Oyster Shots with Shrimp Cocktail

Originally, I just wanted to film a good Cocktail Sauce video recipe and post that to the blog. But, after more thought and deliberation, I realized I needed to combine that recipe with a couple of popular appetizers that go great with Cocktail sauce. So, in truth, you’re getting a 3 in 1 special and I decided that Oyster Shots and Shrimp Cocktail were the two recipes I wanted to share the most.

I’ve got such good memories of the few occasions that I ordered Oyster Shots. It’s only appropriate that I share my favorite recipe. The best version I tried was served with Tequila, which I have since realized is a Bloody-Rita style Cocktail Sauce.

Much like a Bloody Mary Cocktail, a Bloody-Rita is served with Tequila instead of Vodka and usually garnished with Lime. Margarita’s have been one of my go to drinks and I love a good Bloody Mary, plus I’m a big Oyster fan. So, needless to say, I fell in love with this Oyster Shot recipe the moment it was served and I ordered another round.

The Cocktail Sauce recipe I listed in the ingredients below is a hyped up version of the very basic recipe; ketchup, horseradish and lemon juice. It’s great with the Shrimp Cocktail but it’s even better for the Oyster Shots because it’s got everything you need to take it to the next level. Just add the Tequila and Lime and you’re on your way. Just be sure to use fresh Oysters and not bottled, canned or smoked oysters. And, I highly recommend you purchase the smallest Oysters you can find. If you need a tutorial on shucking Oysters, I’ve got a great step by step guide in my Oysters Rockefeller Video Recipe.

Shrimp Cocktail and Oyster Shots Ingredients:

1 lbs 16 to 20 Prawns
1 dozen Oysters
1 cup Cocktail sauce
1 1/2 oz Tequila
1 Lime
4 cups water
2 tbsp Crab Boil Seasoning, Old Bay/Slap Ya Mama/Zatarain’s

Cocktail Sauce
1 cup Ketchup
1 1/2 tbsp Horseradish
1 tsp Lemon juice
3 tbsp Chili sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Hot sauce

Be sure to follow the instructions in the short Shrimp Cocktail and Oyster Shots video recipe tutorial.

Oysters Rockefeller – Cleaning, Shucking and the Recipe

The Best Oysters are Rockefeller

Oysters Rockefeller are a great way to kick off any celebration. New Orleans Mardi Gras is certainly no exception. And as you may or may not know, the original recipe was developed in the French Quarter at local restaurant called Antoine’s back in the 1800’s. This recipe has since gone platinum. And you as you can see in the picture below, they are fairly inexpensive to buy and with this recipe, they certainly live up to their name, “Rockefeller”. I think I paid about 58 cents a piece is all and the results were spectacularly “Rich”.

What kind of Oysters do you have?

These are West Coast Oysters. You can tell they aren’t from the East Coast because of the Greenish color, instead of brown, and they’re a bit more long gated as well. They should always be scrubbed and rinsed before shucking. This will help eliminate any grime getting into the shell. Personally, I like to rinse them out after anyway. But some folks will freak out if you drain the “liquor” from the oyster before serving because there’s so much flavor there. But for Oysters Rockefeller, there is so much flavor added to it through out the recipe, in my opinion, it really doesn’t matter. The important thing is that no one breaks a tooth trying to eat them.

Shucking Oysters

I’ll show you, in the video below, how to properly shuck these things and lay them out on the half shell. There’s really nothing to it once you learn the tricks. But it’s important to lay them down on something that will keep them stable so they don’t teeter back and forth. Some people, restaurants included, press the round shell backs down into Rock salt, and that’s great for serving but I just use cup cake pans to keep them from moving and it works great for broiling.

Oysters Rockefeller

To make this recipe, you need a few key ingredients but the main thing is to make it green like money. As the story goes, when this recipe was created, someone in the restaurant exclaimed that these Oysters were as rich as Rockefeller. Others think it has to do with the color of money itself. Either way, the name stuck and now the world can enjoy them for any occasion.

If you’re interested in other Cajun recipes and food celebrated in New Orleans and at Mardi Gras, check out my Boudin, Crawfish Etouffee and my Jambalaya!

Oysters Rockefeller Ingredients:

1 doz Med/Lrg Oysters
2 cloves Garlic, ground
1 Green Onion, ground
1 sprig of Fresh Parsly
4 oz Baby Green Spinach
2 tbsp White wine, can sub ice water or white grape juice
1 stick of melted butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp Crab Boil or Crawfish Seasoning (Old Bay is fine)
1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp Basalmic Vinager
1/3 cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 cup Bread Crumbs, optional

Be sure to watch the full Oysters Rockefeller Video Tutorial so you can see, step by step, exactly how to make them from scratch.