Southern roots influence Louisiana-inspired menu

Since July 2010, co-owners Kurt and Casey Knies and Tim Garrett have been offering Northwest Austinites a taste of Louisiana Cajun breaded, spicy and juicy flavor.

Their business, Stuffed Cajun Meat Market & Specialty Foods, offers dine-in lunch and dinner, specialty grocery items and Cajun foods for take-home, including andouille, boudin and stuffed chickens and turkeys. Patrons have their choice of stuffings, or dressings, for their chickens and turkeys, including cornbread, dirty rice, crawfish rice, boudin and jambalaya. Dine-in foods include fried shrimp or roast beef po' boys, red beans and rice, cornbread, touffe and gumbo.

"We stay very true to Southern Louisiana culture in regard to the deboned chickens and turduckens, the stuffed chicken breasts, the stuffed pork chops—those are all South Louisiana staples," Kurt said. "Everything we do, we make right here. We're a [made from] scratch kitchen."

During the holidays, the turducken, which is made in-house, is the most popular item, Kurt said. A turducken at the Cajun business is a deboned turkey—aside from the leg and wing bones—stuffed with homemade dressing, chicken breasts, chicken thighs and duck breast. Turducken prices range from $45–$100, depending on the size of the bird. The Cajun establishment is so busy during the holiday season, that many food orders must be placed several weeks before Thanksgiving, Kurt said. Patrons can place orders by stopping in or calling the store. Other holiday meal items include green bean casserole, bread pudding and smoked turkeys.

The store also offer foods such as alligator sausage, crawfish touffe, fried catfish, fried crawfish, frog legs, stuffed quail, boneless turtle meat and a muffaletta sandwich with ham, salami and cheese. The business carries about 40–50 specialty grocery items from Louisiana, including Savoie's Roux—a jarred flour and oil mixture used to make sauces—as well as Slap Ya Mamma Cajun Seasoning and Crystal Hot Sauce. The business opened its second location in mid-September on Brodie Lane.

Stuffed Cajun Meat Market & Specialty Foods 12226 N. RM 620 512-918-1600 www.stuffedfoodstores.com Hours: Mon.–Fri. 10 a.m.–8 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–5 p.m.