LSUDad Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 "Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats" September 23, 2004 at 7:13 PM CDT - Updated July 1 at 7:55 PM Boudin being stirred in a black iron pot, being prepared in the hands-on old time way, boudin ready to eat, coming out of the smoker. "Moonie" Bergeron gave up a great job at the plants to get where he is today because of a lifelong commitment to really good Cajun food. "Having a passion for it, hanging out at the plant when I was a kid with my grandfather, cooking. If you've got a passion for it, go ahead and do it. Follow your dream," says Moonie. Moonie's dream led him to open Bergeron's Boudin and Cajun Meats on Highway-415 in Port Allen. Some folks said he would fall on his face, but Moonie had a couple of secrets. One he learned from his granddad. "You cannot go wrong with a black iron pot," explains Moonie. The other secret involved updating the black iron pot with 21st century technology. "We do the old time stuff around here -- sausage, cracklings -- in this new era. Everything is digital. We set it. We throw the logs in it, and let it go. It's wonderful smoked flavor," says Moonie. Hog's head cheese to stuffed chickens, folks are finding their way to the sign with the big red pig because "Moonie" Bergeron made a dream come true. Bergeron's is on LA-415, seven-tenths of a mile north of I-10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSUDad Posted November 6, 2019 Author Share Posted November 6, 2019 Moonie expanding... With cracklin' and smoke, Cajun butcher shop Bergeron's expands around New Orleans BY IAN MCNULTY | STAFF WRITER NOV 5, 2019 - 7:00 AM 4 min to read 13 of 13 The boudin has chunks of pork and a peppery bite at Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Covington. Staff photo by Ian McNulty Terry Lemoine (left) talks Louisiana sausage with shop proprietor PJ Lailhengue at Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Covington. Staff photo by Ian McNulty PJ Lailhengue wotks the butcher case at his location on Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats Covington. Staff photo by Ian McNulty A clutch of boudin is the goal on a trip to Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Covington. Staff photo by Ian McNulty The Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats location in Harahan doubles as a lunch counter with daily specials and fried chicken. Staff photo by Ian McNulty Bacon wrapped rib eye steaks are prepared at Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Covington. Staff photo by Ian McNulty Bacon wrapped pork loin, stuffed with jalapenos and cream cheese, is served with wild rice and a meaty cornbread dressing on Tuesdays at Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Harahan. Staff photo by Ian McNulty Hot boudin and fried boudin balls share a plate at Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Harahan. Staff photo by Ian McNulty The Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Harahan shares a stripmall with a gas station and a bar with drive thru service for daiquiris. Staff photo by Ian McNulty Eric Keating, meat manager at Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Covington, tends to a pot of gumbo at the shop. Staff photo by Ian McNulty Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Covington opened in the fall of 2019. Staff photo by Ian McNulty At Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats, smoked chicken patties fill sandwiches and the butcher case. Staff photo by Ian McNulty At Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats, deer burritos are filled with ground venison and cheese. Staff photo by Ian McNulty Facebook Twitter SMS Email Save Ian McNulty Author email Sporting a purple and gold LSU shirt, Terry Lemoine approached the counter at the new Bergeron’s Boudin & Cajun Meats in Covington, sampled a hunk of cracklin’ from the bin and ordered a pound of boudin to bring home. For once, home was not far for his boudin run. “You used to have to go down the highway for this,” said Lemoine. “Now it’s right here.” Boudin is classic Louisiana road food, and for a long time if you lived around New Orleans that was by necessity. If you wanted boudin, you had to travel for it, and the destination was Acadiana, the boudin heartland. The supply/demand dynamic has changed dramatically in recent years as new butcher shops have started making their own boudin in and around New Orleans. Where to find boudin around New Orleans? Check this list and bring an ice chest Now, the New Orleans area boudin circuit includes one of the more established names in the Cajun butcher shop game. Bergeron’s Boudin & Cajun Meats, based in Port Allen, opened an outpost in Harahan last year and in September added a shop in Covington. Moonie Bergeron opened his first butcher shop in 2003 near a stretch of industrial plants just across the river from Baton Rouge. “Back then, boudin was familiar there but it wasn’t popular, not like now,” said Bergeron. “But the interest in it has been moving east and we’ve been expanding because of that.” Eric Keating, meat manager at Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Covington, tends to a pot of gumbo at the shop. Staff photo by Ian McNulty Bergeron’s now has seven locations across Louisiana, some developed as franchise deals, and he said more could be coming along. “You got a lot of people who grew up around Lafayette or Eunice and moved to other parts of the state. You hear it all the time, they grew up with butcher shops like this and they like that they can show their own kids what it’s all about, pass it down to the next generation.” Now is when traditional Louisiana butcher shops are busiest. The holidays are approaching, the cooler weather makes hearty dishes more appealing and football season sends its own culture cues. Tailgating and game day gatherings mean outdoor Louisiana cooking is in its prime, and smoked meat is a main ingredient. “When LSU and Saints kicks off, that’s when our business takes off,” said Bergeron. Family ties, Cajun links The two local Bergeron’s outposts each operate a little differently, and their boudin is different too. In Covington, links are filled with large chunks of pork and have a spicy bite. In Harahan, the links give a looser, moister texture, the bits of pork and rice flowing out from each bite. Sausage and other smoked meats fill the butcher case at Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Covington. Staff photo by Ian McNulty But walk into either one and you see what butcher shop road trippers have long been after – steam trays of hot boudin links, bins of fried boudin balls and display cases stocked with steaks and stuffed chickens and pork loins trussed in bacon, steeped in a distinctive rusty red spice blend. At Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats, deer burritos are filled with ground venison and cheese. Staff photo by Ian McNulty Bergeron's specialties are well represented at both, including deer burritos, stuffed with cheese and ground venison, and smoked chicken patties, which are like plus-sized burgers made from juicy, smoky chicken sausage. These fit on a bun but are so good they're just as likely to be eaten out of hand in the car, like the impulse buy of cracklin'. Smoked chicken patties fill the butcher case at Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Covington. Staff photo by Ian McNulty The Harahan shop is in a strip mall that forms its own little campus of complementary businesses. On one side is a gas station with a healthy supply of beer. On the other is a bar with a drive-through window for daiquiris to go. Damien Hanford opened the location last year under a licensing agreement with Bergeron’s. “What happened to the local butcher shop?” said Hanford. “My parents’ generation had that. I think we’re starting to bring it back.” Bacon wrapped pork loin, stuffed with jalapenos and cream cheese, is served with wild rice and a meaty cornbread dressing on Tuesdays at Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Harahan. Staff photo by Ian McNulty In fact, his family has a long history in the business. As father Jerry Hanford runs Crescent City Meat Co., a Metairie processor that supplies many local restaurants and other commercial clients. Hanford said they’ve been using the shop as something of a showroom for different specialty sausages his father produces. The shop also serves fried chicken, a dish it doesn’t appear at the other Bergeron’s locations. The main acts here, though, are boudin and smoked meats. That extends to the plate lunch menu. On a Tuesday that brought bacon-wrapped pork loin, suffused with smoke and stuffed with jalapeños and cream cheese, over wild rice with a side of sweet meaty cornbread dressing. Smoking on the north shore In Covington, PJ Lailhengue opened his franchise of Bergeron’s in September. It’s not the first Bergeron’s on the north shore. There was one in Mandeville for a few years, which later changed names to Boudreaux’s and eventually closed. This new Covington shop is much larger, stretching across three storefronts. In the back, meat manager Eric Keating tends to black iron cauldrons of pork bound to become boudin, while other butchers wrap rib eye steaks in bacon for another Bergeron’s signature item. At Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Covington, a scoop of cracklin' is served up hot. . Staff photo by Ian McNulty Lailhengue plans to roll out the sandwich and plate lunch menu after the holidays, anticipating that the seasonal demand for turduckens and smoked turkeys will keep him busy in the weeks ahead. For now, football weekends have helped set the pace for the new shop. After just a few weeks, he’s already seen the particulars of football schedules play out in the shop. Night games mean the store is busy late, home games mean it’s just busier overall. Sausage and other smoked meats fill the butcher case at Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats in Covington. Staff photo by Ian McNulty That rhythm is nothing new for Lailhengue. He also runs Mike’s Den, the Saints and LSU merchandise shop in Mandeville. “Here I am with two businesses that depend on how well these young guys play football,” said Lailhengue. “But that’s Louisiana for you.” Bergeron's Boudin & Cajun Meats 6901 Jefferson Hwy., Harahan, 504-264-5348 Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 1102 N. Hwy. 190, Covington, 985-900-2600 Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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