Long ago the French came to the bayous of Louisiana and brought with them a vast wealth of recipes. Over generations of influence, the tastes and flavors of most of those Cajun recipes have evolved. These classic Cajun recipes and the artisan skills that go into Louisiana’s culinary cultural uniqueness are fascinating to me. The linkage to French gastronomy is apparent in so many ways, and my boundless curiosity drives me to find those connections. In my latest discovery–smoked ponce–I am intrigued by how the Cajun recipe we eat today has stayed true to French Acadian tradition.
Smoked ponce stuffed with sweet potatoes served up family-style is an old-school Cajun recipe. (All photos credit: George Graham)
This smoked ponce dish transports me to a time and place when French cooks took food seriously and approached cooking skillfully. Long before the heyday of Julia Child hawking the mastery of French cuisine in America, before Bocuse and the culinary renaissance of nouvelle cuisine, before Escoffier and the five mother sauces, even before Brillat-Savarin, French Acadian cooks in South Louisiana kitchens prepared ponce. And even now, almost 300 years later, Smoked Ponce is a Cajun recipe classic that provokes delicious curiosity.
Many who live in my city of Lafayette have never eaten ponce, and I would guess that some have never even heard of it. Smoked ponce is a Cajun recipe that is rarely seen on a restaurant menu except in the rural towns far away from the metropolitan areas. Quite frankly, I’ve never seen it sold in mainstream supermarkets either. But, take a short drive north of Lafayette and you will discover the legions of Cajun and Creole gourmands that swear allegiance to this French connection of a dish.
Ponce is essentially a stuffed pig’s stomach. There are different Cajun recipe versions, but most rural butchers create a spicy pork and herb sausage stuffing and truss it up inside the stomach cavity of a pig. The dish is called chaudin in some parts of Acadiana, and the two names are interchangeable. Whatever you call it, Smoked Ponce is an artisan Cajun recipe that in the expert hands of a skilled Cajun butcher is delectable.
Stuffing an animal’s stomach is done in most every culture. In Scotland, you’d be dining on haggis (sheep’s stomach), in Latin America hog maw and in Germany saumagen, but it is the French that always seem to up the ante.
Smoked Ponce – this Cajun recipe features pork sausage and sweet potatoes stuffed into a pig’s stomach and smoked.
I first saw ponce some years ago at Poche’s Market north of Breaux Bridge, but I am now discovering it more and more in the rural groceries. You can find it easily in the small Louisiana towns of Scott (Best Stop), Sunset (Janise’s), Ville Platte (Teet’s) and Eunice (Eunice Superette). To me, smoked ponce is much like Cajun smoked sausage–pork and herbs stuffed into a pig’s intestine or casing. Intestine? Stomach? What’s the difference?
Rural Cajun families eat ponce like an average non-Cajun family would eat pot roast. Either smoked or unsmoked, the ponce is roasted or braised for a couple of hours while the juices release into a pork gravy. Usually served over rice, it is simple farmhouse fare. Ponce is a timeless Cajun recipe and remains a testament to the artisan craft of true Cajun culture.
- 1 pig’s stomach, cleaned and prepped
- 4 cups ice-cold water
- 1 cup salt
- 6 tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 cup sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 2 pounds ground pork
- 2 tablespoons Acadiana Table Cajun Seasoning Blend, see recipe here
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 yellow onions, quartered
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 4 cups dark chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons dark roux, such as Rox's Roux
- 6 cups cooked Louisiana long-grain white rice, such as Supreme
- For the ponce, prepare a smoker with hickory wood and bring to 175ºF by following the equipment directions.
- Place the pig’s stomach in a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. In a large bowl, mix the water and salt. Submerge the stomach in the saltwater solution and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove and inspect the stomach to make sure that it is clean, being careful not to tear the delicate tissue. Place on paper towels and let dry. Refrigerate until ready to stuff.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook until the onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute more. Remove the skillet from the heat and pour the contents into a large mixing bowl. Add the sweet potatoes and pork and season with Cajun seasoning and pepper. Combine making sure the ingredients are distributed evenly.
- Move the pig’s stomach to a large cutting board and open it up. Using your hands, gently stuff the meat mixture inside the stomach. Add just enough filling so that the lining of the stomach can come together and seal. Using butchers twine, sew the stomach closed. (Note: Alternatively, some use toothpicks to close the stomach.)
- Place the stuffed ponce on a rack in the smoker. Smoke for 4 hours at 175ºF. Once smoked, remove the ponce.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a heavy cast iron pot with a tight-fitting lid, add the smoked ponce. Place the carrots, onions, and celery in the pot and add enough chicken stock to come halfway up the side of the stuffed ponce. Add 2 tablespoons of dark roux. Cover the pot and place in the oven for 2 hours. Once the ponce has finished roasting, remove it to a platter and keep warm.
- Pour the gravy and vegetables through a strainer and into a saucepan. Over high heat, bring the stock to a simmer and skim off any fat or particles. Let reduce on a simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and keep warm.
- For serving, move the stuffed ponce to a cutting board and slice into ½-inch-thick slices. Place on a platter family-style and serve with white rice and plenty of gravy on the side.
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Having grown up in Mamou, I’ve eaten “pounce bouree” many times. Add the town of Redell as another great source for pounce. Great article. Merci
My family served pounce also. But our family stuffs the pounce with a rice dressing mixture.
Is not as rich as pure meat. It is then simmered for about an hour in a covered Dutch oven, then roasted in oven. Slice and serve with baked sweet potatoes,
Sally-
Sounds delicious and thanks for the idea. By the way, you check out my dirty rice dressing recipe on Acadiana Table for even more intense flavor for your stuffing. Good eating, George
I would love to have that recipe.
Am from the Reddell/ Mamou area and have eaten ponce bouree often. We just added a little oil to cast iron pot and browned it good on both sides. Added water and covered, repeat til ponce was done. We never added roux.
Hey Carolyn-
In my research, you are absolutely correct; a traditional ponce bouree does not have a roux. There are various reasons: Some like the thinner gravy like a pot roast, or another reason is that back in the day, store-bought, jarred roux products were not readily available, so roux was not convenient to add to the pot. Personally, I like a thicker gravy, and a couple of tablespoons of dark roux gives me the perfect consistency (and flavor). Either way, ponce is perfection in a pot. Best to you and your family in Reddell. George
Lord i am coming to Mamou if they have Ponce. i love it and it’s been awhile since i had some. cant find it around here
First time I ate this dish I was visiting in Lafayette at friends who are true Cajuns folk. At first I wasn’t going to eat it because of the stomach As I fixed my plate I accidently chose the ponce over the roast.( Didn’t have my glasses on) My friend said to me “Thought you didn’t like Ponce. My reply was I don’t, She said” Why do you have it on your plate.
Well the moral of my story is Never say Never or I don’t like that……… I eat ponce now. Great dish…..
Nancy – Great story and fine example of how we should change our perceptions about foods that are foreign to us. While folks have no problem with sausage stuffed in a pig’s intestine (casing), the mere mention of stuffing a pig’s stomach assaults their culinary sensibility. But like you…once you’ve tried it, you’re a convert to down-home Cajun cooking. Best, George
actually, “la panse” is the FIRST of their 2 “stomachs” ( cleaner ? 🙂 )
There a whole lot of people in Lafayette know about this and also eat it, been eating for as far back as I can remember and I am 65 !!!!!!!! Don’t know where you got you facts
Terri – You are probably correct (note: I need to expand my circle of friends). To expand on your point, many who live in Lafayette grew up in the rural areas of Acadiana and proudly cook those dishes in their homes. It is that pride and preservation that help continue the culture of our foodways. Best, George
I grew up eating ponce too. My mom would get them once a year and we’d eat on it for days. I moved to Oregon in 2006. They don’t have those kinds of things here, although we have some decent cajun restaurants, but they mostly do just the well-known classic dishes like gumbo and jambalaya. I do miss this.
Hey Jeri- Follow the recipe to find a taste of home. Seek out a good butcher and he’ll rig you up with everything you need. Best, George
if u tell someone that u eat “panse”, they know where u r from.
If u tell someone that u eat “chaudin”, they know where u r from 🙂
Great recipe
I have been eating Pounce since I was a small child here in Ville Platte, we use to have boucherie’s at our neighbors houses, each neighbor had a turn to have a boucherie at his house. It was either a cow or pig that had been butchered, if it was a pig cracklins would be cooking while the remainder of the meat was being cut up & packed. If it was a cow that was butchered, a bouee which consisted of the kidneys, heart, lungs, spleen & pieces of meat were made into a soup & were cooking while the rest of the meat was taken care of between the neighbors. All of the children ran from table to table to see what was taking place with the animal that had been butchered, it was quite an experience for us.
Boucherie’s are no longer held frequently as they were when I was a child because the Inspection laws have gotten very strict about the way meat is cleaned & packed & the by-products such as the kidneys, heart, lungs & spleeen have to be inspected very throughly by a meat inspector & this is to be done in grocery stores only.
Shirley- Thanks for sharing your memories of the “good ol’ days” of growing up in Acadiana. There is a renaissance taking place in South Louisiana that is returning proudly to the roots of our culinary culture, and I am seeing more and more boucheries being held. Ponce is one of those dishes that is important to preserve for the next generation. Best, George
Excellent article! My sister, Shirley J , commented before I did :).
We were raised in ‘tit Mamou, outside of Ville Platte, and PANSE BOURREE ( panse with an A, not O) is a traditional ,common meal. Now that we have stopped raising our own animals, Teet’s is our “go-to” source for all our smoked meats. In Lafayette, where I live now ( as you said in your article) people call it “chaudin”, but I wouldn’t know where to go to purchase it here. My husband is from the Jura ( French side of the Alps), and they smoke their meats – hams, sausages, panses, etc. for much longer than do the commercial places here. In the old farm houses there is a special ROOM ( TUYE) built around the huge central chimney with racks going up to the very high roof, and the meat is smoked, slowly for most of the winter. Wish they smoked it longer here.
Judith-
Merci beaucoup for sharing your proud French memories of growing up in Evangeline Parish. Teet’s has some of the best smoked meats around and if you check out my Faces and Places page on Acadiana Table you’ll find many more located closer to Lafayette. And if your husband longs for some intensely smoked meats like he recalls in the Jura region of France, then take a drive to Krotz Springs, LA to Kartchner’s smokehouse (address on Faces and Places). You’ll find a wide variety of deeply smoked specialties. Best, George
merci, ma soeur !!!!!!! ♥
Hello George. I love ponce also. I’d really like to try the one with sweet potato stuffed in it. Gonna do that soon.
Todd – It’s actually very easy to make, but if you prefer, take a drive over to Church Point to Keeper’s Specialty Meats (address on Faces and Places) and pick up a sweet potato-stuffed ponce from Keith Venable. Tell him Acadiana Table sent you. Good eating, George.
My gramdma, Alma Fontenot Seale’s, recipe for stuffed ponce (green) was included in the Time-Life series on Acadian and Creole Cooking by Marcelle Bienvenu in the early ’70’s and was also included in John Folse’s cookbook Something Old, Something New. It also has sweet potatoes in it. There is a picture of it in the Nov-Dec issue of Louisiana Kitchen & Culture
Hey Charles-
Thanks for sharing your memories of the cooking legacy your grandmother started so many years ago. It is the traditional recipes like ponce that define our culture and passing them on to new generations is the key to preserving them. Keith and Cathy Venable at Keeper’s smokehouse in Church Point, LA are artisans of sweet potato-stuffed ponce and I hope you will stop and try their version soon. Best, George
My ex-husband is from Iota & my mother in law cooked ponce a lot. It is really good. Cut it up into small pieces & break out the hot vinegar! C’est si Bon!
Hey Ann – When you visit Iota, be sure to stop in to see my friend Tanna Pousson at Coleman’s Sausage (address on Faces and Places). They have a wide selection of smoked and stuffed meats. Best, George
Yes it is very good. But you forgot a place in Eunice la. Named Lejune’s kitchen. It’s a little smoke meats place. They have the best stuffed smoke pounce around.
Mona- I love Lejeune’s Sausage (address on Faces and Places) and stop in to see Nita and Kermit for their garlic smoked sausage whenever I’m in Eunice. Next time, I’ll pick up some ponce. Thanks for the tip. Best, George
would love to try it. Cajun food is so inspired.
Ville Platte Ponce is the ULTIMATE!!!
Karen – YES! Teet’s Grocery and Smokehouse (address on Faces and Places) in Ville Platte has excellent ponce and it is always a must-stop on my travels in Evangeline Parish. Best, George
Very interested in all types of foods, especially our cajun ones.
What about Lejeunes Sausage Kitchen? They make the best pounce around!
I am of Cajun descent and love hearing stories of Cajun history and culture. I have never had the experience of tasting Ponce, but I do love the spices associated with Cajun cooking, and love trying new foods. But living in South Florida, I do not know when I may have that opportunity. Thank you for the information.
In Avoyelles Parish we call it “gog” and eat it quite frequently. It’s a favorite over here and several of the little meat markets and grocery stores keep them in stock. It’s a favorite for a “Sunday lunch”.
Yes Ila – T-Jim’s in Cottonport (see the Faces and Places page for address) has great sausage and other stuffed meats. George
Where can I find faces and places?
Ellen-
The Faces and Places page on Acadiana Table is where I list all the great folks who make our food culture so amazingly delicious. Just click on the menu header and scroll down. And check back often because it is ever-changing. Best, George
Great article. I have lived in Lafayette since 1967. I heard about chaudin but never had a chance to try it. About 20 years ago I tried my first ponce in Ville Platte at the “Pig Stand”. I have been a believer ever since. I still live in Lafayette but work in Mamou. If ponce is on the plate lunch menu somewhere in town it is what I eat for lunch. That little grocery in Riddell (sorry, forget the name) puts out good smoked sausage and ponce. T-Boy’s in Mamou is good as well. My favorite ponce comes from Saucier’s Sausage Kitchen in Lanse Meg, a small community just south of Mamou. Mr. Donald and Ms. Betty Saucier create great smoked sausage, tasso and ponce. No so easy to find unless you’re a local … turn off highway 13 and wander down some gravel roads in the middle of rice fields. Homemade hand-painted signs with arrows nailed to telephone poles guiding you in. Be careful not to hit all the chickens on Saucier Rd. when turning in to their shop. This, my friend, is the real deal.
Tom-
Thanks for the tip and it sounds like Saucier’s is a place worth finding. George
Luv the Cajun culture/their people/their food/their music…hope 2b in LA some time this winter. It’s been a few years.
My friend Tiffany introduced me to chaudin (ponce) years ago, Not wanting to be rude, I tried a little. Holy Smoke! It was amazing! I was raised in Louisiana but had apparently missed out on this scrumptious fare. I refuse to learn to cook it because Tiffany makes it so well
Thanks for doing this…
Smoked or green, you cannot beat the great tasting treat of a ponce. Mere Mere Shorty made her’s back in the 50’s using a hand grinder (course blade) grinding all of her vegetables and a pork roast together, then stuffing the stomach, which is what we did when it was finished cooking. By the way there is one in the oven now, bought Mel’s on Hwy 13 north of Eunice. Your sight is great!
Hey Harry-
Thanks for sharing your memories of ponce. It is a classic recipe that is seeing a return to tables throughout South Louisiana. Haven’t been to Mel’s but will include it on my next road trip. All the best, George
Mama used to cook it regularly and it was delicious. (Like all of her cooking). We called it chaudin also. Never had it smoked though until my brother-in-law cooked some smoked for Easter.
To me a ponce is the stomach and after it’s stuffed and cooked then it becomes chaudin.
Just saying.
Tony-
You are correct: Ponce (or chaudin) is a spectacular dish and a culinary treasure. As for the name, if I ask a dozen Cajuns to tell me the difference, I will get a dozen different answers. For me, the names are interchangeable, and equally delicious. All the best.
George
I’m from Mamou, but live in the Atlanta area. I generally get one or two when I can get down there from T-Boy’s just outside of Mamou. Have one in my freezer now and I’m itching to cook it! Lots of good ponce in the Mamou, Ville Platte, Eunice areas.
Hey James-
Great to hear that you are spreading the gospel of T-Boy all the way to Georgia. And definitely fire up a black iron pot of ponce and make Hotlanta a whole lot hotter.
See you at Fred’s on your next trip home. Best to you. George
My Mom is from Illinois and she moved here to LA in 1980. She tasted a ponce and learned to cook it. We have been eating it ever since it is delicious!! We get ours from Guillory’s in Pine Prairie. The best!! A great selection of meat.
Barbara-
Kiss your momma for me, and thank her for embracing the French Acadian culinary traditions. Cooking ponce helped plant your cultural roots that you will pass on to the next generations. And thanks for the tip on Guillory’s … I will check them out on my next trip to Evangeline Parish. All the best. George
thx, just now seeing this Guillory’s in Pine Prairie! Mais, that’s my “cousins” from Ville Platte! Tell J.R. and Janice Hello !!
Ponce was known as the stomach of a calf on the farm between Kaplan and Mulvey. Cleaned in water, over and over, scrapped then boiled. Good eating with minced onions and a spray of vinegar over it.
Earline-
While most South Louisiana versions of ponce features stuffing a pig’s stomach, yours as well as others, differ. The culinary concept is the same as Scottish haggis (sheep’s stomach) or a variety of other ethnic versions. Thanks for sharing your food memories with all of us.
We lived in Virginia for 13 years without access to smoked meats/sausages, so my husband found recipes and learned to make our own. He would make sausage and tasso and smoke it himself. He even learned to make hog’s head cheese from pork shoulder and rice dressing mix. We’re back in Lafayette now, and find most of the best smoked meats are north of I-10!
Hey Kati – Good to have you back in Cajun country. There’s a reason why Ville Platte is called the Smoked Meat Capitol of the World; they have some of the best smoked sausage around. That said, there’s exceptional smoked meat products on all corners of Acadiana. Go to my Face and Places page to see all the listings.
My mother-in-law who was 100%cajun, once tricked me into eating this. I did not complain because she to,d me it was a cajun meatloaf, but I was gagging all along. After I ate it, she told me what it was, and I threw up. I barely eat any meat, but taking advantage of my intention of never offending my husband’s mother was wrong on so many levels! She has been gone for a number of years now, but I never spoke about it except to my husband as long as she was alive. When I saw this picture I became ill at the memory it stirred in me. I would never knowingly eat any digestive organs (or any other organ) of any animal. To each his own.
RS – It is unfortunate that your mother-in-law “tricked” you. I believe that the culinary history and cultural heritage of the boucherie and cooking of the whole hog as represented in our smoked ponce are long-standing traditions that deserve informed discussion. When I visit food cultures foreign to me, I go with an open mind and ask questions that reveal much to me, and sometimes I partake of the local delicacies, sometimes not. While I respect your views, I do hope that you open your mind to foods that might seem a bit foreign to your taste buds. After all, I would hate for you to miss out on the taste of the fresh briny goodness of a raw oyster, or the flavor of just-out-of-the-pot, seasoned boiled crawfish, or even a spicy link of hot boudin enshrined in a pig’s intestine. These are the foods that define us–that make us unique–, and these are the foods the rest of world clamors for a taste of. All the best to you.
Love your site! Thanks for discussing this favorite of the boucherie foods. I was raised in Evangeline Parish ( Ville Platte – Mamou area), and PANSE was always a special treat. In fact, a regular on “the Pig Stand” ‘s menu, and always delicious. Please help your followers with the spelling of this ALWAYS MISSPELLED word – It is not POUNCE, not PONCE, but PANSE = panse(nom féminin)
Premier estomac des ruminants.
Merci beaucoup!
Hey Judith – Thanks for straightening out the derivation of the culinary term. It can be very confusing with not only the spelling, but of the use of the word “chaudin” meaning the same thing. I’ve even heard other names for the dish in the Avoyelles Parish area that adds to the confusion. All that said, this is a dish of significant culinary value to our culture and I am so excited to see the discussion taking place. Thanks so much and keep the comments coming.
I was born and raised in south Louisiana and had never eaten pounce until I was 50 yrs. old. I had lunch one day with some friends from Ville Platte they were serving ponce, I tried it and loved it. Few months later my brother in law from North Carolina was down, my friend from Ville Platte, Ricky came and cooked pounce for us. Brother in law said he had never eaten so good.
Great article! I loved chaudin growing up in Lafayette.
I grew up helping with boucheries with my family while living in the small community of Yellow Bayou in Avoyelles Parish. Ponce was a delious treat, smoked or plain. I pick one up occasionally from Best Stop but find it a little too spicie. It brings back good memories of production and preservation as my family worked toward a common goal of food for the winter and a nice pork ham for Christmas.
Nona – Thanks for sharing your memories of growing up in Avoyelles Parish. Food memories are the best memories, and they are the key to preserving our rich heritage. All the best.