If you can't get to New Orleans to see the Super Bowl, season your party at home with some authentic N'awlins flavor – creole brisket po-boy sandwiches.
Tujague's Restaurant in the French Quarter (2nd oldest restaurant in the city - Antoine's is 1st) was serving breakfast to dockworkers and riverboat pilots in the 1850's. And the doors stayed open despite the city's capture and occupation by Union forces during the war of northern aggression. A century and a half later, Tujague's (prounounced 'two-jacks') continues to draw locals and visitors alike, sustaining a reputation that “from the beginning was built on two dishes – a piquant remoulade sauce flavoring spicy cold shrimp, and succulent chunks of beef brisket boiled with aromatic vegetables and served with a horseradish sauce.”
While the boiled brisket is one of Tujague's signature dishes, the menu at the restaurant's adjoining bar is famous for a different approach to the beef. They take slices of the same brisket, stack them in a french roll and dress it with spicy creole horseradish sauce...creating a world-revered roast beef/brisket po-boy. Though technically not a po-boy (really a boiled brisket sandwich), this succulent Decatur Street delight merits re-creation for Super Bowl Sunday. If you're lucky you may stir up some sultry, rapturous visions of the beloved Vieux Carre with every mouthful.
Tujague’s Boiled Beef Brisket
6-7 pounds choice brisket
2 onions, quartered
1½ ribs of celery, quartered
1 head of garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
1 Tablespoon salt
15 black peppercorns
2 green onions, quartered
1 carrot, quartered
1 bell pepper, quartered
French rolls or buns of choice, halved
Creole Horseradish Sauce (basically a red Remoulade)
1 Cup ketchup
½ Cup horseradish
¼ Cup creole mustard
1 Tbl. hot pepper sauce
Place the brisket in a large soup pot, cover with cold water, add all the ingredients and simmer (not a hard boil) for 3-4 hours until beef is tender. Remove beef and slice. Serve on French rolls, with bowls of creole horseradish sauce on the side.
Tujague’s Restaurant
823 Decatur Street
New Orleans, La 70116
(504) 525-8676
