What Was Anthony Bourdain’s Favorite Meal In Louisiana?

When foodies think of Louisiana, dishes like gumbo, bouillabaisse, or jambalaya might come to mind. But, this great culinary city is filled with more knockout fare than an encyclopedic 1950s Betty Crocker cookbook — and it’s another Cajun recipe that captured Anthony Bourdain’s heart. In a now-iconic “Ask Me Anything” Reddit thread, Bourdain answered fan questions ranging from his love of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon to his ideal last meal (“a beer and a meat pie with Keith Richards”). One fan asks, “[A]s a Louisianan, since you’ve been down here a few times … what was your favorite meal in the state?” Bourdain’s response? “Rentier de cochon” (to which another poster humorously comments, “A meal with some backbone!”).

If you’ve never tried it before, rentier de cochon is a traditional Cajun soup, and something of a deep-cut unless you were born and raised in the state. More popular is the similarly-named cochon de lait po’ boy sandwich, which tucks tender roasted pork and coleslaw into crusty French bread. Still, it was this lesser-known dish that the born-and-bred New Yorker named as his favorite. Rentier de cochon is French for “pig backbone stew.” As it slow-cooks, chunks of pork from the backbone tenderize and fall off, and the melting bone marrow lends richness and a luscious texture. The result is a dimensional yet simple bowlful — and not a far cry from the pungent, French fish soup that Bourdain said transported back to his childhood.

This Cajun pork stew is a thrifty use for offal, the long backbone that gets leftover when a full hog is butchered. To make it, that backbone (which can be found from your local butcher shop, or some specialty Asian grocery stores) gets cut into chunks, seared, and slow-simmered in a pot with mirepoix and pork or beef stock. Some preparations also add andouille sausage into the mix. To serve, the stew is traditionally ladled over rice with baked sweet potatoes and smothered turnips.

Bourdain visited Louisiana in Season 2 of his first show “A Cook’s Tour” in 2003, then again in 2018 during Season 11 of “Parts Unknown” to celebrate Cajun Mardi Gras. In these two television episodes, the chef-slash-writer chowed down on alligator nuggets, a classic crawfish boil, fried sausage balls, porky cracklins, etouffee, and more Louisiana epicurean staples. He did not, however, eat rentier de cochon on screen. Still, while he kept his favorite Cajun stew off-camera, the episodes more than capture Bourdain’s deep reverence for the region’s food scene — which is arguably more important than which specific dishes got filmed. Bourdain’s field notes from the Southern Louisiana “Parts Unknown” episode wax poetic (as always): “There are parts of America that are special, unique, unlike anywhere else. Cultures all their own, kept close, much loved, but largely misunderstood. The vast patchwork of saltwater marshes, bayous, and prairie land that make up Cajun country is one of those places.”