ROUSES_SeptOct2019_Magazine

the game plan by Donny Rouse, CEO, 3 rd Generation

There’s no doubt about where the nation’s best college football is played — right here on the Gulf Coast. T he SEC is arguably the nation’s best college football conference, and I watch as many games as I can. In my family — same as yours, I bet — game days outrank all over events. You don’t dare plan a party, or even get married on a Saturday during football season, unless it’s a bye week. There’s always a lot of good-natured smack talk leading up to game day. Blockbuster games like LSU-Alabama (or Alabama-LSU) are built on smack talk, and the back and forth between our store directors and district managers in Louisiana and Alabama is always fun. I’m a fan of in-state competitions, too. They just mean a little more. The Alabama-Auburn matchup is one of the biggest rivalries in all of college football. But it’s not just the SEC that holds our attention and our hearts. If you follow college football you know Tim Rebowe, head coach at Nicholls State University in my hometown of Thibodaux. Rebowe led the Colonels to the FCS playoffs two years in a row. You don't really have a football game without a tailgate, and Thibodaux is quickly becoming one of the best tailgating cities in the South. Fans — including my own family — are out there every home game. My daughters always wear their cheerleading uniforms. We also tailgate before Saints games. I think the Mercedes- Benz Superdome is one of the best stadiums in the NFL because of its location. It’s walkable from the bars, restaurants, hotels and, of course, our Rouses Market on Girod and Baronne streets, which is right on the 50-yard line for all of the excitement. This is going to be a heck of a season. A lot of fans are still bitter about last season’s no-call. I’m looking forward to Miami. I enjoyed that Super Bowl in 2010, and I’m ready to watch us win there again!

photo: Channing Candies

Gameday Gratons (Cracklins) You need about 10 pounds of boneless pork belly, with the fat, meat and skin on, cut into 11/2-inch cubes, to make these gratons . I like to start them off in a little bit of water. Pour a little bit into a large, deep, black-iron pot. Add the pork. Stir constantly for two hours. Remove meat with a slotted spoon (reserve the grease) and drain on paper towels. Cool in the fridge for a couple of hours. When you’re ready to pop them, heat the pot over medium heat. When the grease gets to about 350 °F , add the pork belly. Stir every few minutes with a long-handled spoon. When the pork skins start to pop, remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on Rouses brown paper bags. (Make sure you shake them around a little so they don’t stick.) Let these cracklins cool for about 15 minutes, then transfer them to a paper bag. Add some Creole seasoning and shake until well seasoned.

HOMEGATING I want the food almost ready at kickoff. When it’s cold outside, I’ll sometimes make gratons . I use my uncle Tim Acosta’s recipe for 3-2-1 ribs when I cook on the Big Green Egg. Get the recipe at www.rouses.com. TAILGATING A lot of people set up in one spot, but I like to walk around, especially when we have good weather.

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