Recipe by Marcelle Bienvenu
These little pastries are south Louisiana favorites. The ingredients are very simple. They were often prepared as after-school treats for children, especially during the fall when the weather was cold. The name translates literally “pig’s ears” because that’s what they look like after they are fried. The cane syrup is what makes them so delicious.
Les Orielles de Cochon
Makes about 1 dozen
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 3 cups vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 cup Steen’s Cane Syrup
Instructions
- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl and blend. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the milk. Stir in one direction until all the dry ingredients are incorporated and the dough comes together into a ball.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour your hands and pick up the dough and pat it into a flattened ball.
- Divide the dough into equal portions and form into balls about the size of Ping-Pong balls. With your fingers, flatten the balls out into circles about 3 inches in diameter and ⅛ inch thick. (Alternatively, you can roll them out with a rolling pin.)
- Heat the oil in a large, deep pot or an electric fryer to 360°.
- Add one of the pastry pieces to the hot oil, and using the tines of a long-handled fork, fold the dough over as it fries to resemble a pig’s ear. Hold the fork in the dough until the form takes hold. Fry until lightly golden and then let drain on paper towels. Repeat the process with the remaining pastry.
- In a heavy saucepan, cook the syrup over medium-low heat, stirring, until it reaches the softball stage, 234° to 240° on a candy thermometer. Drizzle the syrup over the ears. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Recipe excerpted from Eula Mae’s Cajun Kitchen, which I coauthored.
