By Jeanni Ritchie
I had seen enough photos to know what to expect when I stopped by Juneau’s last month. I hadn’t expected to be transported back in time.
Housed in the old Town and Country Meats building, I was hit with a flood of memories as I walked through the doors. Picking up wrapped deer steaks they had processed for us. Selecting a meat package that would last my family of six at least a month. Having Brady Bunch flashbacks of Sam the Butcher as they wrapped my selections up.
Juneau’s honors the old Town and Country meat packages still posted on the wall, including customer favorites The Kracker Barrel, The Wrangler, and The Bunkhouse.
The Kracker Barrel includes 25 pounds of meat: chuck steak, pork steak, cube steak, pork roast, boneless stew meat, chicken, and chuck roast. That’ll take care of quite a few “What’s for dinner?” nights!
But Juneau’s has so much more. Their Alexandria store is their fourth location, and they know what their customers like. A hot box is filled with ready-to-eat cracklins, meat pies, boudin balls, and more.
Refrigerators and freezers are stocked with ready-to-cook meals like stuffed bell peppers, bacon-wrapped asparagus, stuffed quail, and jalapeño and cheese-stuffed tenderloins.
And the fresh meat case? They had steaks big enough to feed a couple, just waiting to be thrown on the grill.
On my first visit, I took some photos and videos and did some light recon. I went back two days later with a menu plan!
I ordered a fresh pork tenderloin stuffed with boudin and grabbed two crawfish and cheese stuffed potatoes from the freezer. I also got a half-pound of chicken and pork cracklins for my dad.
I was getting hungry while the tenderloin and potatoes were cooking, so I decided to taste a chicken cracklin. At this point in my life I’d never had one, nor had any desire to try one. But it tasted really good—like a deep-fried and Southern-seasoned chicken nugget.
That sent me down a Google rabbit hole of exactly what a chicken cracklin was. (My dad had already told me a pork cracklin was fried pig skin as he kept popping them in his mouth. I’m sorry to say that my Sam-I-Am era does not extend to pork skin. But judging by the empty dish, I can safely say they were a hit.)
But back to the chicken cracklins. There was a little bit of debate online over whether chicken cracklins could be called cracklins, but they technically are because they are prepared in much the same way. I did think they were good, but limited myself to one because it was almost time for dinner. Good thing because there were very few left to photograph by the time dinner was ready!
The pork tenderloin was perfect—though next time I’d love to try a seafood cream cheese stuffing. The potatoes had the perfect amount of kick and complemented the pork well. Be sure to ask for directions on how to cook everything—the service is top-notch and they will help you with whatever you need.
I may not be daring enough for the pork cracklins, but I already love buffalo fish ribs, which Juneau’s also carries. And I’ve spotted my next dinner: a stuffed deboned chicken with a seafood-stuffed potato.
If you want to grab something hot for lunch or pick up an already prepped dinner after a long day, Juneau’s has you.
Welcome to CenLa, Juneau’s!
Juneau’s Cajun Meats
5801 Masonic Drive
Alexandria, LA 71301
318-445-2791
Monday-Saturday: 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
Closed Sunday
