Tasty Tuesday from the Bayou

Happy Mardi Gras!!! 

Laissez les bons temps rouler!!!

    It’s Fat Tuesday, which is French for Mardi Gras.  Fat Tuesday celebrates the final feasting before the fasting of Lent, which begins tomorrow, Ash Wednesday.  I always hate to see the merriment of Mardi Gras season come to a close.  It is a special time here in Louisiana.

    It is also Tasty Tuesday hosted by Kol’s Notes and Sugar, the Golden Retriever.  Be sure to hop over to theirs and the other blogs at the end of this post.  There are always doggylicious recipes and reviews.

   We are very excited today, because we are reviewing a delicious dog treat from Delca Innovative Pet Products & Treats.  The treats that Bentley and Pierre will discuss today are Louisiana Alligator Dog Biscuits and Jerky.  That’s right!  They are from our Bayou State and we are delighted to share our thoughts with y’all!

   When you think of Louisiana, there are probably things that immediately come to your mind.  Of course, Mardi Gras tops most people’s list.  I imagine the next few images might be the French Quarter, bayous, and swamps, Cypress trees with Spanish moss, spicy Cajun food, and alligators.  All of those images are accurate.  There are definitely many things to discover and see in our state.

   Did you notice dog treats on that list?  No?  Well, get ready!  It is only a matter of time before you imagine the fun packaging of Louisiana Alligator Dog Biscuits and Jerky treats as a symbol of Louisiana.  When we saw these treats online, I just knew that we had to try them.  Being a Louisianan, alligator is something that I first ate many years ago.  It is on the menu at most seafood restaurants.  It is prepared in a variety of ways and I love them all.  Alligator meat is delicious!  (More on this later)  Bentley and Pierre started sniffing the box of goodies as soon as it came into the house.  I explained to them that we had received a variety of Louisiana AlligatorBiscuits and Jerky treats to sample and review.  They were both extremely willing to start the taste test immediately.  Since I am a fair mom and gramma, I put the bags on the floor and let them choose their first sample.  I’ll let the boys take it from here…

Bentley: “Hey Mom, I wanna try this Louisiana Alligator Jerky first.  It will give me an idea of what just the gator tastes like.  No wait!  This box is Louisiana Alligator Biscuits.  They are all shaped like dog paws.  Isn’t that a cool idea?  That alone lets me know this company has a brilliant design staff.  I had better try the Jerky AND the Biscuit.  You know, a little comparison test.  Oh my, my, my.  These are ridiculously tasty.”

Pierre: “Dang Bentley, how about spreading some of the “Alligator Treat Love” this direction?  You’re going to eat the entire bag!  Gramma…Bentley’s not sharing our treats.  Let’s try the Alligator withSweet Potatoes.  I love sweet potatoes.  Mmmm…they’re even better than Gramma’s baked sweet potatoes.  Maybe I should take these to my kennel for safekeeping.

Bentley: “Not so fast Pierre.  Mom can give you one for your bedtime treat but

no way are they leaving the kitchen in your little paws.  Besides, we have so many different flavors to try.  Look at this label…alligator is listed as the first ingredient.  That means they have more real gator in them than the other ingredients.  I have noticed some the treats that Mom has tried to give us have flour, corn, or soy listed first.  Louisiana Alligator Biscuits and Jerky Treats have no artificial anything!”

Pierre: “It’s the same with the crab and shrimp treats!  All of the alligator meats used in Louisiana Alligator Dog Biscuits and Jerky are from sustainable Louisiana family farms. They get their crab, shrimp, and crawfish fresh from the bayous and fisheries.  Wow, talk about fabulous Cajun cuisine!  That means the more of these that we eat, the more we are helping our Bayou State.  It’s our civic duty to eat a whole bunch.  Scoot that bag of Louisiana Shrimp Jerky over here.”

Bentley: “Seriously Mom, you’ve lived here most of your entire life and you never thought about baking crawfish treats for us?  I wonder how they came up with the idea.”

Me: “No, it never occurred to me.  I was surprised when I saw them for the first time.  

I read the story on their website, so I can tell you how they came up with the idea.  One of the Delca Corp. staff members was visiting our state and saw a roadside stand selling alligator jerky.  He thought that an alternative protein source might be a perfect idea for a new line of dog treats.  He did some investigating and found that gator meat has 28% fewer calories than beef and a fat content of about 3%.  They introduced the treats last fall.  Plus, alligator, shrimp, crawfish, and crab are some of my favorite types of seafood.  You know, when I was a little girl people sold live baby alligators in big washtubs on the side of the road.  I remember…”

Bentley: “Mom, you know I love you as only a Basset Hound can, but puh-leeze not another one of your childhood stories.  Oohh, look at this bag!  There are blueberries in this box of Alligator Biscuits.  That is gonna be for dessert.  Score!  They come in Jerky style, too!  I think I have to pick a favorite treat.  You can bring one of each to me when you tuck me in bed tonight.  Yo’ Pierre, try this LouisianaCrawfish Biscuit.  They are much easier to eat than the ones Mom and Dad boil.  They have to twist, pull, and peel every little crawfish tail.  Heck, I can eat a pawful of the Jerky treats before they can debate the value of sucking the crawfish head.”  

He slaps Pierre on the back in laughter.

Pierre: “Well, I for one am proud to see they are completely American made.  Delca has been in business for two decades.  I was browsing their website and guess what?  They sell some really cool toys.  I am going to start hinting to Papaw about these Activity Balls for my birthday.  They also have some cute fluffy toys.  Gramma can buy us Rainbow Bears, MagicTuggernauts, or an Instincts animal.  Instinct animals are lifelike, they mimic the sound of the animal, and they have those Flatties.  You know the kind that already has the stuffing pulled out of them.  I should check and see if they are hiring in the un-stuffing department.  I don’t mean to brag, but I do hold the house record for destroying a new stuffed duck.  Gramma, can I get a job?”

Bentley: “You have a job.  It’s your responsibility to chase squirrels and lizards.  Maybe you can get a job hunting alligators.  They look like big ol’ lizards.  I’d pay to see you try to catch an alligator by the tail.  In the meantime, we need to get to a sample dessert.  I’m opening the LouisianaAlligator Dog Biscuits with Blueberries.  Pierre, you open the Jerky treats.  It is in a resealable bag, so the treats stay soft and chewy.  Yuck, I can’t stand being given a stale treat.  Okay, they are all my favorites but, these may be my new favoritest favorite flavor!”

Pierre: “I can’t decide which one I love the best.  There just isn’t a flavor that I don’t love.  Do I have to pick a favorite?  I mean, the Louisiana CrabJerky and Biscuits are divine.  I do like the small Jerky treats when Gramma makes us do our tricks.  They are easy for her to hold and they are a great training treat.  I may even learn to stand on my head for these.  Are you ready to give our paws rating?  This is an easy decision for me.” 

Me: “If you boys have made your decision, let’s tell our readers how many paws we give the Louisiana AlligatorBiscuits and Louisiana Alligator Jerky treats.  I’ll list them flavors that y’all tried and we can add your paws.  Remember, one paw means you didn’t like them and you can go up to five paws.  Five paws means that you loved them and recommend them to all of our readers.  Take your time and discuss each flavor before you…”

Bentley & Pierre: “We are ready!  Besides the fact they taste amazing, their new symbol of an exclamation mark stating, "Think Dog" and "Show your dog you care" tagline both rate way up on our dog lover meter! We had already discussed and come to a blanket score.  Go ahead and make the list.”

Me: “Bentley & Pierre were given samples of the following treats:”

Louisiana Alligator Dog Biscuits with Blueberries          

Louisiana Alligator Dog Biscuits with Sweet Potatoes   

Louisiana Alligator Dog Biscuits with Crawfish   

Louisiana Crab Dog Biscuits

Louisiana Alligator Jerky

Louisiana Alligator Jerky and Blueberries

Louisiana Alligator Jerky with Sweet Potatoes

Louisiana Shrimp Jerky with Alligator

We give all of the great Delca Alligator Treats a strong 5 paws!  

**Here are few other things that you should know about these five paw treats.  They are available at pet stores and on Amazon.  The prices range from $4.99 to $7.00 depending on the treat you choose.  There is a slight smell to the jerky treats but it is similar to any soft dog treat.  The biscuits make great treats and I have had success in training with the small Jerky treats.  We also received some really cute boxes containing dog waste disposable bags!

All of the Louisiana Alligator Dog Biscuits and Louisiana Alligator Jerky treats were provided to me for an honest review.  I have not received any monetary compensation for this review.  There were no guarantees made for a positive review of any of these treats.  The opinions stated in this post belong to Bentley, Pierre, and me.

Now for my human friends...

I mentioned earlier that I love the taste of alligator.  We have a few seafood stores that carry alligator, but they are certainly more abundant further down south.  I contacted one of the best Cajun stores in Louisiana to ask for permission to provide their information to my human friends!  Cajun Grocer will ship alligator straight to your doorstep.  If you would like to try some of this Louisiana delicacy along with your pups, give the friendly folks at Cajun Grocer a call.  Your entire family can now enjoy the taste of Bayou Country.  

Thanks for joining me today.  Be sure to hop over to these other blogs for more Tasty Tuesday!