Joe Boy Tunnell

If Joe Boy Tunnell ever runs out of Slap Ya Mama seasoning, Cavender’s Greek seasoning,  chicken broth  or smoked paprika, there might not be any cooking at his house. Needless to say, he likes his food spicy.

He got started at a young age making cakes and pies, and cooking vegetables and biscuits with his grandmother. His dad, Joe, and his three brothers can all cook. Joe Boy says none of them cook alike, but they do have their own recipes that they share with each other.

Joe Boy and Jace Tunnell

When they go to each other’s house for a meal, the host usually does all the cooking.
Most times when he eats something he likes, he can come up with his own version of a recipe for it.
And when he thinks of something he wants to make, he says usually he just starts writing it down as he thinks of what might be good in it, but it might be awhile before he actually tries it. He cooks “when he takes a notion,” he said.

If he does look at a recipe for something,  he never goes right by it when he starts cooking. The shrimp dip recipe is from the Slap Ya Mama’s Cajun seasoning can, that he says he changes up when he makes it.
His latest “recipe” is grilled chicken gizzard kabobs, in which he browns bacon-wrapped chicken gizzards before grilling. He says he doesn’t do a lot of grilling, and he doesn’t do much of the cooking at the store.

Joe Boy cooks “a pretty good many shrimp,” and the cream shrimp is his own recipe. A friend took the cream shrimp back home to California, and his crawfish hushpuppies went to New York with other friends. His wife, Marta, says he does a good bit of spicy cooking for friends from Louisiana.

She says her favorite thing that he cooks is the shrimp dressing. He can take things, “and just put something together, and it’s always good.”
But he does get the food too spicy for her sometimes.

 Cream Shrimp
In a gallon pot, pour about half full of chicken broth and place on medium heat. Add to pot six peeled red potatoes cut into small pieces, two lbs. of peeled shrimp, mushrooms, a fresh garlic clove and a bag of pasta. When done, add a can of Pet milk, a block of white Velveeta cheese. Turn down on low heat.
Season to taste with powder shrimp and crab boil, smoked paprika, red pepper and Cavender’s Green seasoning. (Sometimes he adds a bag of shredded carrots.)

Shrimp Dressing
Pre-bake cornbread using 4 cups self-rising white corn meal, 1/2 cup squeeze Parkay butter, 1 cup Blue Plate mayonnaise, 6 eggs, 1/2 cup milk and 3/4 cup water. Add more meal or water as needed to make a soupy consistency. Bake on 350° until golden brown in a 12” skillet or two smaller ones.
In a skillet, saute in butter chopped onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, root end of a celery stalk, fresh garlic and two lbs. of shrimp. Mix this with crumbled cornbread in a bowl and season to taste with smoked paprika, Cavender’s Green seasoning and Slap Ya Mama seasoning. Stir in chicken broth until real soupy. Pour into a buttered pan and cook at 350° until light brown. (Sometimes he adds fish stock to this.)

Crawfish Gravy for Shrimp Dressing
In a skillet with butter, saute chopped onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, jar of pimentos and 2 lbs. of pre-peeled crawfish tails. When done, pour in broiler. Melt 1/2 stick butter in the skillet and add 1/2 cup self-rising flour and cook until brown. Mix all together and add some chopped boiled eggs, chicken broth and 1 can Pet milk.
Season to taste with black pepper, salt, Slap Ya Mama, and powder shrimp and crab boil.

Crawfish Pies
In skillet, melt half stick butter. Add some flour and stir until flour browns. Add 1/2 can chicken broth and cook ‘til it makes a cream. Set aside. In a skillet, saute two bell peppers, three jalapenos and 2 lbs. pre-peeled crawfish tails. Pour into a bowl and add 1 1/2 cans of chicken broth for liquid, can of English peas and carrots (drained), can of corn (drained), chopped onions, mushrooms and the cream mixture.
Season with powdered shrimp and crab boil, Slap Ya Mama, Cavender’s Greek seasoning and smoked paprika to taste. Mix all together and pour into a frozen deep dish pie crust.
Add grated cheese on top. Place an unthawed pie crust on top of pie and bake at 350° until pie crust is done. (Makes 5-6 pies.)

Shrimp Dip
8 oz. cream cheese
6 Tbsp. mayonnaise
4 Tbsp. catsup
1/4 cup chopped onions
14 cup chopped bell pepper
1 can tiny shrimp (drained)
Mix cream cheese and mayo, add catsup, onion and pepper, then stir in shrimp and Slap Ya Mama seasoning (to taste). Chill one hour before serving.

Squirrel Dumplings
Place 4 or 5 dressed squirrels in crockpot and over with water. Cook on low overnight. When done, pull meat off bone. In large pot start with 48 oz. of chicken broth (add more as needed.) Bring to a medium boil. Make dumplings with flour and cold water. Spoon into broth.
When dumplings are done, pour them into a clean crockpot, add meat, one can Pet milk and more broth as needed. Season to taste with black pepper, Slap Ya Mama, Cavendar’s Greek Seasoning and smoked paprika.
Cook in crockpot on low until the thickness you desire.