Meat Markets

I am doing something out of the ordinary for me. I will be doing a comparison of two local meat markets item to item

Sonnier’s
1224 North Simmons
Lake Charles LA
337-564-4137


Monday to Friday 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Saturday 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM


The boudin here I consider excellent. It has all the characteristics I prefer. Well cooked rice without being mushy and almost equal portions of shredded pork. They also put green onions in it. The mild has a nice gentle heat to it. Nothing mouth searing but pleasant warmth. My former go to boudin place was in Iowa. This one is a lot closer and just as good. The smoked boudin here is excellent also. It possesses a light smoky flavor that does not overpower the rice and meat. The slow smoke also dries the rice mixture just a bit. I like boudins that are bit drier. The casing became nice and snappy without being too tough

I have never encountered the style of head cheese they do here. It seems to be finely ground with parsley and green onion. They put just enough gelatin to hold it together without being rubbery. The consistency is that of a pate terrine. It possesses all the wonderful flavor of the meats and such that is on and in a hog’s head, just my speed. I will be getting it again. The green onion sausage is lightly smoked and well dried. It has chunks of meat and fat. It would make a great gumbo.

I have just touched the surface of this shop. It offers both processed meat and raw cuts of all kinds. With the friendly staff it is well worth the trip.




Roy’s
4313 Common Street
Lake Charles LA
337-564-5705


Monday to Friday 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Saturday 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM


The boudin here has many qualities that I consider good. Well cooked rice, shredded pork, and nice spice. However it is way too wet (read mushy) for my taste. If you like your boudin like this this is the place for you. The smoked boudin has been highly smoked to the point that the casing is hard to bite though. Even then the rice mixture is too wet for me. The head cheese, a more standard type, with its bigger chunks of meat and such proved a failure with me. It had a strong vinegar tang and an off putting smell. I did not care for it at all. I could not get just a link of green onion sausage here so I went with the all pork. The meat was finely ground like a hot link sausage. It had good smoked flavor and I would not hesitate to BBQ it.

One thing they have here that I did not see at the other place is a plate lunch. That day it was Pork Steak, gravy, rice, macaroni salad and corn. While the meat was tender if they would have braised it more it would have been fall-off-bone tender. The sides were as good as you get these days. The rice and gravy proved outstanding. If you are in the neighborhood, it is worth a visit for an inexpensive and tasty lunch. They also have a vast array of processed and raw cuts of meats including goat,