Louisiana Couple Cooks Fresh Nutria Over Rice for YouTuber

For those of us in South Louisiana, we sometimes wince a little whenever we see videos pop up online from out-of-town YouTubers documenting their travels to Acadiana.

Not because we don't want them down here, but mainly because we're never sure what sort of light the video will show us in.

Admittedly, for people not from here, there's a whole lot about our lifestyle and culture that some people seem to misunderstand.

Recently YouTuber Peter Santenello from Vermont came down to the bayous of Pierre Part, Louisiana to see just what it is we do down here, and he found out in a really fantastic way, complete with fresh nutria over rice.

Inside Off-Grid Houseboat Life - Camp in Louisiana Swamp

Peter Santenello is a travel and culture vlogger known for his YouTube channel where he explores various communities, countries, and cultures around the world.

His videos are known for providing a respectful and insightful look into the lives of the people he visits, often focusing on misunderstood or less widely known communities and places.

Santenello travels to places like Iran, Asia, Ukraine, Europe, and more including around the U.S.

Currently, his YouTube channel has a whopping 2.97 million followers, and in a recent video, he's brought those 2.97 million followers all of the way down to Pierre Part, Louisiana.

In this video, Santenello meets up Keith, Tara, and Tara's father Carlis at the family's houseboat in Pierre Part where the three open up about Cajun culture in South Louisiana and serve as fantastic ambassadors of South Louisiana to the world.

On YouTube, Santenello describes the video as -

"1.5 hours west of New Orleans is a rare culture living in tune with the swamp.

Here, the locals spend their time removed from society, telling stories, hunting/cooking their food, and existing in a world that hasn't changed much in 100 years.

Join me as we meet these fantastic people who open up their world to us."

The conversations cover a wide range of topics such as alligators, snakes, Cajun culture, hurricanes, fishing, and much more.

Keith and Tara show Santenello just how important their houseboat "The Getaway" means to them and their way of life in Pierre Part.

Eventually, the conversation turns to food, and that's where Santenello gets to experience some serious Louisiana culture first-hand, in a big way.

About halfway through the video, the topic of nutria rats pops up.

Obviously Santenello had never heard of nutria rats, so Keith and Sarah set off through the bayou to show him one firsthand.

It doesn't take long before they spot one, and to Santenello's amazement, Keith is able to shoot one with a single shot.

Pretty impressive.

After Keith retrieves the nutria to show Peter Santenello what they are, Santenello then asks "That's part of the dinner menu tonight, right?" to which Keith responds "Would you like to try it?"

From there, it's decided. Nutria stew and white beans are what's for dinner!

After a quick trip to the store for a few supplies, dinner is served.

To be honest, we weren't sure if Santenello would actually go through with it and eat the nutria, but after seeing the amazing job Tara and Keith did cooking it down into a delicious looking stew, there was no way he couldn't at least try it.

By the way, Keith and Tara are YouTubers too and you can follow them over on their channel Dat Louisiana Life.

So, what did Peter Santenello think of the nutria stew?

Check out the video below to see how it all turned out!