According to the turn of the century cookbook, The Picayune Creole Cook Book, a grillade (pronounced “gree-yahd”) is a square of fried meat cooked down with onions, tomatoes, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper.  The cookbook indicates that plain and breaded (“Grillades Panées”) versions of this “fried meat” were served primarily as hearty breakfast items alongside things like cracked wheat, apple fritters and café au lait.  Among the poorer classes of Creoles, grillades were also served at dinner “with gravy” (“Grillades à la Sauce”) and a “dish of red beans and boiled rice.”  At some point between then and now, [ ... ]