Community Cookbook: Creole Pork Steak, or Bifteck de Porc, by Skip Weiler from Ste. Genevieve, Mo.

Recipes tell the stories of communities and the people who shape them. Each recipe is more than a list of ingredients and steps; it is a written legacy of the individual who created the dish, their family and history. This monthly series highlights one of these legacies and gives readers the chance to create the recipe themselves.

Mike “Skip” Weiler grew up in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., a town with a population of less than 5,000 people that has one of the richest French-colonial backgrounds in the American Midwest and serves as the location for the Centre for French Colonial Life. Despite the region’s deep French roots, Weiler says the native dialect, known as “Pawpaw French,” has virtually vanished, along with most of the French customs and traditions.

Weiler is one of many Ste. Genevieve residents focused on reviving and preserving the town’s French culture, architecture and history. Weiler himself comes from a long line of Ste. Genevieve residents, with his lineage dating back to 1770, the year of his ancestor Francois LeClere’s arrival in the region.

“I’ve got a lot of deep roots [in Ste. Genevieve]. … Whenever I was doing research in the old cemetery, I came across 13 grandparents that were buried there,” Weiler says.

Weiler says one lasting French tradition in Ste. Genevieve is La Guignolée: a New Year’s Eve caroling tradition dating back to the town’s settlement around the mid-1700s. Every year, he says people dress up as troops in “a variety of attire” and sing “everywhere,” venturing from restaurants to retirement homes. Weiler says the troops play fiddle and acoustic guitar, while they sing “call-and-response songs” in Pawpaw French. Call-and-response songs begin with one soloist singing a couple of lines from a song and the rest of the singers responding to it.

As the president of the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve, Weiler finds himself spending much of his time learning about and preserving history. He has served as president for three years, but has been involved with the organization for six years, including the few months he spent on the cemetery committee before officially joining the Foundation for Restoration.

“Like a week later [after I became president], we got a notification that [Ste. Genevieve] was going to be a national [historical] park. Nothing to do with me, ‘cause all of the work was done before, but all of the sudden, we’re a national park, and I was president,” Weiler says.

Weiler says the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve helps with the preservation of historic buildings in the area, and they also work with the city on upkeeping the Memorial Cemetery, which dates back to the late 1700s. Weiler says they also sponsor multiple events focused on preserving French heritage, such as the King’s Ball in February and the Déjà Vu Spirit Reunion in October.

“Our main goal is preservation of not only buildings, but also books, stories and documents,” Weiler says.

Outside of the Foundation for Restoration, Weiler is also preserving his own family’s history through research. He says his father’s side is “all German,” but his mother’s side is “95% French.” His grandmother’s maiden name was “LeClere,” which goes back to one of his distant grandfathers, Francois LeClere, who left Quebec and arrived in Ste. Genevieve in 1770.

“Most of the people in St. Genevieve at the time were not educated. [LeClere] was. He could read. He could write, and he ended up being the secretary and scribe for Francois Valle,” Weiler says.

Weiler portrays LeClere at the Déjà Vu Spirit Reunion each year by dressing in colonial attire and standing by LeClere’s grave in the Memorial Cemetery to tell his story.

Recently, Weiler and his wife Kim Weiler restored a historic home near Ste. Genevieve on Highway 32, just west of Interstate 55, called “The Olde House.” Weiler says the property dates back to 1851, when Joseph Sauer received a land grant to build the home. Sauer owned a store and post office on the property and was involved in the failed Old Plank Road that ran for approximately 42 miles between Ste. Genevieve and Iron Mountain, Mo. Sauer abandoned The Olde House in 1869 after he went bankrupt.

Weiler says the house was owned by Timothy Cody, and later, Conrad Baechle, who bought the house and surrounding land for approximately $600 in the 1890s. In 1906, Kim Weiler’s great-grandparents purchased the house, and they remained on the property for their entire married lives. The property had multiple owners before Weiler’s mother-in-law Juliann Jokerst purchased it in 2014.

In 2016, Jokerst deeded the house to the Weilers, who began restoring it in 2016. Weiler says it took him a full day to restore one window, and he would usually break at least one pane of the window while he was attempting to restore it. It took the Weilers five years to fully restore The Olde House. The two-story home still has original yellow pine flooring and contains evidence of French carpentry in the ceilings, doorways and window detailings.

Weiler says he cooks and eats most of his meals at The Olde House with his wife. They enjoy spending time in the historic home, which they plan to open as a bed and breakfast this month.

One of Weiler’s favorite meals to cook is Creole pork steak, or bifteck de porc in French. The simple recipe is a combination of other Creole steak recipes he’s found, and he says he makes it often, as a way to return to his roots. He says the recipe takes minimal prep time and can be seasoned to fit an individual’s taste.

From restoring houses to cooking recipes, Weiler is finding ways to remain connected to his French Colonial roots and preserve the traditions of his ancestors.

__Creole Pork Steak, or Bifteck de Porc__

A Creole pork steak cooked by Mike "Skip" Weiler sits on a table at The Old House in Ste. Genevieve, Mo. Weiler is the president of the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve.Jasmine Jones

A Creole pork steak cooked by Mike "Skip" Weiler sits on a table at The Old House in Ste. Genevieve, Mo. Weiler is the president of the Foundation for Restoration of Ste. Genevieve.Jasmine Jones

Pork steak(s)

½ onion

½ green pepper

Chili pepper

Honey

2 teaspoons brown sugar (per steak)

Ketchup

Creole seasoning (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place pork steaks in a pan or dish. Season with chili pepper and cover in honey. Chop up half of an onion and half of a green pepper. Cover each steak with thick pepper and onion slices. Sprinkle brown sugar on each steak. Finally, cover steaks in ketchup. Put foil tightly over the pan before placing in the oven for one hour. Remove the foil and cook for another 30 minutes. After removing from the oven for the second time, sprinkle on Creole seasoning. Enjoy!