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Recipes

Boudin Recipe

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From Homemade Boudin

I did a bit of a Louisiana Charcuterie tour on my last trip to Louisiana with Boudin, Andouille and Hogshead Cheese being the primary focus. When I’m home in the Detroit area and dreaming of Louisiana, Boudin is one of the things I miss most. So I have to make my own.

From Homemade Boudin

For my latest batch of Boudin, I used the very minimally processed Cajun Grain Brown Jasmine Rice that I spoke about in an earlier article. I love the texture and real rice flavor that it adds to the finished product!

From Cajun Grain Rice – Kinder, Louisiana

I like just enough liver flavor in my Boudin, without it being over powering, be sure to only use fresh pork liver, and lots of green onions and parsley!

From Homemade Boudin

Here is the recipe:

Boudin Recipe

2 1/2 lbs Pork Butt
1/2 lb Fresh Pork liver (not frozen), rinsed
1 Medium Onion, chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 Bay Leaves
1 Bundle of Fresh Thyme, tied
Water to cover by 2 inches
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
1 tsp Cayenne, or to taste
6 Cups cooked Cajun Grain Brown Jasmine Rice
1 Cup Green Onions, thinly sliced
1 Cup Italian Parsley, finely chopped
Hog Casings (if using)

Cut the pork and liver into 2 inch pieces and place in a Dutch Oven, along with the onion, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves.

From Homemade Boudin

Cover with cold water by 2 inches. Season the water well with salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer, skim off any scum that rises to the surface. Simmer for about 1 hour or until the meat is very tender. Remove the bay leaves, and thyme, then strain the solids from the broth, reserve some of the broth.
Run the cooked meat and vegetables (while they’re still hot) through a meat grinder or food mill, or you could chop this by hand.

From Homemade Boudin

Combine the cooked rice with the ground meat mixture, green onions, and parsley. Mix thoroughly and season to taste with Kosher salt, black pepper, and Cayenne. Add some of the reserved cooking liquid to make sure that the finished product is very moist, bearing in mind that the rice will absorb much of the liquid as it sits.

Spread the mixture on a sheet pan and place in the refrigerator to cool.

When the mixture is cool, stuff into prepared hog casings, or form into patties or balls for pan frying. Boudin also makes a great stuffing. Here is a pick of my Boudin Stuffed Barbecue Pork Chops!

From Homemade Boudin

To heat the stuffed Boudin links either poach them in water between 165-185 degrees F or brush the casings with a little oil and bake in a 400 degree oven until heated through and the skins are crispy. Boudin is also phenomenal smoked!

Makes 4 1/2 to 5 pounds.

Related Posts:

Andouille Sausage Recipe
Tasso Recipe
Chaurice Sausage Recipe

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Articles, Featured Post

Jacob’s Andouille

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From Jacob's Andouille

On my last day in Louisiana last month I decided to drive out to Laplace before going to the airport, to visit the self proclaimed “Andouille Capital of the World.” I originally meant to go to all three big one’s, those being Jacob’s, Bailey’s, and Wayne Jacob’s, but I only made it to Jacob’s, I decided I would rather chill out and explore some back roads in the area before a miserable day of air travel.

I did make it to Jacob’s and brought back some Andouille and Tasso to take home with me.

Jacob’s Andouille
505 West Airline Highway LaPlace, LA 70068
1-985-652-9080
Toll Free: 1-877-215-7589

The drive to Laplace from New Orleans is beautiful, driving over the wetlands and on the fringe of Lake Pontchartrain, I really enjoyed the fresh spring air and the sunshine.

Jacob’s is a short drive from I-10 at 505 W. Airline Drive, about a 40 minute drive from New Orleans and about 20 minutes doubling back to the airport.

Another option, like I said in an earlier post, if you don’t have time to make the commute to Laplace before returning home, head to Cochon Butcher in the warehouse district, they’re producing awesome Andouille, Tasso, Boudin, you name it.

From Jacob's Andouille

Jacob’s is a small storefront off of the often busy Airline dr., and if you’re not hungry for Andouille….there is a Taco Bell and Burger King across the street, kind of a buzz kill but I managed to block it out. No corporate swine please, just swine.

From Jacob's Andouille

Here is the pig on their front porch.

From Jacob's Andouille

By the way, my new ride was waiting for me in the parking lot.

From Jacob's Andouille

Upon entering Jacob’s you are of course slapped with a wonderful smoke aroma as should be expected. Here is the menu of their smoked items.

From Jacob's Andouille

I went for the Andouille and Tasso, pork of course, although they offer more health conscious versions of both, using Turkey and Chicken. Here is the beautiful pork Andouille in the case.

From Jacob's Andouille

Here is one of the cases of miscellaneous smoked items, check out the smoked pig tails.

From Jacob's Andouille

I paid for my Andouille & Tasso and packed them into my suitcase for the flight home. (By the way, that suitcase will smell like Louisiana smoked meats for the entire length of it’s use!)

I also drove around back to check out their trailers filled with Pecan wood which Jacob’s uses exclusively.

From Jacob's Andouille
From Jacob's Andouille

When I arrived home I had to pull out the Andouille and Tasso to sample and take some pics. Jacob’s Andouille is slow smoked with Pecan for 10-12 hours until it is a deep Mahogany color. Jacob’s has been family owned and operated since 1928.

From Jacob's Andouille

The Andouille’s flavor is very good, a wonderful level of heat, not too much, not too little, and a phenomenal level of smoke flavor. The pork is coarsely chopped and stuffed into fresh beef casings and is almost 2 inches in diameter. (Here is my homemade Andouille sausage recipe)

From Jacob's Andouille

I was less impressed with the Tasso.

From Jacob's Andouille

Although it had a profound Pecan smoke flavor, as well as a great texture, I thought that it really lacked seasoning. It just tasted like smoked pork, which would still be great for throwing into a pot of beans, but I actually much prefer my homemade Tasso recipe. I was kind of proud of myself with that conclusion.

I made a great pot of Red Beans the next day with these ingredients, recipe and photos coming soon!

Be sure to check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which links to all of the recipes featured on this site!

Related Posts:

Andouille Sausage Recipe
Tasso Recipe
Cochon Butcher
Cochon Restaurant

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Recipes

Maque Choux Recipe

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From Nola Cuisine Images – (reedited)

Maque Choux (pronounced Mock-shoe) is creamy, rich stewed corn dish that is most certainly Cajun. The trick to good Maque Choux is using very fresh corn so that you can scrape the pulp and milk out of the cobs which will give the dish it’s distinctive creaminess.

I also like to add some Tasso as a seasoning meat for the pleasant smokiness that it adds to the dish. Bacon also works well, and by all means substitute Bacon drippings for the unsalted butter if you like. Here is the recipe:

Maque Choux Recipe

4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup Tasso, finely diced
3 Ears of Corn
1/2 cup Onion, finely diced
1/4 cup Celery, finely diced
1/2 cup Green Pepper, finely diced
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme leaves
1/8 cup Garlic, minced
1 Cup Tomato, diced
1/2 Cup Green Onions, finely sliced
Kosher salt, black pepper and Cayenne to taste

Cut the corn off the cobs using a very sharp knife. The trick is to cut about half way through the kernels, then go back and scrape the cobs with your knife to extract all of the milk into a bowl. Reserve the corn milk.

Melt the butter in a two quart sauce pan, add the Tasso and cook on medium-high heat until slightly brown. Add the corn, onion, celery, bell pepper, Thyme and a healthy pinch of salt and reduce the heat to medium. Cook stirring often for about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Add the garlic, tomatoes, reserved corn milk and another pinch of salt. Cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the green onions, salt, black pepper and cayenne to your taste.

Serves 2-3.

Be sure and check out my Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which provides links to all recipes featured on Nola Cuisine!

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Recipes

Andouille Sausage Recipe

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From Nola Cuisine

I started making my own Andouille a few years back because the stuff they sell in the grocery stores here in Michigan is a joke, you may as well break open a package of Oscar Meyer hot dogs for your Gumbo.
You know the kind I mean, basically Alpo, stuffed into a casing and injected with liquid smoke. I can’t use that garbage, so I make my own. Andouille is a cornerstone to many great New Orleans & Louisiana dishes, so you really need a good one! I would rather use a good quality Kielbasa, than a cut rate Andouille. The better the Andouille, the better the dish! Luckily, I enjoy making sausage, it is a very worth while investment of time if your finished product turns out well. Here is how I go about it.

I used a nice fatty, 5# boston butt, trimmed of tough connective tissue. Fat is good for sausage, especially Andouille. You want about 75% lean/25% fat. Here I hand chopped half of the meat into 1/4 inch pieces for texture, and ground the rest. The recipe:

Andouille Sausage Recipe

5# Pork (I prefer a Boston Butt) Trimmed of tough connective tissue and cut into 2 inch cubes.

Combine the following in a bowl:
2 tsp of Cayenne or to taste (Remember, if you make it too hot, every dish you make with it will be too hot! Start off with a little, you can add more after you taste the finished seasoning)
1 Tbsp Paprika
1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Garlic
1/8 Cup Fresh Ground Black Pepper
3 Tbsp Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme leaves, chopped
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1 healthy pinch Cure #1 (1 tsp. of “cure” per 5# of meat)
1/2 Cup Ice Water

Toss this mixture with the meat, making sure it is well coated. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 days.

**Note – Prague Powder#1 is used for wet curing meats, to retain color and freshness. It is a ratio of 16 oz. salt to 1 ounce sodium nitrate.

Chop half of the meat into 1/4 inch pieces and grind the other half with a coarse grinding plate. Mix the two together with:

1/8 Cup Non-Fat Powdered Milk (this is a binder)

Stuff the sausage into prepared Hog Casings (Beef middle casings if you can find them). Here is my method of Linking Sausage.

Tie each sausage link with kitchen string to make a loop for hanging. Hang uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. This step is to let the casings dry out to allow smoke absorption, very important.

I smoked this in an inexpensive upright barrel smoker, with charcoal as the heat source, and unsoaked Pecan chips for the smoke. The sausage was hung beneath the top rack, no water pan.

I smoked this at 130º F for 2 hours, then increased the heat to 165º F for another 2 1/2 hours, refreshing the wood chips as needed. The trick here, is to get as much smoke flavor into the sausage before it is actually cooked through, and too hot of a temperature will render the fat out of your sausage. I controlled the temp by the number of coals, and keeping them piled up and pushed to one side. When you spread your coals out the temperature will increase. I added more coals to reach the 165º F mark.

The internal temperature of the sausage should read 155º F on an instant read thermometer. Remove at this point and immediately spray with cold water. Hang at room temperature in front of a fan for 1 hour then refrigerate overnight, uncovered.

Portion and store in vacuum sealed packages in the freezer.

Other recipes for Sausages and Seasoning Meats at Nola Cuisine:

Here is my Latest Batch of Andouille Sausage!

Chaurice Sausage Recipe
Cornbread and Andouille Sausage Recipe
Tasso Recipe
Pickled Pork Recipe

My post about my visit to Jacob’s Andouille.

Check out Egullet’s, Eating Louisiana Andouille page, with pics from Wayne Jacob’s, and Jacob’s Andouille, in the Andouille capital, Laplace, Louisiana.

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