Cajuns love their boudin! They eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They eat it as a snack and they eat it on the go. Boudin works well as a stand-alone treat, but is often eaten with gratons, meaty fried pork skins, on the side. It’s a standard at Cajun family get-togethers and football games. And it always pairs well with good company and ice-cold beer.
Authentic Recipe for a Favorite Cajun Sausage - Boudin Blanc
Ingredients:
- Sausage casings
- 5 – 6 cups cooked rice, cooled
- 2½ pounds pork, cubed (this can be boneless country style pork ribs or, a butt or shoulder roast – do not trim the meat of fat)
- ½ pound pork liver
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 2 – 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 bunch green onion tops, chopped
- 1 bunch fresh parsley leaves, chopped
- Salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste
To prepare:
- Place sausage casings in a bowl of warm water and set aside.
- Place the meat, liver, chopped onions and garlic in a large pot and cover with water.
- Bring this up to a boil and continue cooking until the meat is tender.
- Strain off the stock, reserving the liquid, and allow the meat to cool.
- When the meat mixture is cool enough to handle, run it through a meat grinder along with the green onions and parsley.
- Combine the meat mixture and rice in a large mixing bowl
- Add a ladle or two of the reserved liquid to the mixture, stirring until a moist dressing is achieved.
- Add salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste.
The Sausage Stuffer - La Boudiniere
To stuff the boudin, a sausage making machine or a boudiniere is required. Cajuns traditionally use a boudiniere which is made from the end of a cow’s horn, but a similarly shaped funnel-type object will do. Even a sturdy piece of cardboard can be fashioned to serve as a boudiniere.
Making Boudin
- Take the sausage casings from the water and rinse them very well in the sink by using the faucet to run water through them.
- Using a sausage stuffing machine or a boudiniere, stuff all of the dressing into the clean sausage casings, twisting them into about 12 inch lengths and tying off the open ends.
- The boudin can now be refrigerated for a couple of days or frozen for later. If it is frozen, be sure to fully thaw the boudin before proceeding to the last step.
How to Cook Boudin
- Carefully coil one layer of boudin in the bottom of a large, heavy-bottomed pot. This may have to be done in more than one batch, depending on the pot size.
- Cover with cold water and carefully bring the boudin up to a gentle simmer. Do not allow the water to boil or the boudin will burst, ruining it!
- After simmering for 15 – 20 minutes, the boudin will be ready to eat.
- A modern method of cooking the boudin, one link at a time, is to wrap the link of boudin in a paper towel and microwave on high for 1 – 1½ minutes.
After cooking, boudin is delicious served either hot or cold. Some folks eat the sausage with the casing. Some folks prefer to eat boudin by forcing the dressing out by biting the boudin and drawing it between their teeth.
Children especially like to eat their boudin wrapped in a slice of white bread which adds a little sweetness and really tones down the heat of the cayenne pepper!
Readers interested in further exploring Cajun cuisine and culture might also enjoy:
- A Gourmet Herbal Delight - Gumbo des Herbes: Herb Gumbo, Secret Delicacy of Cajun Country Home Gardens
- Herbal Uses of Sassafras in Southwest Louisiana: Natural Remedies and Recipes using a Cajun Spice, Gumbo File'
- Easy Southern Stuffed Bell Peppers: A Cajun Fusion Dish with a Greek Twist
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