CAJUN BOUDIN SAUSAGE RECIPE
If you’ve ever been to Cajun Country “down da bayou” in Louisiana, you’ve most likely seen boudin at grocery stores, gas stations, old-fashioned meat markets, and restaurants. While technically not a sausage, even though Google likes to describe it that way, it is one of the region’s most popular on-the-go foods. In fact, in some Cajun homes, boudin is more revered than crawfish, with recipes passed along for generations.
WHERE DID BOUDIN COME FROM
Pronounced boo-dan, the n silent, traditional Cajun boudin sausage is made with a mixture of rice, finely ground pork, liver, green onions, and a variety of spices and peppers. The ingredients are squeezed into a sausage casing and served hot on butcher-block paper. Though it comes in a linked form, it’s traditionally eaten without the casing. Alternatively, boudin is also served removed from the casing, formed into a ball, and fried.
During the 17th century, Acadians migrated to Louisiana from Nova Scotia and France. The French have what is called, boudin blanc and boudin noir. Boudin blanc is a white sausage made of pork without the blood but with milk. Boudin noir is a dark-hued blood sausage, containing pork, pig blood, and other ingredients. The Germans arrived around 1720 bringing with them sausage-making skills.
Here, they made use of what they had by slaughtering hogs and using every last bit of the hog. Before the days of refrigeration and the onset of industrial farming, families or small communities came together to share the work of harvesting and breaking down the animals for food. This tradition is known as a Boucherie, or communal butchering pigs, and has deep roots in Louisiana culture.
The land at the time was fertile for rice production, so the opportunity to use rice as a filler just made sense. The fertile rice fields of South Louisiana, plus the Cajun using what they had, and the German’s skills to make sausages was the perfect storm for Cajun Boudin to be born.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOUDIN AND SAUSAGE
Boudin is less refined than a typical sausage. It’s more moist and loose and is normally served steamed, not grilled. Unlike many sausages where uncooked meat is stuffed into a casing, boudin is stuffed with meat that has already been cooked. You do not have to cure boudin.
VARIATIONS
Nowadays, you can find many variations of boudin served. One of the most popular is removing the boudin from the casing, forming it into a ball, and frying it for boudin balls. You can also find crawfish boudin, which is made of them eat of crawfish tails added to rice. This is often served with cracklins (fried pig skins), and saltine crackers, hot sauce, and an ice-cold beer.
Gator boudin is made of, yep, you guessed it, alligator meat. It can be found sporadically in Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Shrimp boudin is similar to crawfish boudin and is made of shrimp added to rice. Some meat markets will carry boudin pistolettes, boudin tater tots, boudin stuffed chicken, and even boudin king cake!
THE RECIPE
This is a great homemade boudin sausage recipe to use as a base for other recipes listed above. This basic boudin recipe is made with a mixture of chopped pork, chicken liver, rice, bell peppers, onions, and a variety of spices. You can stuff it into sausage casing or leave it as is. If you don’t have a sausage stuffer, you can eat as is or make boudin balls.
The sausage can be mild or very spicy depending on your taste. You can experiment and even add jalapeno peppers in as well.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
- 2 pounds diced trimmed pork shoulder
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 pound chopped chicken liver or pork liver
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 4 cups cooked long-grain white rice
- 1 cup chopped green onion
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoon Tony’s Creole seasoning
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Step 1:
In a Dutch oven, place the pork shoulder. Add broth and salt, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until pork is tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Step 2:
Add liver, yellow onion, bell pepper, and garlic to pork shoulder, and cook, stirring occasionally, until liver is tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, and let cool for 20 minutes.
Step 3:
In a work bowl of a food processor, pulse the pork mixture until finely chopped. Add rice, and green onion, parsley, Creole seasoning, and crushed red pepper and mix by hand until well combined.
Eat as is or make boudin balls
How to Make Boudin
Ingredients
2 pounds diced trimmed pork shoulder
8 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1/2 pound chopped chicken liver or pork liver
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
4 cloves garlic, smashed
4 cups cooked long-grain white rice
1 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoon Tony’s Creole seasoning
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
In a Dutch oven, place the pork shoulder. Add broth and salt, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until pork is tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Add liver, yellow onion, bell pepper, and garlic to pork shoulder, and cook, stirring occasionally, until liver is tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, and let cool for 20 minutes.
In a work bowl of a food processor, pulse the pork mixture until finely chopped. Add rice, and green onion, parsley, Creole seasoning, and crushed red pepper and mix by hand until well combined.
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Nutrition Facts
Calories
272.05
Fat
7.21 g
Sat. Fat
2.27 g
Carbs
27.75 g
Fiber
1.45 g
Net carbs
26.29 g
Sugar
2.51 g
Protein
22.74 g
Sodium
1823.49 mg
Cholesterol
148.86 mg
