Boudin Sausage
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I have to admit I haven't eaten too many varieties of Boudin of course I travel mostly the brush country of South Texas not the marshes of Louisiana. One local butcher shop close to where I live makes it with shrimp and crawfish that's pretty tasty and I have tried some from a couple of convenience stores that have it in their deli's. I got some one time that was so hot with red pepper I tossed it in the trash after one bite. Traditional Boudin I believe is pork based and not only has the meat but the pork liver as well. I saw a recipe that used pork heart also. Basically it's a pork stew made with of course pork with what the Cajuns call the Holy Trinity consisting of onions, green pepper and celery. All this simmers slowly in a big pot with some pork stock for liquid with the vegetables for flavor. Once it's cooked down and can be torn apart easily with a fork it's added to cooked rice and more seasonings are added ( red pepper, salt, black pepper, garlic and no telling what else a Cajun might toss in there ) then stuffed in pig casings. Before stuffing fresh chopped green onion tops are mixed in for color and additional flavor. Some Cajun chefs smoke Boudin but I have always just had it plain cooked like a Bratwurst or if it has been parboiled microwaved. All the ingredients are cooked except for the casing so either boil it for about two minutes or throw it in a skillet and brown it before eating. I did have some once as an appetizer in a Cajun restaurant that was served warmed with saltine crackers and Louisiana hot sauce. It was the real deal made right there by a certified Cajun. I'll be nice and not say the other name. So what I am making is traditional minus the pig liver and heart and I am cheating and will be using a bought seasoning blend but the method is about the same. No big cast iron pot but a slow cooker that hopefully has the meat done by dark. Once it's cooked I will refrigerate it tonight and finish tomorrow.
Ingredients:
Five pounds of pork shoulder meat cut in several large chunks ( I used pork sirloin )
Three medium onions coarse chopped ( I used two and the bottoms of two bunches of green onions )
One green pepper coarsely chopped
Four stalks of celery coarsely chopped
Two bunches of green onions
Four cups of uncooked rice ( cook the rice with water as you would normally once the meat is done and let it cool for mixing with the meat )
32 ounces of chicken broth or add to cover the meat mixture
Cooking Method
Place the meat and vegetables in a large pot and cover with broth. Simmer until the meat is done. When it comes apart easily with a fork it's ready or if the bone is in the shoulder it will easily separate from the meat when done. Several hours for sure.
Once the meat is done remove it from the pot with the chunks of vegetables and drain it well in a colander retaining the liquid in the pot for later when mixing the rice and spices in.
Cook the rice. I usually add one cup of uncooked rice to two cups of boiling water then cover until it's all absorbed and the rice is soft. I'm guessing the four cups of rice should yield eight cups when cooked.
Once the meat is cooled it needs to be ground in a meat grinder with the cooked vegetables as well. Don't grind the cooked rice at this point or the green onion tops. I might use my coarse grinding plate I haven't decided yet. Once it's ground mix the spices and rice in the meat adding rice until you get the ratio that looks good to you. It's not set in stone as to how much rice to use. A tip: mix the spices with a small amount of the broth to make a slurry so it's easier to get them in equally. It's a good time to do a taste test now also and add spice if needed. The stock you reserved is important now. Slowly add some until the mixture is not too dry yet not runny and once it looks right add a the green onion tops and mix them in. Again, it's an eyeball sort of thing. All this mixing is done with hands and it's not a bad idea to wear sterile gloves. A big spoon might help I don't know this is the first time I have made this stuff I have just watched it being made. At this point it needs to be stuffed into casings preferably with a crank stuffer but if you use a grinder put in the kidney plate or the largest one. I am not adding cure to this sausage since it is a cooked product however it has to be frozen or refrigerated immediately or cooked. You can parboil the links for two minutes to cook the casings if you desire.
Boudin Balls
I don't know how to make them and You Tube has plenty of recipes so if you want to try this and don't have a stuffer or grinder check out the videos and give it a whirl.
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This was at 9:30 am today. I forgot to add this yields about ten pounds of sausage.
Ingredients
I layered the vegetables in the meat. I hope this gets done today :
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@bigfoot
It has been in the slow cooker six hours on high and I just checked it with a fork. The meat is still a little tight, maybe three more hours and it will fall apart.
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@bigfoot
After eight hours the meat was done. I let it cool in the refrigerator and ran the meat and cooked vegetables through the grinder using a coarse plate this morning then cooked a big pot of rice. Long grain boiled in half chicken broth and tap water until fluffy. If you can find Texmati Rice it's the best I have used. We'll get to stuffing it when the rice cools and should yield ten pounds or a little more.
Big pot of rice
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@bigfoot
This stuff makes a mess. I have rice all the way to the front door of my house. I didn't have a big enough container to mix in and spilled it everywhere. I followed the directions for a half batch that the spice package directions gave. I used almost all the rice and added one quart of the juices out of the slow cooker to moisten the mixture before stuffing. I also dissolved the spices in it by adding them then mixing in a blender. I did a taste test and it sure seemed salty maybe once it is infused into the mixture and warmed it will be better. You can either warm the links in an oven at 350 for fifteen minutes or so or pan fry them in a little butter. I have also grilled it before just turning it often so it doesn't burn or burst. Anyway, I will give it a try later and have some back up smoked chicken if this is a fail.
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@bigfoot
You are on easy street now! I simmer boudin in a steamer pot. The ongoing argument between my wife and I boils down to the proper temperature for "simmering." She literally boils (212 deg) it and the casing can split. I shoot for 185 degrees and it makes a difference. One small prick with a fork is also good trick.
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@lathoto
In the recipe from the place I got the spices it states parboil for two minutes and be careful or it will burst. The casings are natural and I guess you can say they are raw even though they are stored in salt. I kind of like it browned a little. That cajun place we used to have down here kept it in a steamer. That old boy that had that place could sure cook. He was a deck hand off of a shrimp boat from Louisiana and got off of boats and opened a eatery in an old house. Wasn't the prettiest place but had genuine home cooked food.
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You win some and you lose some. Doesn't quite suit my palate I am sorry to say. The spice mix is the hot variety and I should have cut back but once it's in too late to do anything. I added almost all the rice trying to cut it but it really has a kick and salty too. One would be better off mixing their own seasonings for this dish. I also wanted more rice. Kind of like eating a really spicy pork pate'.
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@bigfoot said in Boudin Sausage:
You win some and you lose some. Doesn't quite suit my palate I am sorry to say. The spice mix is the hot variety and I should have cut back but once it's in too late to do anything. I added almost all the rice trying to cut it but it really has a kick and salty too. One would be better off mixing their own seasonings for this dish. I also wanted more rice. Kind of like eating a really spicy pork pate'.
I like spicy!!
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Man that looks delicious! I might have to try it. I used my time off for Christmas to do 20lbs of Landjager, 10lbs Oktoberfest and 17lbs summer sausage.
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@donnie
The Cajuns make blood sausage also which might be somewhat similar to Oktoberfest. I never tried any blood sausage but I remember my father talking about it. Landjaeger sounds like the dried venison sausage made in our area and originated around the German settlements I would gamble to say. I have never made summer sausage but have had it made by custom processors in this area. We typically make it with venison with pork and add cheese and jalapeno peppers. It's so humid here and hardly ever cold or lets say cold enough to safely dry some sausage types unless you can do it mechanically I never fool with it. My wife's sisters husband was from Kansas and they went home one time and brought some sausage made with potatoes and either ham or smoked pork in it. He said it was a Swedish recipe and they had some potato pancakes also. Boudin could be spiced up any way you like it I just happened to buy a spice mix. Of course they didn't list the ingredients just salt pepper and spices. I know it has cayenne, it turned pink when we were mixing it. It's not all that bad just a little hot and would be better with a higher ratio of rice. To me anyway. The first deer I shot I guess I was around ten years old was on a big farm and ranch on the Guadalupe River in Texas where I grew up. Opening day all the hunters there would donate one deer for sausage making. My dad bought three big hogs and I am guessing maybe eight or so deer were shot. The pigs were slaughtered and then butchered along with the deer. This sausage making went on for two days usually and included lots of cooking and socializing among the old men. I remember them cooking mountain oysters one time and I actually ate some. Everything was used they even cooked the pig fat down and made lard and cracklings. The intestines were salvaged and the heart and liver went into something as well. The heads were picked up by a Mexican fellow to make tamales also. Once all the sausage was made it went into the smokehouse to be smoked and some was hung separately to dry in there. A mixture of pecan and oak burned in a pit on one end of the smoke house and was tended to by one of the ranch hands until the fresh sausage was pulled out. The dried sausage stayed for a lot longer. Fifty years ago and I still remember what a scalded pig smells like.
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@bigfoot I don't think I could bring myself to eat blood sausage. I remember a while ago you could actually buy it at safeway but even my father who is a butcher wouldn't eat it. It always made quite the mess in the display cases.
The Oktoberfest actually tastes very similar and has similar texture to Swedish Potato sausage. I was a butcher for about 8 years and used to make large batches of sausages on Sundays. Out of the 15 or so types we made, the Swedish Potato was my favorite!
One day I will definitely make up a batch of Boudin. Ill read up on some recipes first. I think that would make a great camping/hunting supper cause its pretty much already cooked. Just have to cook the casing and warm it up.
The Landjager I make is my fathers own recipe that he perfected over about 20 years. It has roughly 20 different spices and is a dried cured sausage. Cold smoked as well to keep mold from growing on the outside of the case. The rest is taken care of by nitrates/preservatives. When I was younger, I would sneak some sausage before it was done drying full well knowing I would have the shits for days lol. But it was so good, the latter part was worth it. It is really high energy because it has more sugars than salts. I pretty much live off of it during sheep hunting season.
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@donnie I thought I read the Oktoberfest had some blood as an ingredient maybe a different variation. I really liked the Swedish sausage. Some sausages have milk added to the meat I guess you can just about use anything and I see even all vegetarian sausage is being offered in high end sausage boutiques. My sister sent me an internet link she saw in a New York magazine among the lines of vegetarian sausage and how it's made. I've made chicken sausage before and it's not too bad and Boudin can be made with cooked chicken also. Crawfish and shrimp makes a good boudin too. I have tried andouille sausage but couldn't see much difference in it maybe some extra coriander or anise. Can't put my finger on the exact spice maybe some sage. Mexican Chorizo has pork organs in it and sweetbreads. My granny from Louisiana fried sweetbreads when we could get them boy they are good. Hard to get fresh ones and fresh calf liver as well here. Chorizo goes good with scrambled eggs but it's pretty greasy and spicy. We tried to give Granny some deer meat one time and she turned her nose up, said it tastes too much like horse. They apparently ate lots of horse meat in hard times back in the twenties.
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Blutwurst (blood sausage) is hard to find these days. When I was younger my father would take me to a restaurant called "The Old German." They had blutwurst on the menu and everytime I ordered it the waitress would say, "Willst du das Blut?!" To which I replied, "Ja bitte." It is quite good if you mix it with kraut, spatzen, and horseradish.
