Cajun Boudin Recipe by Claude
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As promised here is a simple way to recreate your typical Cajun Boudin. Although I am Canadian by birth I’ve lived in South Louisiana for 26+ years and have sampled 100s of boudins and this is my oldest son and I’s recreation of this local sausage. We opted to make it simple enough that my brothers in Canada could recreate using their local ingredients, so as a fact, anyone on the board should be able reproduce. I will put the recipe up and will have notes below
Main ingredients:
- 5 lbs of pork shoulder (deboned and cut into 1-1.5" cubes)
- 1lbs of chicken liver whole (drained but not washed)
- 2 medium onions large dice (trinity)
- 2 bell pepper large dice (trinity)
- 2 stalk of celery large dice (trinity)
- 8 good fresh cloves of garlic smashed and chopped
- 1 fresh Jalapeno chili diced small
- 1 fresh Serano chili diced small
- 8 green onion white part only (reserve the green part for later)
Seasoning:
- 60 grams of salt (and more to taste at the end)
- 20 grams of black pepper
- 3 grams of ground thyme
- 15 grams of paprika
- 5 grams of cayenne
Other ingredients:
- 6 cups of cooked long grain rice (~1060 grams) I prefer the Mahatma extra long grain rice
- 1/2 a bunch of fresh parsley chopped (~1/4 cup)
- 8 green onion (green tops only)
- 32-35mm fresh hog casing cleaned and rinced
Technique:
- Cut and combine all the main ingredients and all seasonings and marinate 24hrs. Do not add the “other ingredients yet”.
- Put the marinated meat mixture in a pot large enough and add enough water to cover (I sometimes use some pork stock from my sous vide cooks)
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 3.5-4hrs (until meat falls apart)
- Drain and reserve the beautiful stock (keep it very hot)
- Put your meat/veggy mixture in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and shred all the mix
- Mix your meat/veggy mixture with the “Other Ingredients” (rice, parsley and green tops)
- Progressively add your very HOT stock until you get a wet but not too wet mixture. (see notes)
{This is the trick: Too wet and it is sloppy and too dry and you won’t be happy with the results. } - Since everything is already cooked, taste to adjust the seasoning.
- Stuff the mixture HOT in the cleaned and soaked casing (this help start the process of setting the casing.
- Make links of any desire lengths
- Allow to dry on a cooling rack in the fridge overnight to set the casing (see notes)
- Cook and enjoy!! (see notes)
Boudin is normally on the salty side (as it should) so don’t worry. If you taste it and you think it is definitely on the verge of being too salty then you did it right because the rice will absorb the extra and the end product will be just fine. When it is time to adjust seasoning, this is where I add my favorite Cajun Seasoning to add a little kick and dimension to my boudin. Be careful if you do add Cajun Seasoning because some Cajun Seasoning are just flavored salt. The one I use is not salt forward so it turns out just right.
Notes:
- Pork: I’ve use shoulder and picnic to make boudin all depending on what is the cheapest
- Liver: Chicken livers are definitely more tame than pork liver but I have used both and enjoyed both. DO NOT OMIT from the recipe!!
- The “Trinity” should be an equal mix (roughly) so if you have smaller onions or bell peppers, just make sure the end mix is 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 of each of the 3 vegs
- Stock: When mixing the stock with the mixture of meat/veggy/rice, make sure you add all the fat first DO NOT SKIM THE FAT, then add as much watery stock as needed to make a good wet mix.
- Mixture variations: Some people put the meat mixture through the grinder… I don’t! If you like a boudin with less of a strand texture then you can cut smaller cubes or put it through a large grinder plate.
Some people like more rice in their boudin… and I like more meaty boudin, so you can adjust the rice quantity in the recipe accordingly! - Links: Boudin is very wet so the casings don’t dry very well, For best results keep them linked for cooking purpose (otherwise the stuffing will come out the ends. If you want to cut your links (to vac seal them) then I would suggest parboiling them in water and then putting them in the fridge overnight. You can then safely cut into links
- Cooking: Because the boudin is already cooked you are just looking to heat the mix and set the casings.
Fresh, you can boil them (as chained links); you can steam them; you smoke them, you can bake them (on a rack). I prefer letting them set overnight in the fridge on a cooling rack and then cook them as above. - Storing/Freezing: Since this makes quite a few links you can easily freeze those bad boys. I normally vac seal them (gentle mode) and when I am ready to eat them I just put them in a pot of boiling water (in the bag) for about 10 minutes from thawed or 30 minutes from frozen.
I think I have covered all grounds and answered all the questions I would have, looking at the recipe. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
Enjoy! and Bon Appetite!
Dr_Pain man those look great
. What great detail and recipe. Thanks for sharing. -
Dr_Pain Do you have a particular brand and type of rice to use? I have been told to use parboiled long grain white rice. They say the parboiled does not get as mushy in the mix as regular white rice.
Clarko That is a great question and I will make the necessary adjustment in the recipe to reflect. My favorite rice to use is the Mahatma extra long grain rice (even though I live in the rice bed of the US). You do cook it according to the package and let it cool and firm up a bit but please don’t use day old rice (YUK!)
Second thing I failed to note is this (and I will also edit to include):
- Some people put the meat mixture through the grinder… I don’t! If you like a boudin with less of a strand texture then you can cut smaller cubes or put it through a large grinder plate.
- Some people like more rice in their boudin… and I like more meaty boudin, so you can adjust the rice quantity in the recipe accordingly!
-
cdavis Thank you sir! I made those for my son’s graduation party and they were the rave. I made the mistake of not paying attention and ended up with a couple of blow outs but in all they got eaten
-
As promised here is a simple way to recreate your typical Cajun Boudin. Although I am Canadian by birth I’ve lived in South Louisiana for 26+ years and have sampled 100s of boudins and this is my oldest son and I’s recreation of this local sausage. We opted to make it simple enough that my brothers in Canada could recreate using their local ingredients, so as a fact, anyone on the board should be able reproduce. I will put the recipe up and will have notes below
Main ingredients:
- 5 lbs of pork shoulder (deboned and cut into 1-1.5" cubes)
- 1lbs of chicken liver whole (drained but not washed)
- 2 medium onions large dice (trinity)
- 2 bell pepper large dice (trinity)
- 2 stalk of celery large dice (trinity)
- 8 good fresh cloves of garlic smashed and chopped
- 1 fresh Jalapeno chili diced small
- 1 fresh Serano chili diced small
- 8 green onion white part only (reserve the green part for later)
Seasoning:
- 60 grams of salt (and more to taste at the end)
- 20 grams of black pepper
- 3 grams of ground thyme
- 15 grams of paprika
- 5 grams of cayenne
Other ingredients:
- 6 cups of cooked long grain rice (~1060 grams) I prefer the Mahatma extra long grain rice
- 1/2 a bunch of fresh parsley chopped (~1/4 cup)
- 8 green onion (green tops only)
- 32-35mm fresh hog casing cleaned and rinced
Technique:
- Cut and combine all the main ingredients and all seasonings and marinate 24hrs. Do not add the “other ingredients yet”.
- Put the marinated meat mixture in a pot large enough and add enough water to cover (I sometimes use some pork stock from my sous vide cooks)
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 3.5-4hrs (until meat falls apart)
- Drain and reserve the beautiful stock (keep it very hot)
- Put your meat/veggy mixture in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and shred all the mix
- Mix your meat/veggy mixture with the “Other Ingredients” (rice, parsley and green tops)
- Progressively add your very HOT stock until you get a wet but not too wet mixture. (see notes)
{This is the trick: Too wet and it is sloppy and too dry and you won’t be happy with the results. } - Since everything is already cooked, taste to adjust the seasoning.
- Stuff the mixture HOT in the cleaned and soaked casing (this help start the process of setting the casing.
- Make links of any desire lengths
- Allow to dry on a cooling rack in the fridge overnight to set the casing (see notes)
- Cook and enjoy!! (see notes)
Boudin is normally on the salty side (as it should) so don’t worry. If you taste it and you think it is definitely on the verge of being too salty then you did it right because the rice will absorb the extra and the end product will be just fine. When it is time to adjust seasoning, this is where I add my favorite Cajun Seasoning to add a little kick and dimension to my boudin. Be careful if you do add Cajun Seasoning because some Cajun Seasoning are just flavored salt. The one I use is not salt forward so it turns out just right.
Notes:
- Pork: I’ve use shoulder and picnic to make boudin all depending on what is the cheapest
- Liver: Chicken livers are definitely more tame than pork liver but I have used both and enjoyed both. DO NOT OMIT from the recipe!!
- The “Trinity” should be an equal mix (roughly) so if you have smaller onions or bell peppers, just make sure the end mix is 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 of each of the 3 vegs
- Stock: When mixing the stock with the mixture of meat/veggy/rice, make sure you add all the fat first DO NOT SKIM THE FAT, then add as much watery stock as needed to make a good wet mix.
- Mixture variations: Some people put the meat mixture through the grinder… I don’t! If you like a boudin with less of a strand texture then you can cut smaller cubes or put it through a large grinder plate.
Some people like more rice in their boudin… and I like more meaty boudin, so you can adjust the rice quantity in the recipe accordingly! - Links: Boudin is very wet so the casings don’t dry very well, For best results keep them linked for cooking purpose (otherwise the stuffing will come out the ends. If you want to cut your links (to vac seal them) then I would suggest parboiling them in water and then putting them in the fridge overnight. You can then safely cut into links
- Cooking: Because the boudin is already cooked you are just looking to heat the mix and set the casings.
Fresh, you can boil them (as chained links); you can steam them; you smoke them, you can bake them (on a rack). I prefer letting them set overnight in the fridge on a cooling rack and then cook them as above. - Storing/Freezing: Since this makes quite a few links you can easily freeze those bad boys. I normally vac seal them (gentle mode) and when I am ready to eat them I just put them in a pot of boiling water (in the bag) for about 10 minutes from thawed or 30 minutes from frozen.
I think I have covered all grounds and answered all the questions I would have, looking at the recipe. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
Enjoy! and Bon Appetite!
Dr_Pain i can smell the LOVE in your recipe. That’s why yours even went with the “blowouts”.
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cdavis Thank you sir! I made those for my son’s graduation party and they were the rave. I made the mistake of not paying attention and ended up with a couple of blow outs but in all they got eaten
Dr_Pain I have never even ate boudin sausage. But this recipe looks so good I’m going to try it. How do you think it would work with venison and pork fat
-
Clarko That is a great question and I will make the necessary adjustment in the recipe to reflect. My favorite rice to use is the Mahatma extra long grain rice (even though I live in the rice bed of the US). You do cook it according to the package and let it cool and firm up a bit but please don’t use day old rice (YUK!)
Second thing I failed to note is this (and I will also edit to include):
- Some people put the meat mixture through the grinder… I don’t! If you like a boudin with less of a strand texture then you can cut smaller cubes or put it through a large grinder plate.
- Some people like more rice in their boudin… and I like more meaty boudin, so you can adjust the rice quantity in the recipe accordingly!
Dr_Pain Great detailed recipe. I am looking forward to trying this one in about a month. My brother and I usually load up in LA from a local processor when we pass through to go hog hunting. So many types of sausage and so little time. It is on the list once I get home.
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Dr_Pain I have never even ate boudin sausage. But this recipe looks so good I’m going to try it. How do you think it would work with venison and pork fat
cdavis said in Cajun Boudin Recipe by Claude:
Dr_Pain I have never even ate boudin sausage. But this recipe looks so good I’m going to try it. How do you think it would work with venison and pork fat
I’ve eaten quite a few deer and pork sausage, living in Sportsman paradise and having plenty patients that hunt, so I am trying to extrapolate my experience with the flavors of boudin. I guess it could work but you would be missing that pig taste and some of the sweetness of pork meat.
Boudin is essentially a complete “stewed” meal. You have your protein, your veggies, your rice and your “gravy”. Imagine your meal with venison, veggies and rice and gravy and just put it in a hig case afterwards (using the same techniques but a different flavor profile).
I’ve put my 2 cents on how I would tweak a Brisket Boudin. I guess the same applies to your venison idea https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/4291/smoked-brisket-boudin
So I would say an experiment is in order
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cdavis said in Cajun Boudin Recipe by Claude:
Dr_Pain I have never even ate boudin sausage. But this recipe looks so good I’m going to try it. How do you think it would work with venison and pork fat
I’ve eaten quite a few deer and pork sausage, living in Sportsman paradise and having plenty patients that hunt, so I am trying to extrapolate my experience with the flavors of boudin. I guess it could work but you would be missing that pig taste and some of the sweetness of pork meat.
Boudin is essentially a complete “stewed” meal. You have your protein, your veggies, your rice and your “gravy”. Imagine your meal with venison, veggies and rice and gravy and just put it in a hig case afterwards (using the same techniques but a different flavor profile).
I’ve put my 2 cents on how I would tweak a Brisket Boudin. I guess the same applies to your venison idea https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/4291/smoked-brisket-boudin
So I would say an experiment is in order
Dr_Pain I think I’ll try the pork first then experiment from there. Thanks for your response and have a great day.
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Dr_Pain Great detailed recipe. I am looking forward to trying this one in about a month. My brother and I usually load up in LA from a local processor when we pass through to go hog hunting. So many types of sausage and so little time. It is on the list once I get home.
YooperDog said in Cajun Boudin Recipe by Claude:
Dr_Pain Great detailed recipe. I am looking forward to trying this one in about a month. My brother and I usually load up in LA from a local processor when we pass through to go hog hunting. So many types of sausage and so little time. It is on the list once I get home.
You are not joking on that. The last time my younger brother came to visit he wanted to try some good boudin so instead of just picking a place we ended up doing a boudin and cracklin run around Acadiana. We left my office with my 2 boys and stopped at 6 different places between New Iberia and Scott and got one link of boudin to share and a small bag of cracklins. The most fun allowed by law LOL!!!
-
As promised here is a simple way to recreate your typical Cajun Boudin. Although I am Canadian by birth I’ve lived in South Louisiana for 26+ years and have sampled 100s of boudins and this is my oldest son and I’s recreation of this local sausage. We opted to make it simple enough that my brothers in Canada could recreate using their local ingredients, so as a fact, anyone on the board should be able reproduce. I will put the recipe up and will have notes below
Main ingredients:
- 5 lbs of pork shoulder (deboned and cut into 1-1.5" cubes)
- 1lbs of chicken liver whole (drained but not washed)
- 2 medium onions large dice (trinity)
- 2 bell pepper large dice (trinity)
- 2 stalk of celery large dice (trinity)
- 8 good fresh cloves of garlic smashed and chopped
- 1 fresh Jalapeno chili diced small
- 1 fresh Serano chili diced small
- 8 green onion white part only (reserve the green part for later)
Seasoning:
- 60 grams of salt (and more to taste at the end)
- 20 grams of black pepper
- 3 grams of ground thyme
- 15 grams of paprika
- 5 grams of cayenne
Other ingredients:
- 6 cups of cooked long grain rice (~1060 grams) I prefer the Mahatma extra long grain rice
- 1/2 a bunch of fresh parsley chopped (~1/4 cup)
- 8 green onion (green tops only)
- 32-35mm fresh hog casing cleaned and rinced
Technique:
- Cut and combine all the main ingredients and all seasonings and marinate 24hrs. Do not add the “other ingredients yet”.
- Put the marinated meat mixture in a pot large enough and add enough water to cover (I sometimes use some pork stock from my sous vide cooks)
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 3.5-4hrs (until meat falls apart)
- Drain and reserve the beautiful stock (keep it very hot)
- Put your meat/veggy mixture in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and shred all the mix
- Mix your meat/veggy mixture with the “Other Ingredients” (rice, parsley and green tops)
- Progressively add your very HOT stock until you get a wet but not too wet mixture. (see notes)
{This is the trick: Too wet and it is sloppy and too dry and you won’t be happy with the results. } - Since everything is already cooked, taste to adjust the seasoning.
- Stuff the mixture HOT in the cleaned and soaked casing (this help start the process of setting the casing.
- Make links of any desire lengths
- Allow to dry on a cooling rack in the fridge overnight to set the casing (see notes)
- Cook and enjoy!! (see notes)
Boudin is normally on the salty side (as it should) so don’t worry. If you taste it and you think it is definitely on the verge of being too salty then you did it right because the rice will absorb the extra and the end product will be just fine. When it is time to adjust seasoning, this is where I add my favorite Cajun Seasoning to add a little kick and dimension to my boudin. Be careful if you do add Cajun Seasoning because some Cajun Seasoning are just flavored salt. The one I use is not salt forward so it turns out just right.
Notes:
- Pork: I’ve use shoulder and picnic to make boudin all depending on what is the cheapest
- Liver: Chicken livers are definitely more tame than pork liver but I have used both and enjoyed both. DO NOT OMIT from the recipe!!
- The “Trinity” should be an equal mix (roughly) so if you have smaller onions or bell peppers, just make sure the end mix is 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 of each of the 3 vegs
- Stock: When mixing the stock with the mixture of meat/veggy/rice, make sure you add all the fat first DO NOT SKIM THE FAT, then add as much watery stock as needed to make a good wet mix.
- Mixture variations: Some people put the meat mixture through the grinder… I don’t! If you like a boudin with less of a strand texture then you can cut smaller cubes or put it through a large grinder plate.
Some people like more rice in their boudin… and I like more meaty boudin, so you can adjust the rice quantity in the recipe accordingly! - Links: Boudin is very wet so the casings don’t dry very well, For best results keep them linked for cooking purpose (otherwise the stuffing will come out the ends. If you want to cut your links (to vac seal them) then I would suggest parboiling them in water and then putting them in the fridge overnight. You can then safely cut into links
- Cooking: Because the boudin is already cooked you are just looking to heat the mix and set the casings.
Fresh, you can boil them (as chained links); you can steam them; you smoke them, you can bake them (on a rack). I prefer letting them set overnight in the fridge on a cooling rack and then cook them as above. - Storing/Freezing: Since this makes quite a few links you can easily freeze those bad boys. I normally vac seal them (gentle mode) and when I am ready to eat them I just put them in a pot of boiling water (in the bag) for about 10 minutes from thawed or 30 minutes from frozen.
I think I have covered all grounds and answered all the questions I would have, looking at the recipe. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
Enjoy! and Bon Appetite!
Dr_Pain Excellent job. This is how a recipe should be written. To be able to follow it and get good results is great.
The only comment I have is the rice issue. The long grain rice I think is best. Just rinse well.
I use the Chef’s Choice from Royal. After rinsing, it is the most ‘flakiest’ rice on the market. I use this for everything from boudin to red beans and rice. About any dish with rice except Paella.
Thank you for taking the time to post this great recipe. This would be the format I would want to put in a Meatgistics cookbook. Since there were so many opinions about the cookbook, I’m going to step back for a few months and try again latter.
-
Dr_Pain Excellent job. This is how a recipe should be written. To be able to follow it and get good results is great.
The only comment I have is the rice issue. The long grain rice I think is best. Just rinse well.
I use the Chef’s Choice from Royal. After rinsing, it is the most ‘flakiest’ rice on the market. I use this for everything from boudin to red beans and rice. About any dish with rice except Paella.
Thank you for taking the time to post this great recipe. This would be the format I would want to put in a Meatgistics cookbook. Since there were so many opinions about the cookbook, I’m going to step back for a few months and try again latter.
Chef said in Cajun Boudin Recipe by Claude:
Dr_Pain Excellent job. This is how a recipe should be written. To be able to follow it and get good results is great.
The only comment I have is the rice issue. The long grain rice I think is best. Just rinse well.
I use the Chef’s Choice from Royal. After rinsing, it is the most ‘flakiest’ rice on the market. I use this for everything from boudin to red beans and rice. About any dish with rice except Paella.
Thank you for taking the time to post this great recipe. This would be the format I would want to put in a Meatgistics cookbook. Since there were so many opinions about the cookbook, I’m going to step back for a few months and try again latter.
I’ve done it with long grain and I like it as well. Personally my favorite rice is Jasmine and Basmati but they would not do well in this medium
I actually wrote the recipe thinking about you Chef and all the comments back and forth on the cookbook.
-
Dr_Pain Excellent job. This is how a recipe should be written. To be able to follow it and get good results is great.
The only comment I have is the rice issue. The long grain rice I think is best. Just rinse well.
I use the Chef’s Choice from Royal. After rinsing, it is the most ‘flakiest’ rice on the market. I use this for everything from boudin to red beans and rice. About any dish with rice except Paella.
Thank you for taking the time to post this great recipe. This would be the format I would want to put in a Meatgistics cookbook. Since there were so many opinions about the cookbook, I’m going to step back for a few months and try again latter.
Chef I agree this would be a great way to put recipes in the log, easy to read and understand.
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Chef I agree this would be a great way to put recipes in the log, easy to read and understand.
bocephus Thank,
A good recipe should contain all the information for a person familiar with a kitchen and cook to follow and reproduce the item based on the recipe alone.
An advance recipe includes things like temperature. Room temp or cold. Important with things like butter or eggs. While there is a professional standard, most home cooks would never know just what to do.
Brings up a fun story, funny but all too true.
Honey, Why Do You Cut the Ends Off the Ham?
A husband and his wife were in their kitchen. The husband was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper while his wife was preparing a ham for dinner. The husband watched the wife cut off about one inch from either end of the ham. He asked why she cut the end off, proclaiming “that’s a waste of good ham!”
That’s the Way My Mom Prepared It
She said “that’s the way my mom prepared the ham.” The husband asked “why did your mom cut the ends off?” The wife didn’t know.
Mom, Why Do You Cut the Ends Off The Ham?
Later, the wife called her mom to find out why she cut the ends of the ham off. Her mom said “because that was the way my mom prepared ham.”
Finally, the Real Answer!
The wife’s grandma passed away several years earlier, but her Grandpa was still living. She called her Grandpa and asked “Grandpa, why did Grandma cut the ends off of the ham?” He was silent as he thought for a moment. Then he replied, “so the ham could fit in the baking pan.”
All too many recipes, including great cook books contain such things, people just do with out regard to why they do it.
-
bocephus Thank,
A good recipe should contain all the information for a person familiar with a kitchen and cook to follow and reproduce the item based on the recipe alone.
An advance recipe includes things like temperature. Room temp or cold. Important with things like butter or eggs. While there is a professional standard, most home cooks would never know just what to do.
Brings up a fun story, funny but all too true.
Honey, Why Do You Cut the Ends Off the Ham?
A husband and his wife were in their kitchen. The husband was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper while his wife was preparing a ham for dinner. The husband watched the wife cut off about one inch from either end of the ham. He asked why she cut the end off, proclaiming “that’s a waste of good ham!”
That’s the Way My Mom Prepared It
She said “that’s the way my mom prepared the ham.” The husband asked “why did your mom cut the ends off?” The wife didn’t know.
Mom, Why Do You Cut the Ends Off The Ham?
Later, the wife called her mom to find out why she cut the ends of the ham off. Her mom said “because that was the way my mom prepared ham.”
Finally, the Real Answer!
The wife’s grandma passed away several years earlier, but her Grandpa was still living. She called her Grandpa and asked “Grandpa, why did Grandma cut the ends off of the ham?” He was silent as he thought for a moment. Then he replied, “so the ham could fit in the baking pan.”
All too many recipes, including great cook books contain such things, people just do with out regard to why they do it.
Chef Story about cutting the ham on both ends. She was just carrying on a tradition and some traditions cannot be traced. Way tooo funny. But, also sad at the same time.
-
bocephus Thank,
A good recipe should contain all the information for a person familiar with a kitchen and cook to follow and reproduce the item based on the recipe alone.
An advance recipe includes things like temperature. Room temp or cold. Important with things like butter or eggs. While there is a professional standard, most home cooks would never know just what to do.
Brings up a fun story, funny but all too true.
Honey, Why Do You Cut the Ends Off the Ham?
A husband and his wife were in their kitchen. The husband was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper while his wife was preparing a ham for dinner. The husband watched the wife cut off about one inch from either end of the ham. He asked why she cut the end off, proclaiming “that’s a waste of good ham!”
That’s the Way My Mom Prepared It
She said “that’s the way my mom prepared the ham.” The husband asked “why did your mom cut the ends off?” The wife didn’t know.
Mom, Why Do You Cut the Ends Off The Ham?
Later, the wife called her mom to find out why she cut the ends of the ham off. Her mom said “because that was the way my mom prepared ham.”
Finally, the Real Answer!
The wife’s grandma passed away several years earlier, but her Grandpa was still living. She called her Grandpa and asked “Grandpa, why did Grandma cut the ends off of the ham?” He was silent as he thought for a moment. Then he replied, “so the ham could fit in the baking pan.”
All too many recipes, including great cook books contain such things, people just do with out regard to why they do it.
Chef zbigjeff I’ve always been a critical thinker and early on when I started to cook I noticed that my mother would cut the end of cucumbers and rubbed it to supposedly draw out the bitterness into the little scum that was produced by the rubbing. My reply to her doing that was WTF!! (French version obviously) and that deserved a nice bar of Sunlight soap in the mouth. I’ve learned a valuable lesson that day.
-
As promised here is a simple way to recreate your typical Cajun Boudin. Although I am Canadian by birth I’ve lived in South Louisiana for 26+ years and have sampled 100s of boudins and this is my oldest son and I’s recreation of this local sausage. We opted to make it simple enough that my brothers in Canada could recreate using their local ingredients, so as a fact, anyone on the board should be able reproduce. I will put the recipe up and will have notes below
Main ingredients:
- 5 lbs of pork shoulder (deboned and cut into 1-1.5" cubes)
- 1lbs of chicken liver whole (drained but not washed)
- 2 medium onions large dice (trinity)
- 2 bell pepper large dice (trinity)
- 2 stalk of celery large dice (trinity)
- 8 good fresh cloves of garlic smashed and chopped
- 1 fresh Jalapeno chili diced small
- 1 fresh Serano chili diced small
- 8 green onion white part only (reserve the green part for later)
Seasoning:
- 60 grams of salt (and more to taste at the end)
- 20 grams of black pepper
- 3 grams of ground thyme
- 15 grams of paprika
- 5 grams of cayenne
Other ingredients:
- 6 cups of cooked long grain rice (~1060 grams) I prefer the Mahatma extra long grain rice
- 1/2 a bunch of fresh parsley chopped (~1/4 cup)
- 8 green onion (green tops only)
- 32-35mm fresh hog casing cleaned and rinced
Technique:
- Cut and combine all the main ingredients and all seasonings and marinate 24hrs. Do not add the “other ingredients yet”.
- Put the marinated meat mixture in a pot large enough and add enough water to cover (I sometimes use some pork stock from my sous vide cooks)
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 3.5-4hrs (until meat falls apart)
- Drain and reserve the beautiful stock (keep it very hot)
- Put your meat/veggy mixture in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and shred all the mix
- Mix your meat/veggy mixture with the “Other Ingredients” (rice, parsley and green tops)
- Progressively add your very HOT stock until you get a wet but not too wet mixture. (see notes)
{This is the trick: Too wet and it is sloppy and too dry and you won’t be happy with the results. } - Since everything is already cooked, taste to adjust the seasoning.
- Stuff the mixture HOT in the cleaned and soaked casing (this help start the process of setting the casing.
- Make links of any desire lengths
- Allow to dry on a cooling rack in the fridge overnight to set the casing (see notes)
- Cook and enjoy!! (see notes)
Boudin is normally on the salty side (as it should) so don’t worry. If you taste it and you think it is definitely on the verge of being too salty then you did it right because the rice will absorb the extra and the end product will be just fine. When it is time to adjust seasoning, this is where I add my favorite Cajun Seasoning to add a little kick and dimension to my boudin. Be careful if you do add Cajun Seasoning because some Cajun Seasoning are just flavored salt. The one I use is not salt forward so it turns out just right.
Notes:
- Pork: I’ve use shoulder and picnic to make boudin all depending on what is the cheapest
- Liver: Chicken livers are definitely more tame than pork liver but I have used both and enjoyed both. DO NOT OMIT from the recipe!!
- The “Trinity” should be an equal mix (roughly) so if you have smaller onions or bell peppers, just make sure the end mix is 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 of each of the 3 vegs
- Stock: When mixing the stock with the mixture of meat/veggy/rice, make sure you add all the fat first DO NOT SKIM THE FAT, then add as much watery stock as needed to make a good wet mix.
- Mixture variations: Some people put the meat mixture through the grinder… I don’t! If you like a boudin with less of a strand texture then you can cut smaller cubes or put it through a large grinder plate.
Some people like more rice in their boudin… and I like more meaty boudin, so you can adjust the rice quantity in the recipe accordingly! - Links: Boudin is very wet so the casings don’t dry very well, For best results keep them linked for cooking purpose (otherwise the stuffing will come out the ends. If you want to cut your links (to vac seal them) then I would suggest parboiling them in water and then putting them in the fridge overnight. You can then safely cut into links
- Cooking: Because the boudin is already cooked you are just looking to heat the mix and set the casings.
Fresh, you can boil them (as chained links); you can steam them; you smoke them, you can bake them (on a rack). I prefer letting them set overnight in the fridge on a cooling rack and then cook them as above. - Storing/Freezing: Since this makes quite a few links you can easily freeze those bad boys. I normally vac seal them (gentle mode) and when I am ready to eat them I just put them in a pot of boiling water (in the bag) for about 10 minutes from thawed or 30 minutes from frozen.
I think I have covered all grounds and answered all the questions I would have, looking at the recipe. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
Enjoy! and Bon Appetite!
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Chef zbigjeff I’ve always been a critical thinker and early on when I started to cook I noticed that my mother would cut the end of cucumbers and rubbed it to supposedly draw out the bitterness into the little scum that was produced by the rubbing. My reply to her doing that was WTF!! (French version obviously) and that deserved a nice bar of Sunlight soap in the mouth. I’ve learned a valuable lesson that day.
Dr_Pain Hehehehehe Hehehehehe hehehe on the soap. Yep, we were abused even though from diff sections of the country and origins.
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Chef zbigjeff I’ve always been a critical thinker and early on when I started to cook I noticed that my mother would cut the end of cucumbers and rubbed it to supposedly draw out the bitterness into the little scum that was produced by the rubbing. My reply to her doing that was WTF!! (French version obviously) and that deserved a nice bar of Sunlight soap in the mouth. I’ve learned a valuable lesson that day.
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