Boudin Food

BOUDIN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine the pork butt, pork liver, water, onions, garlic, bell peppers, celery, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until the pork and liver are tender. Remove from the heat and drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the broth. Using a meat grinder with a 1/4-inch die, grind the pork mixture. 1/2 cup of the parsley, and 1/2 cup of the green onions, together. Turn the mixture into a mixing bowl. Stir in the rice, remaining salt, cayenne, black pepper, parsley, and green onions. Add the broth, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix thoroughly.

BEST STOP BOUDIN

Steps:

• Add the pork butt, pork liver, onions, green bell peppers and 1 cup of the Cajun seasoning to a large stockpot and cover with water (about 10 gallons). Cover the pot, bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to a simmer and cook until the meat is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Drain the cooking liquid from the meat and vegetable mixture and reserve for later use. Allow the meat and vegetable mixture to cool slightly, then add it to a food processor or grinder and process to a medium-coarse consistency.
• Add the browning sauce to the reserved cooking liquid (approximately 5 gallons) and stir until well blended.
• Add the cooked rice to the ground meat and vegetable mixture and season with the remaining 1 cup Cajun seasoning. Fold together well until it becomes a uniform mixture. Add 7 to 8 quarts (28 to 32 cups) of the reserved cooking liquid/browning sauce mixture and combine until it is well mixed and has the consistency of a hearty stew. Refrigerate the mixture until firm and easy to handle, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Fill a cast-iron pot halfway with cooking oil and heat over medium heat until the oil reaches 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, add the cornmeal breading mix and flour and mix to distribute evenly. Using a 2 1/2-inch scoop, form the cooled mixture into balls and roll in the coating mix. Fry in the oil, in batches, until golden and crisp, about 6 minutes. Let drain on paper towels and serve warm.

CAJUN BOUDIN

Steps:

• Combine the pork shoulder, liver, and 4 cups of water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the pork cubes are tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Bring the rice and 4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside.
• Once the pork is tender, remove from the saucepan with a slotted spoon and allow to cool a bit. While the pork is cooling, stir the green onion, chopped onion, celery, bell pepper, parsley, cilantro, and garlic into the simmering pork broth. Season with salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the onion is tender. Meanwhile, grind the meat using the coarse plate of a meat grinder. Stir the ground meat into the vegetable mixture, and cook, stirring frequently until the water has nearly evaporated, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice, and set aside to cool.
• While the meat mixture is cooling, rinse the sausage casings inside and out with plenty of warm water. Keep the casings in a bowl of warm water until ready to stuff. Once the sausage mixture is cool enough to handle, stuff into the prepared casings using a sausage stuffer. Prick the sausage with a needle every 4 to 6 inches.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to keep the water at a very gentle simmer. Add the sausage and cook gently until the sausage is hot on the inside, firm to the touch, and has plumped, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

BOUDIN BALLS

Steps:

• Stir pork shoulder, livers, onion, celery, poblano pepper, jalapeno pepper, garlic, kosher salt, 1 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper, chili powder, and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper together in a large pot. Cover the pot with a lid and refrigerate until flavors combine, 2 hours to overnight.
• Pour enough water into the pork mixture to cover by 2-inches; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from heat. Pour mixture through a strainer, reserving strained liquid and meat separately.
• Transfer drained meat mixture to a cutting board and finely chop.
• Stir chopped meat, rice, parsley, and green onion together in a bowl. Gradually add reserved cooking liquid, 1 ladleful at a time, to meat mixture, stirring until completely incorporated between each addition, until mixture has a paste-like consistency. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours to overnight.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll chilled meat mixture into 1-inch balls.
• Whisk flour, 1 pinch cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper together in a shallow bowl. Pour breadcrumbs into another shallow bowl. Beat eggs in another shallow bowl.
• Gently press 1 ball into flour mixture to coat; shake off the excess flour. Dip ball into the beaten egg; press ball into bread crumbs. Place breaded ball onto a plate and repeat breading process with remaining meat balls.
• Working in batches, cook boudin balls in preheated oil, turning once, until crispy on the outside and hot on the inside, 3 to 4 minutes.

MY BOUDIN

Steps:

• Combine the pork, liver, vegetables, and seasonings in a bowl and marinate for 1 hour or overnight, covered, in the refrigerator. Place the marinated mixture in a large pot and cover the meat with water (by 1 to 2 inches). Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the meat is tender, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the heat and strain, reserving the liquid. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then put the solids through a meat grinder set on coarse grind. (You can also chop with a knife if you don't have a meat grinder, which is what I usually do anyway.)
• Place the ground meat in a large bowl. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, mix in the cooked rice, parsley, scallions, and the reserved cooking liquid. Stir vigorously for 5 minutes. When the boudin-rice mixture is first combined, it looks very wet and it's pretty spicy. Don't worry; after poaching, the rice absorbs the excess moisture and much of the spice. The wet texture and extra spice ensure that your final boudin will be moist and full of flavor.
• At this point you can feed the sausage into the casings. Poach the links gently in hot (not bubbling) water for about 10 minutes, then serve. Alternatively, you can use the mixture as a stuffing for chicken, or roll it into "boudin balls," dredge in bread crumbs, and fry in hot oil until golden brown.

BASIC BOUDIN BALLS

Steps:

• Remove boudin from casing; mix in fresh chiles.
• Shape mixture into balls about the size of a golf ball or smaller.
• Dip in beaten egg mixture and then into seasoned bread crumbs.
• I like to either use a large bowl with the bread crumbs in it and tossing 10 balls in it at a time and"tossing" to coat.
• [Bestto coat only as many balls as you can fry at one time; seasoning gets soggy if allowed to sit].
• Or, put bread crumbs in a large plastic bag, add balls, and"shake".
• Heat approx 1 1/2 inch of oil in a large, heavy bottomed (cast iron is excellent) skillet.
• Deep fat fry balls at 375 degrees (temp may be lowered, but no lower than 345 degrees) until golden brown, about 10 minutes per batch.
• Drain on paper towels.

CREOLE BOUDIN

Steps:

• Cut the pork steak and liver into 2 inch pieces and place in a large saucepan, along with the onion, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves. Cover with cold water by 1 1/2 inches. Season 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 the broth.
• Grind the meats and cooked onion and garlic while they're still hot, you could also chop this by hand.
• For the Rice:.
• In a saucepan with a lid, combine the rice with 3 Cups of the reserved broth. Taste the broth for seasoning, if necessary season with salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then down to very low heat and cover. Cook until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
• When the rice is cooked, combine it with the ground meat mixture, green onions, and parsley. Mix thoroughly and season to taste with Kosher salt, black pepper, and Cayenne.
• Stuff into prepared hog casings , or form into patties or balls for pan frying.
• To heat the stuffed Boudin sausages, 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. When I poach them, I take the Boudin out of the casings to eat it because they become rubbery.