Louisiana Crawfish Boudin Food

LOUISIANA BOUDIN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Chop the meats, liver and fat into chunks that will fit in the grinder. Mix the meats, liver and fat with the onion, celery, poblano peppers and garlic, then the salt, curing salt (if using) and either the Cajun seasonings or the spice mix you made from this recipe. Put it all in a lidded container and set in the fridge at least an hour, and up to a day.
• Put the contents of the container into a large pot and pour in enough water to cover everything by an inch or two. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until everything is tender, at least 90 minutes and up to 3 hours. Strain the cooking liquid (you'll need it later) and spread the meat, fat and veggies out on a sheet pan to cool.
• When everything is cool enough to handle, grind it through the coarse die (6.5 mm) on your grinder. You can also hand chop everything.
• Put your meat mix into a large bowl and add the cooked rice, parsley and green onions. Mix well, and add up to 4 cups of the reserved cooking liquid. Mix this for 3 to 5 minutes so you make a more cohesive mixture to stuff into a casing. You now have boudin.
• You can just shape the mixture into balls and fry them (they're awesome), or use your boudin as stuffing for something else, like a turkey. Or you can case it. Stuff the boudin into hog casings, and while you're doing it, get a large pot of salted water hot -- not simmering, just steaming. You want the water to be about 165ºF to 170ºF. Poach the links for 10 minutes, then serve. If you are not serving them right away, no need to poach the links yet.
• Boudin does not keep well, so eat it all within a couple days. It does freeze reasonably well, however.

PRUDHOMME'S CRAWFISH BOUDIN - BOUDAIN D'ECREVISSES - LOUISIANA CRAWFISH AND RICE SAUSAGE

Steps:

• To prepare casings: Let casings soak in cool water about five minutes to remove salt on outer surface (no longer, or they will become too tender to stuff) and flush salt from the inside by placing one end on faucet nozzle and turn on cold tap water (if you see holes or water leaking, cut and discard).
• Remove casing from faucet and gently squeeze out water; cover rinsed casings and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Place the crawfish in a bowl and sprinkle the seasonings on top; mix well and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the vegetables over medium heat for about five minutes or until translucent.
• Add the seasoned crawfish and cook about 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat and stir in the rice, mixing very well.
• While the mixture is still hot, fill the casings, making links by twisting the filled casing several turns periodically (a four inch link is a good size).
• To cook:.
• Place the sausage in a single layer in a large pan or dutch oven and cover with water.
• Heat over high until water is nearly simmering and reduce heat to maintain just under simmering until the sausage is heated through about 15 to 20 minutes (cooking over higher heat may lead the casings to burst).
• Drain and serve immediately.
• An alternate method of cooking would be to saute the sausages in a frying pan in a little oil or butter.

LOUISIANA CRAWFISH BOUDIN

Steps:

• Soak hog casings in cold water for 10 minutes. Hold casings open under a running faucet and flush water through inside of casings. Reserve casings chilled.
• Place Louisiana Crawfish tails in bowl and season with salt, cayenne, white pepper and Creole seasoning. Reserve chilled.
• Heat large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add 3 Tbsp. canola oil. Add onions, garlic, celery and bell peppers and cook until peppers are tender and onions are translucent (about 5 minutes). Reserve.
• Heat another large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add remaining 3 Tbsp. canola oil. Add seasoned crawfish and sauté until cooked through (about 6-8 minutes). Add white wine and cook until liquid is reduced by 2/3rds. Reserve.
• Combine cooked vegetables, cooked crawfish and cooking liquid, cooked rice, parsley and green onions in large bowl. Place mixture on cutting board and chop coarsely with knife until crawfish pieces are about 1/4 of original size. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Place mixture into a sausage press and fill casings. Twist casings a few times every 5 inches to separate each link. Fill all casings until mixture is finished.
• To cook, fill large pot with 3 inches of water and bring to simmer. Add crawfish sausage and simmer gently for 12-15 minutes. Remove from water and serve hot with Creole mustard.