Hot boudin

1 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
4 cups Water; (up to 5)
3½ teaspoon Kosher salt
3 pounds Pork butts; cut into 2 inch cubes, (with some fat attached)
4 Bay leaves
2 Whole chili peppers
2 teaspoons Black pepper; freshly ground
1 pinch Dried thyme
1 Onion; medium, peeled and quartered
1 cup Long grain rice
2 teaspoons Garlic; minced
1 teaspoon Ground sage
1 teaspoon Dried thyme
2 teaspoons Red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons Cayenne
⅛ teaspoon Allspice
1 pinch Ground mace
½ cup Finely chopped green onions or scallions
½ cup Fresh parsley; finely chopped, (flat-leaf variety preferred)
2½ teaspoon Salt; kosher preferred
medium Hog casings; (optional)

Directions

Every culture has a favorite snack food, whether it's peanut butter and jelly or satay, tacos or a bowl of noodles. In the cajun country of southwest Louisiana the universal snack seems to be hot boudin. Everywhere you go, on country back roads or the main streets of towns like Lafayette, Opelousas, or Breaux Bridge, you see signs advertising this spicy sausage.

Although this spicy mixture of rice, cooked pork, and onions is stuffed into a casing, the casing itself is rarely eaten.The boudins casing gets a bit tough from steaming, and its stuffing is so soft and juicy that everything seems to gush out when you bite down. The best thing to do is to abandon any hope of elegant dining , and hold the boudin in one hand, out one end in your mouth, and squeeze the savory mixture out of the casing into your mouth as you go along.

The smell of boudin steaming evokes the sounds of Cajun fiddlers and accordion players warming up for their Saturday morning jams in small towns Eunice or Opelousas. There is always a greasy stack or two of boudin ripped open and spread on newspaper to munch on during the festivities. Boudin is quite perishable and should be refrigerated immediately after being made.

If not used in 2-3 days, it can be frozen for up to two months.

Put the water and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a saucepan large enough to hold the pork along with any bones or scraps. Bring the liquid to a boil and add the pork, bay leaves, chile peppers, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, and a pinch of thyme. Bring the pot back to the boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, over low heat for 45 minutes to an hour, or until pork is tender.

Add the onion and cook for 5-7 minutes additional minutes, until tender.

Remove the meat and onions to a platter to cool. Add rice to 1½ cups of the pork stock in the pot, cover, and cook over low hear until tender, about 20 minutes.

In a meat grinder fitted with a ¼ plate, grind the cooked pork and onions into a large bowl. Add the garlic, sage, thyme, red pepper flakes, cayenne, allspice, mace, parsley, the remaining teaspoon of black pepper and the remaining 2 ½ teaspoons of salt, along with the chopped green onions and the cooked rice. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture until it is well blended. Taste and correct the salt or other seasonings. Cool the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, and then stuff it into medium hog casings or just leave it in bulk for further use. It's not necessary to to tie boudin into links---just coil it as you go along.

Boudin is best heated by steaming. Coil the boudin in a colander or on a plate and place it in a large pot above an inch or two of water. Cover the pot and steam over moderate heat for 15 minutes. Makes about 4 pounds Author's note: Steaming boudin in the casing is the traditional way to heat up the sausage, but we like to form the meat into thin patties and fry it for breakfast or a quick and spicy lunch. It helps to add an egg or two to the mixture to bind it before frying. This is as good as any corned beef or roast beef hash you've ever tasted.

Source: Hot Links and Country Flavors Bruce Aidells and Denis Kelly Page(s): 53, 54

Posted to bbq-digest by Gary Wiviott <gwiv@...> on Feb 21, 1999, converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.

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