Cajun Boudin Recipes

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.

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.