I can’t think o f a food item that i’ve eaten more of than boudin. Growing up in SW Louisiana it’s no exaggeration to say that we used to eat this 5 times a week at least. It was at almost every grocery store, gas station, restaurant, and snack place. We would eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Sometimes it was an appetizer or a snack. Often it was given as gifts or served at weddings. So what is Boudin?
Well Boudin is a Cajun rice sausage that’s generally made with pork, but you can find alligator, crawfish, shrimp, beef, or even chicken boudin. It’s heavily spiced and usually contains some sort of liver.
Boudin is prepared by braising the meat and liver in a delicious broth filled with vegetables (onion, celery, bell peppers). After the meat has cooked for some time and has become tender the meat and all of the vegetables are run through a meat grinder. This mixture is then tossed with cooked white rice and the cooking liquid is spooned in a little at a time till a sticky consistency is achieved. At this point boudin is stuffed into casings and is served up steamed, smoked, or grilled. Another popular way to eat this is in the form of Boudin Balls.
Boudin balls are great. It’s boudin rolled into a ball and dipped into a bread crumb mixture then deep fried. Classic Cajun food! In today’s post I’ll share with you my secrets and tips on how to make this awesome Cajun staple!!
Here are a few things you might find useful when making Boudin
- High Quality Natural Casings (AA Grade)
- Iodophor Sanitizer
- MK4 Thermapen (Accurate Thermometer)
- Chef Knife – KOTAI
- Boning Knife
- 10qt Slow Cooker
- Meat Grinders
- Sausage Stuffers
- Smokers
Enjoy the video and the recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask away. If you make this at home I’d love to hear about how it came out!!
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Cajun Smoked Boudin & Boudin Balls
Ingredients
- 2270 g Pork Shoulder Bone in or boneless is fine
- 454 g chicken liver use fresh liver not frozen and soak it for 2 hours in cool water then diced
- 651 g white onion chopped
- 392 g green bell pepper chopped
- 375 g celery chopped
- 80 g garlic minced
- 300 g chopped green onion tops divided
- 13 g dried parsley
- 30 g kosher salt
- 7 g black pepper
- 24 g Cajun Seasoning or to taste
- 5 g cayenne pepper optional if you want it spicy
- 15 cups cooked white rice you might not need it all but it’s better to have a little extra
- enough chicken stock to cover the meat and vegetables by 1 inch
Instructions
- Season the pork shoulder with Creole seasoning and place in a zip lock or vacuum sealed bag overnight in the fridge.
- The next day take the shoulder out and sear all sides on a hot cast iron skillet with a little oil. Once seared place the shoulder in a slow cooker or a medium size pot.
- In the same skillet sauté the onions, bell peppers, and celery. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to help draw out some moisture and cook till soft. Add the garlic and 1/2 the chopped green onions. Cook for a few minutes more.
- Add the diced liver to the vegetables and cook a few minutes more. Once finished remove from heat and add to the crock pot or pot that the pork shoulder is in.
- Add enough chicken stock to cover the ingredients by 1 inch, then add your seasonings. Let it cook on low covered for 3-5 hours till your pork is falling off the bone.
- Once finished separate the liquid from the meat and veggies. Debone your pork and run the pork meat and the vegetables through a 6mm grinder plate.
- In a large bowl add your ground meat mixture, the rest of your green onions, all the parsley, and rice (I like a 50/50 mix of rice and meat)
- Add 1/2 cup at a time of reserved pork broth till the mixture begins to come together and starts to get sticky. I think I added between 3 and 3.5 cups of liquid but every batch is different. Taste for any seasoning adjustment. You might need a little Cajun seasoning or cayenne pepper at this step..
For Boudin Balls
- For Boudin Balls grab a small handful of the boudin mix and roll into a tight ball. dredge it through some seasoned flour and dunk it into a whisked egg mixture. Finally roll it in some Panko Bread crumbs and set to the side. Fry the balls in 350f oil till golden brown on the outside.
For Smoked Boudin
- Stuff this mix into a sausage casing and hang them in your smoker. at 225F let it smoke for 1 hour then brush the outside of the casing with a little olive oil. After 3 hours of smoking your smoked boudin is finished.
For Steamed Boudin
- Stuff this mix into a sausage casing and hang them in your smoker. Place in a steamer basket and steam for 10 minutes. Serve hot with crackers
To freeze boudin
- Vacuum seal the boudin and freeze for 6-9 months
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Love It !!
Do you reheat to serve or eat cold as a snack stick?
It’s generally reheated and eaten but it can be eaten cold
Eric…Once again, Brilliant recipe! Although I was familiar with boudin, I never had it nor did I ever make it. This recipe is easy and tasty. I chose to stuff all of the mince into sausage casing and smoke it…outstanding! I wish I had pork liver rather than chicken liver, but the former is a bit hard to find where I’m located. Did not realize how soft the mince becomes…Fortunately, I saw a video regarding boudin where they claim lots of folks just rip off the top of the sausage casing and squeeze out the innards! LOL Ended up doing that very thing! Thanks again for an easy and tasty sausage recipe!
Excellent. This is one of my favorites for sure!!
I grew up in south LA, the New Roads Morgana area Love this sausage, and now that I’m in FL I am thrilled to find that wallyworld sells it.
What kind of casing would you recommend for this sausage?
any hog casing will work. I prefer 32-35mm
The video said the boudin balls could be frozen. At what point would you freeze them?
I generally freeze them after I fry them up, but you can freeze them after you have the bread crumb coating on them… Then fry them once you are ready to eat..
Great recipe, made it three times with different quantities, came out great each time. I live in south Louisiana, this taste great.
Nice!! What part of South Louisiana?
First time making boudin and couldn’t be happier with how this recipe turned out