Boudin Cajun
Cajun sausage of rice, pork and spices, distinct from the French boudin by the presence of rice and the Cajun holy trinity (onion, celery, green pepper).
| Cooked pork shoulder, shredded | 400 g |
| Cooked pork liver, chopped | 150 g |
| Boiled rice | 350 g |
| Onion, chopped and sautéed | 80 g |
| Celery, chopped and sautéed | 40 g |
| Green pepper, chopped and sautéed | 40 g |
| Spring onion (scallion), sliced | 30 g |
| Broth from cooking the pork | 100 ml |
| Fine salt | 12 g |
| Ground black pepper | 3 g |
| Cayenne pepper | 3 g |
| Hog casing (Ø 36–40 mm) | — |
- Cooking the meats: Simmer the pork shoulder in water, with onions, garlic and celery, for 2 to 3 hours, until tender. Poach the liver separately for 20 minutes. Reserve the broth.
- Preparing the trinity: Sauté the onion, the celery and the pepper in lard until tender.
- Mixing: Shred the pork. Chop the liver finely. Combine with the cooked rice, the trinity, the spring onion and the spices. Add hot broth to a consistency that holds but stays moist.
- Seasoning: Taste and adjust the salt and the chilli to preference. The boudin should be well seasoned.
- Stuffing: Stuff into the casings without packing too tightly. Form links of 12-15 cm.
- Poaching: Poach in water at 75–80 °C for 15–20 minutes.
- Serving: Reheat in the oven, in the microwave, by steaming or by light grilling. It is often eaten by squeezing the contents out of the casing.
The Cajun boudin is fundamentally distinct from the French boudin, after which it is named. The French boudin noir rests on pig’s blood; the Cajun boudin is a sausage of rice and minced pork, seasoned, without blood in its most widespread version. The Acadian settlers deported from Nova Scotia had brought the technique of the boudin, but the rice abundant in the Louisiana bayous gradually replaced the blood and the bread as a binder and as a base.
The rice is cooked in the broth from the offal; it absorbs the fat and meat juices, which give it a creamy texture and a deep flavour. The Cajun holy trinity (onion, celery, green pepper) structures the seasoning as it structures the whole cooking of south-west Louisiana. The flat-leaf parsley and the spring onions, added raw at the end, bring a fresh herbaceous note that contrasts with the richness of the cooked base.
The Cajun boudin has been sold chiefly in the petrol stations and supermarkets of south-west Louisiana since the 1970s, which reflects its status as an everyday snack. The Cajuns eat it standing, often at the counter, squeezing the casing to extract the filling, the casing itself rarely eaten. This mode of consumption finds a distant echo in that of the Bavarian weißwurst, though no historical link connects the two traditions.
The Boudin Trail, an unofficial gastronomic itinerary from Lafayette to Lake Charles, lists several hundred establishments offering their own boudin. Guides and blogs compare the productions by criteria that recall the judgments of Texan barbecue aficionados: rice-to-meat ratio, level of chilli, casing texture, freshness.
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