Boudin (boudain) recipe, a pork and rice Cajun sausage

A few years ago, a friend was visiting Toronto and found a Cajun store. He had grown up in Louisiana, so he called me, thrilled that he had discovered a source in the Northeast for some of his favorite Cajun ingredients. And yes, on hand were plenty of Cajun spices, store-made gumbos, and alligator meat. But the one thing this store didn’t have was boudin—a Cajun sausage that you also can’t find in New York.

“No boudin?” I said. “That’s a shame. Perhaps I should just try to make it myself.”

It took me a while, but five years later I finally did.

Boudin (also spelled boudain), if you’re not familiar with it, is a sausage that’s stuffed with pork, liver, rice, and a host of aromatics and spices. It’s what fuels road trips heading east on I-10 from Houston into Louisiana, as almost every gas station worth its salt will have poached or smoked boudin on hand, ready for snacking.

After you fill up the tank and stretch your legs, you grab a link, lean against the counter and squeeze the sausage until the filling oozes out the end, like toothpaste out of a tube. You take a big bite, wash it down with a cold beverage and continue eating until nothing but the casing remains. (The casing, which most don’t eat, is thrown away.) Of course, there are some fastidious types who prefer to eat boudin with a knife and a fork, but where’s the fun in that?

While it’s a Cajun dish, boudin is also found in Southeast Texas where the cultures of Louisiana and Texas collide. I’m partial to boudin that’s found at gas stations, but you can also buy it at meat markets, seafood shops, and grocery stores. You’ll seldom see it at proper sit-down restaurants, however, as boudin is regarded as stand-up, on-the-go food. And that’s probably why you don’t see it outside the Southeast Texas/Louisiana region, as even though there may be Cajun restaurants, boudin is not usually part of their repertoire. This used to upset me, but it’s no longer an issue since I’ve learned that the best boudin can be made at home.

The basic recipe for boudin is a mix of finely diced cooked pork, chicken or pig’s liver, rice, bell pepper, celery, green onions, parsley and cayenne. From that base you can tailor it any way you wish. I like to add a bunch of jalapeños to mine, and I know people who will throw in some shrimp and crawfish, too. Boudin is usually poached though you can smoke it, as well.

Making a batch of boudin is a snap—the most difficult part of the process is stuffing it into the casing. Though if you don’t have a sausage stuffer, you can still eat the filling as a dressing, or whip up a batch of boudin balls, which are rolled portions of the filling that have been dipped in crushed crackers and fried.

Now, while I associate boudin with quick stops on the road, it’s also mighty fine for home eating. It’s terrific to serve to friends when you’re watching the big game, and at holidays, my family has been known to add it to our festive buffet. But no matter when or where you eat boudin, know that you’re in for a spicy filling treat.

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