Have you been asking yourself how to cook boudin? This traditional southern food is very popular in the south and people from all parts of the country to love it. You can usually find boudin on any city’s menu if you go down south during the week. I will give you some tips on how to cook boudin for those of you who are interested in making this dish at home.
Boudin is made by cooking sausage and other ingredients in a casserole pot over a low heat for about an hour. Once, the meat cooks, it is typically covered in a thick boudin crust that forms the top of the pot. The reason this cooking method is called cajun is because the bottom of the pot would be ground up pork rinds. In addition, the casserole pot also has a covering of flour so the steam from the cooking can rise to the top of the pot.
The next step in how to cook boudin is to place the steaming meat into a pressure cooker or a pot called a skillet. When you pressure cooker or skillet put the meat into the water. The first time I cooked a boudoir with this method, I used two pounds of pork ribs, but my current pressure cooker weighs about six pounds. Some people do use beef if they have the time. Just drain off as much liquid as possible and let the ribs soak in the liquid for about two hours or more.
When the ribs have soaked enough, remove them from the liquid and slice them. This will create the cracking sound we all know as crackling. If you want the best stop crackling then soak the pieces overnight in water. When you slice your boudin sausage it will look the best.
If using pork as your source of boudin, I would suggest cooking it at least 160 degrees over the hot coals of your stove or oven. This will give it the right texture and ensure an even cooking. I cook mine at least 160 degrees over the highest heat of my stove or oven and let the coals get hot before I add any liquid. For the Louisiana style Cajun recipes, I would suggest cooking the boudin at least twice, after the first soak, and after the second soak.
Once you are done with the first soak, it’s time to preheat the saute pan or your main cooker to the lowest heat setting. Place about one inch of water in the steamer pot or the main cooker, bring it to a simmer, turn the heating on to medium low. Let the rice simmer for about four hours or so, depending on your recipe.
You can make a delicious boudin sausage for your next big meal by adding the meat to your cooker along with the rest of the ingredients. My husband prefers ground pork meat and I use carrots and celery as well. Then I add my rice and stock and let it simmer for an additional three hours or so. By the time we serve our family, the boudin sausage is tender and the meat is juicy and delicious!
If you want to make bigger sized sausages, you can cut them up into chunks and keep them in your freezer. When you are ready to serve them, just take your chunks of meat out of the freezer and chop them up nice and fine. Then all you need to do is just sprinkle your sausages with some flour and place them onto your baked bonding rolls or boudin Blanc de noirs. You can also serve this meat filled rolls with some butter or margarine to enhance the flavor.