What can a scrumptious easy Cajun dish be? You guessed it right. Boudin sausages are what we’re going to talk about today. These sausages are already combined with processed meat, rice, spices, and all the ingredients you’ll need.
If you buy Boudin directly from the local market, all you have to do is to cook it. You won’t even need to add extra ingredients. How cool is that!
However, you can still add in some of your favorite spices such as red chili pepper, cardamom powder etc. according to your taste. Just matching the taste with your taste buds! You might get confused seeing the casing of the sausage and think how you will cook it. We recommend not to remove the casing prior cooking.
To relieve you from all the recipe searching, we have provided you with some easy and quick recipes here. They will save you a lot of time and trust us, they are absolutely delicious! So, without further ado, let’s hop on to our recipes.
What is Boudin?
Boudin or BOO-dan is a pork sausage. It is made from the finest pork meat, combining rice and various vegetables. Adding seasoning makes it more flavorful. If you want to have a traditional Boudin, you must look for the ones that have pork liver and/or pork heart with the meat.
All of the meat is carefully washed and grounded. The meat is simmered before packaging. You won’t any lumps in it. They are seasoned with chopped vegetables and cooked rice. The filling made of rice and vegetables is also known as pork dirty rice.
So, you can understand that all of the ingredients of Boudin is almost cooked. It lessens down your actual cooking time. The fillings are packed tightly with a casing at the end of the Boudin making process. Unlike other sausages, Boudin casings are made from a pig’s intestine. As a result, the flavors can be compacted nicely.
From here on, you can cook these sausages by either grilling, poaching, baking, or however you like. We’ll discuss the cooking technique in a few seconds on our next segment – How to Cook Boudin.
How to Cook Boudin
1. Steam Cooking
Steaming Boudin is a healthy way to eat the pork meat. You can place several links of sausages in water of the steamer pot. Cover the bottom as well. If you feel that it’s a trouble steaming in a pot, a rice cooker will also be fine.
Heat the cooker for 3 to 5 minutes and press the “Cook” button. After that, change the settings and set it to “Warm”. Then wait for another 10 to 15 minutes. Your Boudin is cooked and warm enough to enjoy!
However, if you don’t have a steamer pot or a rice cooker, you can also steam the Boudin in a double boiler. You have to maintain at least 160-degrees Fahrenheit hot center before you serve the delicious Boudin.
2. Poaching
For poaching, you will need to prepare the water at first. Pour down some Cajun seasonings or whatever spices you prefer in the water and bring it to a boil. Place the sausages carefully into the boiling water. Make sure they are completely submerged in the water.
Then turn your heater to a low heat so that the water simmers lightly. Never re-boil the water because the sausages may burst. Don’t cover the pot and let it cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. After it’s done, carefully take out the links. Let the Boudin rest on a platter for a few minutes to cool down. Maintaining 160-degrees Fahrenheit in the center, serve the Boudin and cut it into slices.
3. Baking
In our how to cook Boudin series, baking is probably the easiest one. At first, you’ll have to preheat your oven at 300-degrees Fahrenheit. Place the sausage links on a cookie sheet. If you want a crispy cover Boudin, you’ll have to brush the sheet with little oil prior placing the links.
Then, put the tray inside the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Turn the links for every 5 minutes of baking. This way the sausages will cook evenly. As the previous methods, this time too you need to ensure a 160-degrees Fahrenheit temperature before serving the sausages.
4. Microwave Oven
You can cook Boudin in a Microwave oven too! Take a link and place on a plate that will not be affected by microwave. Cover the sausages with a paper towel, otherwise they will splatter. How, heat the oven 2 to 3 minutes.
You might need more or less time for heating as not all microwaves have the same system. Then, turn the links to the other side and cook them again in similar process. Listen to the beep your oven after it’s done. There you go, a nicely cooked Boudin ready to serve!
Boiling Boudin
This is as simple as boiling anything in water. Just like other time, you need to boil the water first. Then place the links into the water. Let it boil again. After a rough 10 to 12 minutes check the Boudin if it’s done. Let us teach you a trick. To test whether the sausages are cooked properly, gently squeeze the link.
If you see the casing bouncing back, you’ll know it’s ready to serve. By the way, you must maintain 165-degrees temperature to cook the links. If the temperature is too high, the links may burst. On the other side, too low temperature may take more time to cook the sausages. Also, low heat may cause your links to lose its taste.
Final Thoughts
You see, cooking Boudin is one of the easiest tasks on earth. However, if you don’t like pork you can use other variations such as shrimp, crawfish, duck, rabbit, etc. You always have freedom in choosing the fillings and seasonings when you’re preparing Boudin at home.
Homemade or store-bought Boudin, you can cook them following our recipes above. We can guarantee that your family will absolutely love it!
