Andouille (Cajun smoked sausage)
Andouille (pronounced ahn-DWEE or ann-DO-ee) is a coarse-grained smoked meat made using pork, pepper, onions, wine, and seasonings. Andouille is French in origin, and was later brought to the United States through Louisiana by French immigrants. In the United States, the sausage is most often associated with Cajun cooking.
The style of sausage is now widespread, and so it is unclear whether it originated in France, whence the name comes, or in Germany, where similar recipes also have a long history. A similar sausage, Nduja, is produced in the region of Calabria in southern Italy; the name is clearly derived from the French, and it is thought that the recipe may have spread there from France during periods of French dominance in the Middle Ages. This suggests a history going back at least 1000 years. It is interesting to note that the finest andouille in France (which is a milder sausage made from chitterlings) comes from the Brittany and Normandy areas. It is believed that over half of the Acadian exiles who came to Louisiana in 1755 were originally from these coastal regions.
Due to the rising popularity of Cajun cuisine, andouille is mistakenly believed to be a spicy sausage. True andouille is a savory sausage that lacks any real heat in its flavor. In Cajun/Creole cooking it is used more as a dish enhancer. The fat in authentic andouille melts into the dish thus adding flavor in the process. Andouille prepared in the United States outside of Louisiana and southeast Texas tends to be a spicy sausage seasoned with red pepper and in most cases not smoked.
Cajun andouille is smoked and is made with pork butt, shank and a small amount of pork fat. This sausage is seasoned with salt, cracked black pepper and garlic. The andouille is then slowly smoked over pecan wood and sugar cane. True andouille is stuffed into the beef middle casing which makes the sausage approximately one and a half inches in diameter. When smoked, it becomes very dark to almost black in color. It is not uncommon for the Cajuns to smoke andouille for seven to eight hours at approximately 175 degrees.
Homemade Cajun Andouille
Recipe by:
Chef John Folse
To check seasonings, mix using lesser amounts of spices not sure about. Make a small patty, fry and taste.
5 pounds pork butt
1/2 pound pork fat
1/2 cup chopped garlic (another recipe uses half this amount)
1/4 cup cracked black pepper (another recipe uses half this amount)
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper (may want to use 1 Tbsp cayenne and 1 Tbsp paprika)
1 tablespoon dry thyme
4 tablespoons salt
6 feet beef middle casing (see butcher or specialty shop)
Cube pork butt into one and a half inch cubes. Using a meat grinder with four one quarter inch holes in the grinding plate, grind pork and pork fat. If you do not have a grinding plate this size, I suggest hand cutting pork butt into one quarter inch square pieces.
Place ground pork in large mixing bowl and blend in all remaining ingredients. Once well blended, stuff meat into casings in one foot links, using the sausage attachment on your meat grinder. Tie both ends of the sausage securely using a heavy gauge twine.
In your homestyle smoker, smoke andouille at 175-200°F for approximately four to five hours using pecan or hickory wood. The andouille may then be frozen and used for seasoning gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice or grilling as an hors d'oeuvre.
Homemade Cajun Andouille
from http://www.smoker-cooking.com/
Andouille is a pork sausage, with the meat being coarsely ground and heavily seasoned. The sausages are traditionally stuffed into natural casings and cold smoked for many hours, which gives them the strong smoke flavor they are famous for.
5 pounds pork butt, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 Tbs sweet paprika
2 Tbs plus 2 tsp of Morton's Tenderquick
2 Tbs finely chopped garlic
1 Tbs kosher salt
1 Tbs white sugar
1 Tbs coarsely ground black pepper
2 tsp ground red pepper [cayenne?]
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground mace
1/2 cup ice cold water
hog casings
Combine the spices, salt, sugar, garlic and Tenderquick. When cutting up the pork butt, separate the pork fat from the the lean meat as it's being cut into pieces.
In separate bowls, coat the meat and fat with the spice mixture, rubbing it in well. Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.
To give the sausage the correct texture, the meat and fat should be coarsely ground. Use a 3/8 inch plate to grind the meat, and a 1/4 inch plate for the fat. Combine the meat with the fat, add the cold water, and knead until all the water is absorbed. Stuff into the casing, twisting off into 4 inch lengths.
For the best flavor the andouille should be cold smoked at under 100 degrees for 10 to 12 hours. This will give them a strong smoke flavor, which makes them perfect for adding flavor to all those great Cajun dishes. The cold smoked sausages are cured, but still uncooked and must be fully cooked before eating.
If you don't want to take the time cold smoking requires, you can hot smoke them at 175-200 degrees for 3 to 5 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees Fahrenheit.
The fruits of this andouille sausage recipe can be safely refrigerated for up to five days, and will keep in the freezer for up 2 months...if any of 'em last that long!
