Clay's Kitchen : Sausage Recipes

Sausage Recipes

Andouille

Andouille is a strongly-smoked Cajun sausage used in gumbos, jambalayas, bisques and other specialties. True andouille is stuffed into medium beef casing (hard to find), which makes the sausage approximately 1 ½ inch in diameter. When smoked over pecan wood and sugar cane, it becomes very dark to almost black in color. Cajuns smoke andouille for up to seven or eight hours. The finest andouille in France comes from Brittany and Normandy — It's believed that over half of the Acadian exiles who came to Louisiana in 1755 were originally from these coastal regions.

There are many variations of andouille recipes. This is one that we've found is well-accepted by most palates. Grind the pork coarsely use a ⅜ inch plate. Stuff into large-bore hog casings (42+ mm). Smoke over your choice of chips hickory, apple, alder or pecan, if you can get it. Use a tray over the heat source and watch out for fire from the fat drippings! Smoke slowly until the sausages reach 175°F. They'll be fully cooked at that temperature, and ready to eat or to be frozen. Don't smoke them too fast, or they'll shrink and get wrinkled. Slow smoking toughens the skins to give the andouille that special "bite," like al dente pasta. Cut the sausages on the diagonal and add to your favorite Cajun dish!

1 pound ground pork
½ tablespoon coarse salt
⅓ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon rubbed sage
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground mace
½ teaspoon ground allspice
⅕ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground bayleaf
1/10 teaspoon thyme
½ garlis clove, crushed

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