The Nickel’s Boudin

Impress your Super Bowl party guests with homemade Boudin—a tasty and distinct sausage that is most readily available in Louisiana. This version, served at The Nickel in downtown Denver, utilizes the freshest local ingredients that Colorado has to offer. Whether you have a meat grinder or not, this recipe can easily be made at home.
February 02, 2016

Instructions

Yields roughly 6 pounds

Ingredients
3 pounds pork shoulder
1 pound offal
1 pound pork fat
2 large white onions, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
4 bell peppers, chopped
2 bay leaves
12 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ pound kosher salt
1 teaspoon No 1 Curing Salt (optional)
1½ cups uncooked rice
2 cups chopped parsley
1 cup  chopped green onions
Hog casings

Spice mix
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ground white pepper
2 tablespoons cayenne
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon oregano
½ tablespoon celery salt

1. Chop the pork, offal and fat into chunks of about 1-inch across; (if you have a grinder, chop the meat to fit your grinder). Mix the meats with the white onions, celery, bell peppers, bay leaves and garlic, then the kosher salt, curing salt (if using) and spice mix. Put the mixture into a lidded container and let it sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour, and up to 1 day.

2. Place the mixture into a large pot and pour in enough water to cover everything by 1 to 2 inches. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until everything is tender, at least 90 minutes and up to 4 hours. Reserving it for later, strain off the cooking liquid and spread the meat, fat and veggies out on a sheet pan to cool.

3. When everything is cool enough to handle, grind it through the coarse die on a grinder. If you do not have a grinder you can hand chop the ingredients.

4. Cook the rice using 3½ cups of the reserved cooking liquid.

5. Put the meat mixture into a large bowl and add the cooked rice, parsley and green onion. Mix well, and add up to 4 cups of the reserved cooking liquid. Mix this for a solid 3 to 5 minutes, as you are creating a more cohesive mixture to stuff into a casing. You now have boudin.

6. Stuff the boudin into hog casings, and while you’re doing it, get your grill smoking. Smoke until golden brown and about to burst.

7. Serve with your favorite mustard and some crackers.

This recipe is served at The Nickel in Denver. Recipe courtesy of Chef Chip Travelute.

Related Stories & Recipes