Boudin

I posted my Mint Chocolate Cupcake recipe for St Patricks day, but really missed Mardi Gras.  Even though late, I thought I would post a Cajun recipe today.

Boudin stems from Boudin Blanc dish as served in France.  Boudin Blanc are sausages made out of pork, chicken and veal. Additional ingredients such as milk, cognac and spices add flavor to the meats.  That type of sausage is very perishable and a little expensive to make.

When the French Acadians (today's Cajuns) were pushed out of Britain and arrived in Louisiana, they needed to adapt to the new surroundings. The Boudin Blanc was not a very feasible meal, especially when the main meat for the area was pork.  Pork was the first ingredient used in Cajun Boudin.  Then boudin ingredients evolved with time, with rice being added after it started being cultivated.

This recipe is best made in two days and yields about 12 sausage links.  The pork, liver cooking and grinding was done the first day and the rest the second day.  Also, I chose to use the cellulose sausage casing, which can be purchased through Cabela's.  Cellulose casing is probably the easiest to use. It does not require any soaking time like natural hog casing.

Lastly, should you not want to go through the sausage link process, you can also use the filling and create appetizers called boudin balls.  The filling recipe makes a total of 5 cups. It makes a lot of boudin balls, so you may want to halve the recipe.

Boudin
courtesy of Homesick Texan Blog

Ingredients
1/2 lb chicken livers
2 lbs pork shoulder (cut into 1 inch cubes)
4 cloves minced garlic
1 bell pepper (seeded and chopped)
1 stalk diced celery
1 chopped medium onion
2 jalapenos, chopped without stems or seeds
2 chopped green onions (green part only)
1 tsp each of thyme, oregano and paprika
salt, black pepper and cayenne to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 servings or 1 cup uncooked minute rice
10 ft of casing sized 32-35 mm (for sausages)
3 cups cracker crumbs (for boudin balls)
enough vegetable oil for deep fryer (for boudin balls)

First day:
Put chicken liver in microwave safe bowl and fill with 1 cup of water.  Microwave for a total of 4 minutes, draining water out of bowl every minute and refilling with fresh water 3 times and then cooking without water for the last minute.  Set aside to cool.

Fill a large pot with 2 inches of water and then add the bell pepper, celery, onion, garlic and pork. Place over  medium high heat and let come to a boil uncovered.  Then turn down to a simmer and let cook uncovered for another hour and 45 minutes.

After the pork is fully cooked and tender, drain and reserve broth for later use.  Mix the cooked chicken livers into the pork mixture. Grind or coarsely dice the meat filling. This can be done with a food processor, meat grinder or by hand with a knife. 

Cover the bowl of broth and the meat filling and place in fridge until next day. 

Second day:
Take the broth out of the fridge and measure out one cup into a microwave safe bowl.  Heat in microwave for 1 minute.  Remove the filling from the fridge and add the heated broth, stirring until no excess liquid is left. Set aside.

Cook the rice as directed on package.Add the rice, jalapenos, thyme, oregano, green onion and parsley to the filling and mix with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed.  Stir in pepper, salt and cayenne according to taste. The filling should be moist and slightly sticky.  If it appears to dry, add in more broth until you reach desired consistency.

To form the sausages, take out sausage stuffer and slide all the casing over the horn of the stuffer.  Push all casing on the stuffer except a few inches.  Tie a knot on the end than push the filling through the stuffer.  As the filling comes through the horn, the casing will have to be guided so air does not form.  My stuffing horn was quite a bit smaller than the diameter of the casing.

As you fill the casing, note that each sausage should be about 5 inches long. At the end of the sausage, twist the casing and then you can resume making another sausage.  The alternative is to twist, cut and tie each end of the sausage to separate so you can cook for individual servings.

Once the links are formed, they can be prepared by poaching in boiling water for 10 minutes.  Steaming and grilling are other options.

Regarding the preparation of the boudin balls, follow all instructions above ending with adding the cayenne. After making meat mixture, fill a deep fryer with vegetable oil and preheat to 350 degrees. Then form all the filling into 1 inch balls, placing each on a baking sheet lined with parchment.  Take each ball and roll in cracker crumbs, placing back on parchment.  Once all are covered in cracker crumbs, drop balls into hot oil and cook until golden brown.  This should only take about 2 minutes.

Spicy Sausage Calzones

Well it is crunch time! I am sure a few of you do not have any time to even turn around.  Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, wrapping presents and decorating the house does not give anybody much time to cook dinner.  The conversation went like this in our house...husband: "What is for dinner?" Me: "Dinner..well to be honest I had not even thought about it...

I looked through some cookbooks and recipe magazines.  I was surprised to find this recipe in Bon Appetit Magazine.  I love pizza (yum) and found these calzones to be quite tasty. With only 5 ingredients that require little effort to make, that added an extra bonus.  This recipe is for 4 calzones.

Spicy Sausage Calzones
adapted from Bon Apettit Magazine


Ingredients 
1 10oz tube of refrigerated pizza dough
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups (14 oz) of marinara sauce
8 oz hot or sweet italian sausage

Take sausage out of casings and place in a medium size pan.  Cook over medium high heat until done, breaking up large clumps with fork.  This should take about 8 minutes. Place in separate bowl with slotted spoon and let cool.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Grease one baking sheet.

Once the sausage has cooled down, resume breaking up pieces to insure there are no large chunks. Then take a wooden spoon and mix in 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce.  Add the ricotta cheese and mozzarella. Sprinkle salt and pepper, seasoning to taste.

Open pizza dough package and fold dough out onto prepared baking sheet.  Using your hands, stretch the dough to a 11-12 inch rectangle.  Cut the dough evenly into 4 squares.  On each square, place 1/4 of your sausage mixture.  Fold dough over mixture and seal the edges.  You can do this by using the tines of a fork or fold or roll up the edges. Take a paring knife and cut 3 slits in the top of each calzone (this allows for steam to escape while baking).

Place calzones in oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.   Remove from oven to cool for about 5 minutes.  While cooling, warm the remaining marinara in a saucepan.

Serve calzones warm with sauce on the side. 


With a twist:  There are many variations of fillings, depending on each person's taste. However, it is important that it not be too watery or too dry. In addition, the dough can be brushed with oil and sprinkled with garlic powder or Parmesan cheese. Use your imagination and taste to personalize this recipe. 

Banh Mi Pork Sandwiches

After watching the food truck challenge on the Food Network, I wanted to know what all the fuss was over these Vietnamese sandwiches. I searched and found a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine.

This recipe is made with seasoned pork meatballs, but there are several versions out on the internet.  These are a healthy and tasty change from a hamburger. Even though the hamburger food truck won in NY, the food truck selling these type of sandwiches won out in every other place and for good reason.

Should you be more curious or are looking for more recipes, check out the "battle of the Banh Mi" by clicking here.

The recipe below makes about 4 sandwiches and has some special sauces/spices. In  Texas, I have been able to find all of them in the Asian section of the HEB grocery store.

Banh Mi
adapted from Bon Appetit/Jan 2010

Ingredients
2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
3 green onions chopped
4 minced cloves of garlic
1 lb of pork
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs sriracha
1 tbs sugar (for meat)
1/4 cup sugar (for vegetables)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 cup coarsely grated carrots
1 cup coarsely grated daikon or radishes
1 tbs sesame oil
Fresh cilantro sprigs
4 hero rolls or baguettes

First you will need to do all the chopping of the vegetables as noted above.  If you use a food processor with a shredding or slicing disk, make sure that your grated items are not too thin or your pickled veggies will be soggy. They have to be stout enough to not turn to mush in the pickling process.

Prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment or wax paper.  In a medium size bowl, take the first eight ingredients listed above and put in bowl.  Mix with wooden spoon until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Then moisten your hands with water and form pork mixture into balls, using a heaping tablespoon for measuring.  Place meatballs on baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.  Place in fridge to chill for 1 hour or more.

The next step is pickling your vegetables. Place rice vinegar, 1/4 cup of sugar and salt in a small bowl and whisk together.  Toss in the shredded carrots and daikon/radish.  Let this mixture stand at room temperature for about one hour.  During this time, you will need to toss the vegetables every 15 minutes.

After your meatballs have completed the chilling time, place a saucepan on the stove at medium high or plug in an electric skillet. Pour in the sesame oil and let it heat for 3 minutes.  Then add your meatballs.  Let the meatballs brown, turning to different sides at intervals.  Turn the heat down if you find them cooking too fast. The meatballs should take 10-15 minutes for each batch to be cooked through.

To assemble the sandwiches, butterfly the bread rolls or baguettes.  Then place meatballs in first, then vegetables and then the final touch of sprigs of cilantro on top.

This is a great lunch sandwich.  Be creative and substitute your usual regular potato chips on the side with fried won tons wrappers with salt. Enjoy!

Teriyaki Pork Sliders

Well it seems as if every type of food is going to the "mini" stage. It may be psychological that if we eat items called "mini" we do not consider it as eating much.  It also could be that we want finger food that is eaten easily on the run.  One of the recently made popular "mini" foods is the slider burgers.  This is now followed by "mini" hot dogs.  I just hope that in the future we are all not slaving in the kitchen making 100 tiny foods to support 1 actual meal!

Regarding this recipe, I wanted to make an appetizer in a slider form, but did not want the standard burger.  After reviewing several types of sliders, pork with an asian flavor was the choice.

It proved to be a good decision. If you make these, be prepared to deflect feelings of regret and guilt that you did not make more.  Kindly remind your guests staring at their empty plates that these are appetizers-not a meal. This recipe makes 12 sliders or 4 "appetizer" servings by restaurant standards.

Teriyaki Sliders
adapted from real mom kitchen
 
6 rings of pineapple, each cut in 1/2*
Honey teriyaki bbq sauce ( I found teriyaki only and mixed in honey to taste)
3 slices of provolone cheese, each cut in fourths
4 mushrooms, sliced  ( I used Shitake)
2 tsp grated ginger
1/4 cup teriyaki or teriyaki stir fry sauce
4 chopped scallions (separated in 1/2)
1 lb ground pork
1 pkg dinner rolls (I used Kings Hawaiian)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
mayonnaise ( for bread spread)
flour ( may need to add in)

The first thing to do is the prep work.  Chop, slice, grate as stated in above ingredients and place each separately in a small bowl.

Take a small food processor and pulse together the mushrooms and 1/2 of scallions until finely chopped. These are small burgers, so it is important that this mixture is fine.  Put mushroom/scallion mixture in medium bowl and add teriyaki or teriyaki stir fry, breadcrumbs, pork and ginger.  Mix until evenly distributed.

Then you will need to shape the burgers.  Divide mixture into 12 portions by using 1/4 cup for each.  If you find mixture too runny, mix in flour until you reach the right consistency-this issue may be caused by using teriyaki instead of teriyaki stir fry sauce. I was unable to find teriyaki stir fry sauce.

Turn on broiler.*  Take a baking sheet and line with foil. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Set oven rack 4 or 5 inches from broiler.  Place patties on baking sheet.  Prepare another sheet and place the pineapple on it and a third sheet placed with split rolls (cut side up).

Each pan will need to go in separately to be broiled.  Place the rolls under the broiler in the oven and watch closely.  As soon as the edges brown, remove pan and set aside.  Do the same with the pineapple.  Lastly, broil the patties broil in oven about 3 minutes then turn and broil for another 3 minutes. Remove pan and place 1 piece of provolone on each burger and place back in oven. Leave in oven to melt (watch closely). Once cheese is melted, take out pan. 

After all is broiled, spread the top half the rolls with mayo.  Assemble the sliders by placing a pineapple piece on the bottom of the bread roll. Then add the pork patty and top with 1 tsp bbq sauce and a sprinkle of the sliced scallion.  Place the other half of the roll on top.  If you want to garnish, stick in a toothpick with a small piece of a dill pickle (or any veggie of your choice) speared on the other end.

*You can also opt to use the grill instead of the broiler for all cooked or toasted items (pork patties, pineapple and rolls). To make things easier, do not cut the pineapple rings and rolls (only split) until after grilling.

Farewell to Summer with Jerked Pork Chops

Well, this will be the last weekend to cook out for awhile, so I decided to post grilled pork chops.  The overnight marinade method of preparation is not as easy as buying the seasoning but not as hard as the real Jamaican standard which involves wrapping meat in allspice leaves.  I think it tastes better than the purchased seasoning and a close second to the standard.  this marinade you will find gives your meat a light distinctive flavor as opposed to the heavier marinades that sometimes can be too strong. 

Jerked Pork Chops
adapted from taste.com.au

Ingredients:
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp chili powder
juice from 3 oranges
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground cumin
4 pork loin chops ( I used butterflied and cut each in two)

Night before:
Combine first five ingredients in zip lock bag.  Then place each chop in bag so it lays flat and then eliminate as much air as possible and seal bag.  Fold excess of bag over and lay in fridge overnight.  The next day you can flip the bag over for the other side of the meat to marinade, just to make sure all the pork is well seasoned.

Next evening:
Once your meat has been marinated, you can start to prepare your grill by using olive oil spray on the rack.  Then heat up the grill to medium high. Let the grilling begin!  Take out the chops and pat with a paper towel to remove the excess marinade.  Place chops on grill and cook each side until done, mine took about
8 minutes each side.  Time will vary, depending on the thickness of your chops.

These are good served with potato salad and steamed broccoli.

In thinking about my honeymoon in Jamaica, I remember the wonderful landscape, delicious food and very friendly people.  Our taxi driver was delightfully outspoken. He advised that he was a very good driver, always slowing down for "sleeping" policemen.  I later found out that a "sleeping policeman" is a speed bump! 

Until next time-enjoy the long weekend!