LOUISIANA BOUDIN BALLS RECIPES

Steps:

• In a large stockpot combine the pork roast, 5 whole shallots, 3 whole onions, and 2 whole bell peppers with enough water to cover the entire contents of pot. Boil until the meat begins to separate from the bone. Remove roast from water and then trim the fat from meat. Reserve stock.
• With a meat grinder, grind together the meat with the boiled onions, shallots and peppers. Also grind in one additional raw onion.
• Return the meat mixture to the pot and add the green onion and parsley, both chopped fine. Add the white pepper, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Stir thoroughly.
• Add the cooked rice to the mixture and keep the consistency “wet“ but not too wet to handle. Stuff the boudoin mixture into the casing, make boudoin balls or eat as a rice dressing. Boudoin is often enjoyed with cracklins. Because this recipe makes a substantial amount of boudoin, most of it will likely be frozen for future use. To thaw the boudoin, heat water to boiling in a large pot and place boudoin in the pot and boil for 10 minutes. Remove and serve. Or, if making boudoin balls, roll in a small amount of breadcrumbs before freezing. To thaw, deep fat fry until golden brown or cook in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes turning balls once.
• A cooking tip submitted in the thread was this - “My secret that makes all the difference: make your rice with the liquid you cooked the boudin in. C'est bon“

Steps:

• Place the pork shoulder, celery, onion, garlic, bell pepper, and salt into a large pot. Cover with 2 inches of water, bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. After an hour, add the chicken liver to the pot and continue to cook for 45 more minutes or until the pork is tender.
• Strain the meat and vegetables, reserving the liquid. Finely dice the meat and vegetables with a knife, in a food processor or in a meat grinder set for a coarse grind. Once diced, place meat and vegetables in a bowl.
• Add to the bowl the cooked rice, jalapeños, thyme, oregano, paprika, green onions parsley, black pepper, and cayenne. Stir in 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid and combine until the filling is moist and slightly sticky. If it appears too dry, add more of the reserved liquid. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.
• To stuff into casings for sausage, first rinse the outside of the casing and then place it in a bowl of water for 30 minutes to soften. Drain the soaking water and then rinse the inside of the casing by placing one end on the kitchen faucet, turn the water on low and allow it to flow through the casing. The casing will blow up like a balloon—this is fine.
• Lightly oil the stuffing horn on your sausage stuffer with vegetable oil. Tie a knot at one end of the casing. Take the other end and gently slide the entire casing onto the horn, leaving the knot plus an additional 4 inches hanging off the end of the horn.
• Place the filling into the feeder and push it through until it starts to fill the casing. Go slowly at first and note that you’ll need to massage the casing as the meat goes through it so it fills the casing evenly.
• Once you’ve filled the casing, to form links, pinch it every 5 inches and then twist it until it’s secure. You can then cut the casing to form individual sausages.
• To cook, poke holes into the casing then then poach in boiling water for 10 minutes. You can also grill or smoke the boudin.
• Alternatively, you can either serve the filling as a dressing, or you can roll it into walnut-sized balls, dip into finely crushed crackers and fry in 350 degree oil for 2 minutes or until brown to make boudin balls.