On one of my several trips to the Houston TX area to visit old partner in crime Freytes, I got introduced to the Texas version of a Louisiana delicacy BOUDIN. The Lone State spells it “Boudain” but the concept remains the same. Simply put Boudin is a type of blood sausage originating in Europe and taking on a new life in Cajun country. In Texas it has become a delicious addition to their BBQ pillars beef of brisket and ribs.
The main ingredients in the Cajun boudin are andouille sausage. rice, garlic, onions and peppers. These are combined with Cajun seasoning and many little variations that have been experimented with over the years. In the Texas recipe we will substitute the andouille sausage with ground venison and use beef livers instead of chicken.
Texas Boudain
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground venison- can be a little hard to get at times but I found mine at Shaw’s Supermarket.
- 1 lb beef liver
- 4 cloves of chopped garlic
- 1 red onion -diced
- 1 green pepper-diced
- 1 red pepper-diced
- 1 chopped jalapeno pepper optional
- ½ cup fresh parsley
- ½ cup scallions-chopped
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup bone broth
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 1 tsp of crushed red pepper more if you want hotter
- 1 tbsp hot sauce of your choice tabasco works
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ cup red wine optional
- Hog or lamb sausage casings
Instructions
- Prep and combine vegetables in bowl and set aside.
- Saute venison in a large cooking pot that can be covered (a spaghetti pot will do) until done.
- Add veggie mix 2 tbsp butter and sauté for approx. 3 minutes till butter is melted completely.
- Add chicken broth and bone broth and red wine and stir.
- Add beef liver and stir
- Add dry ingredients stir and cover. Let simmer for 30 min.
- Remove mixture and strain through fine screen colander to separate broth. Collect broth in container and put aside.
- Return boudin mix to sauté pot.
- Using the broth from the Boudin that you put aside cook your rice.
- Mix cooked rice and boudin together in sauté pot. Combine thoroughly but don’t overdo it.
- Using a sausage stuffer attach your casings and fill. Knot one end of you casing and twist off at the desired links. Sausage stuffing devices are inexpensive and can be found on Amazon.
Smoking
- Place links on pre heated wood or pellet smoker and cook at 225 degrees for approx. 2hrs turning halfway. Even though venison is already cooked interior temp should be 165
Fry Pan
- Saute links until brown on both sides
Grill
- Place on heated charcoal grill and brown on both sides
- Serve on plate as is with BBQ sauce or spicy grain mustard.
Notes
