Aug 16

Mud Bug Sausage (Louisiana Crawfish Boudin)

Cajun and Creole Cuisine from the steamy streets of New Orleans to the back bayous of Louisiana is a unique mélange of cultures, frugality and inventions of necessity that has brought us Jambalaya, Gumbo, Etouffée, Dirty Rice, Beignets and Andouille sausage. There is another contribution that although not as well-known but for me personally defines the uniqueness of Cajun and Creole cooking is Boudin Sausage.

Crawfish Boudin with Hot Sauce on a Saltine Cracker

Crawfish Boudin on a Cracker

It is not that Boudin is a great mystery, but in the pantheon of familiar recipes originating from Louisiana, it is not as easily found in restaurants or grocery stores outside of the Gulf Coast. Boudin can be best described as the combination of ground pork meat, hearts and liver added to dirty rice, stuffed into pork casings and then steamed or simmered. For my first attempt at making Boudin, instead of using pork, I went with the more delicate version using crawfish tails.

Louisiana Crawfish Boudin Recipe

Total time: 30 mins
Ingredients:

Crawfish Boudin waiting to be Steamed

Crawfish Boudin on Plate waiting to be Steamed

  • 2 Pounds of coarsely chopped Peeled Crawfish Tails (Can typically be found in the frozen section of the grocery store and either packaged in the U.S.A. or from China)
  • 3 Cup of Cooked Rice
  • 1 Cup of chopped White / Yellow Onions
  • 1 Cup of chopped Green Onions
  • ¼ Cup of chopped fresh Italian Parsley
  • ¼ Cup of Vegetable Oil
  • 2 Teaspoons of Salt
  • 1 ½ Teaspoons of Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 Teaspoon of Black Pepper
  • ¼ Teaspoon of minced Garlic
  • Prepared hog casings

Preparation:

Crawfish Boudin in Steamer

Crawfish Boudin in Steamer

  1. As you are cooking the rice, all of the other steps to make Crawfish Boudin can be performed.
  2. Add all of the seasonings to the bowl of coarsely chopped Crawfish Tails and mix well.
  3. In a deep skillet heat the oil and sauté the Onions, Green Onions, Garlic and Parsley on medium heat until translucent (about five minutes).
  4. Add the seasoned crawfish tails to the deep skillet and cook on medium heat for an additional twenty minutes, stirring frequently.
  5. Remove from the mixture from the heat and folding in the three cups of hot cooked rice.
  6. To stuff the casings, follow the same process that you would use to make any other type of sausage with your sausage stuffer. It is best to stuff the casings with the Crawfish Boudin mixture while it is still hot. A four inch link is a good length to make for Boudin.
Steamed Crawfish Boudin

Steam Heated Crawfish Boudin

Crawfish Boudin is best prepared by being stuffed into pork casings for I believe that the casings impart a subtle yet critical flavor to the sausage. If you do not have a sausage stuffer or just want to skip the step of stuffing the casings, you can make Crawfish Boudin Balls without the casings. Roll the Crawfish Boudin mixture into balls, coat with bread crumbs (optional) and then lightly fry for a perfect snack or side dish.

Steamed Crawfish Boudin on a Plate

Steamed Crawfish Boudin on a Plate

When preparing the Crawfish Boudin for a meal, I recommend that you heat the sausage with steam. I place sausage in a steamer and over medium heat steam them for about 15 – 20 minutes. On occasion you will have a link split. This is a good indication that the boudin has been thoroughly heated. Boudin is best enjoyed removed from the casing and served on saltine crackers with a few drops of hot sauce. I have eaten my fair share of Boudin, both traditional (with pork) and shellfish (crawfish or shrimp) and without hesitation, the Crawfish Boudin made at home is far better than anything I have eaten and that includes some of the better known restaurants in New Orleans.

Saltine Cracker Topped with Crawfish Boudin and Hot Sauce

Crawfish Boudin on Cracker with Hot Sauce

If you are not planning to eat the Crawfish Boudin the day that you made the sausage you can either keep it wrapped in the refrigerator for a few days or wrap it tightly in saran wrap, and then aluminum foil and it will be good in the freezer for many months. Just defrost the boudin prior to reheating with steam.

Frozen Package of Crawfish Boudin

Frozen Package of Homemade Crawfish Boudin

Recipe adapted from Prudhomme’s Crawfish Boudin Recipe.

Aug 15

Pico de gallo – The rooster’s beak

I had never heard of Pico de gallo before coming to Texas, and when I was first asked if I wanted some on my taco, I had no idea what the lady said, let alone what it was. Basically it is a very simple, fresh chunky salsa also known as Salsa Mexicana or Salsa Fresca. The most basic form is made from chopped tomatoes, onion, jalapeño and lime juice. Though I love my own salsa as a dip for tortilla chips, pico de gallo is better with, or in food such as tacos or fajitas.

Pico de gallo - The roosters beak

Pico de gallo – The roosters beak

Depending on where you go in Mexico or the Southern US, you’ll find many variations of pico de gallo and additions such as different types of onion, chillies, cilantro, avocado, radish or fruit such as mango, melon or oranges.

The Spanish name Pico de gallo, for this ‘chopped’ sauce, or salsa is quite strange and literately means ‘beak of the rooster’. There isn’t a definitive answer to why it has this name, but one theory is that it used to be eaten with the thumb and forefinger, which looked like a pecking rooster. Another more likely explanation is it comes from the Spanish word ‘picar’ meaning to ‘chop’.

Pico de gallo Ingredients

Pico de gallo Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 large ripe tomato, de-seeded
  • half a jalapeño, de-seeded
  • half an small onion
  • 1 small handful of cilantro (fresh coriander)
  • juice from half a lime
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Chop all the ingredients into small pieces. Mix together with the lime juice. Season to taste, cover and leave to sit to develop the flavours for a few hours. Serve as an accompaniment with Mexican food such as tacos, fajitas or just as a normal salsa with tortilla chips.

Since there are very few ingredients to pico de gallo, and the fact that there is no cooking involved,  it is very important to find the ripest, freshest and tastiest ingredients, especially the tomatoes, which are probably best home-grown if you can get them, which puts a different twist on Bill’s problem with pecking birds.

 

Aug 14

This is not guacamole

Though this may look like guacamole, technically it is a salsa, but you could easily use it as an alternative to guac. After a ‘guacamole pedant’ the other week decried the addition of blue cheese to my Roq-n-roll-a-mole, I won’t make the same mistake again, for fear of angering the mob.  I make this mango and avocado salsa in two different ways, one chunky, usually to go with grilled meats and the other smooth and creamy as a dip for tortilla chips. The ingredients for both are the same, the only difference is in the method of creating.

I don’t add any garlic or onions to this salsa, since I think they over power the flavour, however for a slight twist I sometimes add a little chopped fresh mint to it.

Mango Avocado Salsa Ingredients

Mango Avocado Salsa Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 fresh mango, peeled and de-stoned
  • 1 fresh avocado, peeled and de-stoned
  • 1 jalapeño, de-seeded
  • juice from half a fresh lime
  • 1 handful of cilantro (fresh coriander)
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
For chunky mango avocado salsa, chop the mango and avocado into small cubes into a bowl. Finely chop the jalapeño and cilantro and add to the bowl with the lime juice and seasoning. Mix together, cover and leave for a few hours in the refrigerator for the flavours to mingle. This is best served with grilled fish, seafood, chicken or to tacos.

Chunky Mango and Avocado Salsa

Chunky Mango and Avocado Salsa

For the smooth and creamy mango avocado salsa, add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. You may need to add a little water to help the process along. Season to taste and serve with tortilla chips as a dip.

Smooth and Creamy, Mango and Avocado Salsa

Smooth and Creamy, Mango and Avocado Salsa

 

 

Aug 13

Corn Dogs…Before We Deep Fried Twinkies

Every time I eat a Corn Dog, I seriously ask myself, why did I just eat that corn dog? I then say to myself I will never eat another Corn Dog again. Inevitably, it is like watching the movie Ground Hog Day with Bill Murray. I repeat the same question and statement year after year, never quite learning my lesson.

I do not particularly care for Corn Dogs, but I still eat them on occasion. There is nothing healthy about a Corn Dog, a heavily processed pureed meat impaled on a stick, dipped in corn meal batter and then deep fried in hot oil. I do not even care for the flavor, but in my pursuit of finding excellence in food, I continue to try. There has to be somewhere the perfect Corn Dog. How can there not be? Corn Dogs have been a part of American cuisine from the 1920’s. There was even a patent issued in 1929 for the “Combined Dipping, Cooking, and Article Holding Apparatus, describes corn dogs, among other fried food impaled on a stick…”.

Corn Dog with Mustard (CC Image courtesy of Andreanna Moya Photography on Flickr)

Corn Dog with Mustard (CC Image courtesy of Andreanna Moya Photography on Flickr)

Yet despite all of my protests, I still eat Corn Dogs. Corn Dogs are the grandfather of all foods stuck with a stick, covered in batter and deep fried for our delight at county fairs and carnivals. Before there was deep fried Twinkies and Snickers, there was the Corn Dog. I have eaten Corn Dogs at sport arenas, airports, food courts in malls, gas stations and company cafeterias. They are everywhere and even available in the frozen section of the grocery store.

Recently while driving through the Panhandle of West Texas, I stopped on Perryton, TX and ate a Dixie Dog. I asked the order taker if the Dixie Dog was hand-dipped. She replied yes and without hesitation I ordered a Dixie Dog.

Dixie Dog - Perryton, TX

Dixie Dog – Perryton, TX

She was correct; it was hand-dipped with all of the deformities that a machine produced corn dog cannot hope to replicate. Interesting enough, the batter was not corn meal, but more like the batter used for donuts. Was I disappointed, of course I was, but I still dipped the Dixie Dog in mustard and ketchup and at it all.

Hand Dipped Dixie Dog

Hand Dipped Dixie Dog – Perryton, TX

I will find the perfect Corn Dog one of these days and maybe even have to try to make them at home. Until that time, I will continue to order a Corn Dog on occasion, knowing that I will continue to be disappointed, but still searching for that perfect example of the original American easy, convenient, quick fried food on a stick at its worst.

 

Aug 12

Julian Cherry Bomb (Hard Cider)…I Want More!

Julian Cherry Bomb Hard Cider Bottle & Glass

Julian Cherry Bomb Hard Cider Bottle & Glass

In addition to purchasing a few bottles of Julian Hard Cider (Apple) in Julian, CA; I also purchased three bottles of the Julian Cherry Bomb (Hard Cider). I did not know what to expect prior to cracking open the bottle. What I did know is that if Julian Cherry Bomb was anything like the Julian Hard Cider I was going to enjoy the experience.

I took the first tentative sip of the Cherry Bomb and was amazed at the balance between sweet and dry. Cherry Bomb starts off sweet, ends dry and finishes off with an amazing cherry flavor. Where have I tasted this cherry flavor before? It was familiar, but my personal experiences with cherries are fresh picked Bing Cherries. I could not place the cherry flavor. The back of the bottle states that the hard cider is “handcrafted with the juice from the famed Montemorency Cherry” that is added to the Julian Hard Apple Cider. A quick search on Google and I realize that the Montemorency Cherry is the primary sour cherry (Prunus cerasus) that is used in baking pies, preserves and jams in the United States.

Cherry Bomb is sweeter than the Hard Apple Cider produced and bottled by the Julian Hard Cider Company, but not so sweet to be described at sickly sweet. It is a nice alternative to the drier Hard Apple Cider. Once again, the carbonation is perfect and before I knew it, I finished off the 22 fluid ounce / 650 ml bottle. It was almost too easy to drink, and with a 6.99% ABV (Alcohol by Volume), I slept well that evening.

Julian Cherry Bomb Hard Cider in Glass

Julian Cherry Bomb Hard Cider in Glass

Whereas I was able to find the Julian Hard Apple Cider in the local liquor store and grocery store here in Houston, I was not successful finding the Julian Cherry Bomb Hard Cider. If you happen see a bottle of the Cherry Bomb in a store, do not hesitate to make the purchase. Whether well chilled or served over crushed ice, you will find this hard cider to be prefect after a day at the office or working in the yard.

Julian Cherry Bomb Hard Cider Bottle

Julian Cherry Bomb Hard Cider Bottle