Louisiana Boudin

It all started with the pig that we get every year.  My husband always gets the organs along with the neatly butchered and wrapped cuts of meat, so we have a pig liver.  What to do with it?  That is where an upcoming Louisiana Crawfish boil comes into play.  Boudin became the obvious choice, and my husband embarked on making the traditional rice and pork stuffed sausage.  Here is the recipe that used at my house recently:

Makes 4 pounds [[28 pounds]

14#;  2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut in 1-inch cubes

3.5#; 1/2 pound pork liver, cut in 1-inch cubes

7; 1 small onion, chopped

14; 2 celery stalks, chopped

7; 1 poblano chile, chopped

21; 3 jalapenos, chopped [7 green peppers]

42; 6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

28; 4 tablespoons kosher salt [1 cup to start with]

7; 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

7; 1 tablespoon ground white pepper

3.5 tsp; 1/2 teaspoon curing salt*

7; 1 teaspoon cayenne

7; 1 teaspoon chili powder

49; 7 cups cooked white rice [less!]

7; 1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup chopped scallions

4 to 6 feet sausage casings (optional), rinsed

Combine pork, liver, vegetables and seasonings in a bowl. Cover, refrigerate and marinate for 1 hour or overnight. Place mixture in a large pot and cover the meat with water (by 1 to 2 inches). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the meat is tender, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Remove pot from the heat and strain, reserving the liquid. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then put the solids through a meat grinder set on coarse grind. (Or chop with a knife.)

Place the meat in a large bowl. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, mix in rice, parsley, scallions and the reserved cooking liquid. Stir vigorously for 5 minutes. (Mixture will look very wet, and it's spicy. After poaching, the rice absorbs the moisture and much of the spice.)

At this point, you can feed the sausage into the casings. Poach the links gently in hot (not bubbling) water for about 10 minutes, then serve. Alternatively, use the mixture as stuffing for chicken, or roll it into boudin balls, dredge in bread crumbs, and fry in hot oil until golden brown.