Cajun Andouille Sausage
User Reviews
4.9
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Prep Time
2 hrs
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Cook Time
3 hrs
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Total Time
5 hrs
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Servings
20 links
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Calories
146 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Cajun
Cajun Andouille Sausage
Description
The Cajun Andouille Sausage recipe combines venison, pork belly, and a seasoning mix of garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, thyme, and kosher salt, with Instacure No. 1 used for curing safety when smoking. The meats are cut into chunks, mixed with seasonings, and chilled until very cold. The mixture is then ground coarsely to preserve texture, and cold liquid—water, ice water, or beer—is added to help bind the meat and spices evenly. The sausage is stuffed into soaked hog casings, which serve as the casing for smoking or cooking.
Flavorwise, this sausage offers a balance of heat and smoky notes with the characteristic Cajun spices. The coarse grind gives it a hearty mouthfeel typical of country-style andouille. The method supports preparing the sausage safely for further cooking, including smoking if desired. It’s a specialized recipe that enables making authentic-style andouille sausage meals at home or for barbecues.
Due to the use of Instacure, which is a curing salt, attention to safety and accurate measurements is important. The recipe also allows flexibility to use different meats or skip curing if not smoking.
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 pounds venison pork, beef or other meat
- 1 1/2 pounds pork belly or fatty shoulder
- 33 grams kosher salt about 3 tablespoons
- 4 grams Instacure No. 1 about a teaspoon
- 3 tablespoons garlic minced, fresh
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons paprika sweet
- 2 teaspoons thyme dried
- 1/2 cup water put in fridge to keep it cold, ice water or beer
- Hog casings
Instructions
- Take about 10 to 15 feet of casings (typically three lengths) and submerge them in warm water.
- Cut the meat and fat into chunks and toss with the salt, Instacure, garlic, cayenne, paprika and thyme. You need the Instacure No. 1 as a safety measure when you smoke the links; if you don't plan on smoking them, you need not use this. Put everything in a container and freeze for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until the mixture is 35°F or colder. You can also put the mix in the fridge overnight; this will help the bind.
- Grind everything through the coarse die, 7 or 8 mm. Andouille is most typically a country-style, coarse sausage. If you want, you can even hand-mince the meat yourself. If you want to do this, hand mince 1/4 of the meat and fat mixture to get a more interesting texture for your sausage.
- Make sure the mixture is very cold, about 30°F; you will probably need to freeze it again for a while. When it's cold enough, take it out and add the chilled water or beer to the bowl and mix on the lowest setting for 90 seconds to 2 minutes, or with your very clean hands for 2 minutes. The look of the meat will change as it binds to itself, and will look more like thick batter than ground meat and fat.
- If you are making patties, you're done. Store each patty between pieces of wax paper and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then foil, before freezing. If you are making links, load up a sausage stuffer with the meat and fat. Rinse the casings by running warm water through them: You want to flush some salt and check for any holes in the casings. Thread an entire casing onto the stuffer and fill it slowly. Coil the filled casing as you go. Fill all the casings before making individual links.
- To make individual links, tie off one end of a casing. Compress the sausage inside it to fill that end link. Pinch off a link and flip it away from you several times to tighten it. Move down the coil and pinch down another link. This time, flip the link back toward you to tighten it. (Here's a quick video on making the links) Repeat this process down the coil until you get to the end. Tie off the end link. Repeat with all the other casings.
- Hang your sausages to dry for an hour or more. Hang for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature, or up to overnight where your temperatures are below 45°F. I use a standard clothes drying rack to hang my links. When the sausages are hanging, use a large needle to pierce any spots on the links where there is air trapped underneath. Sterilize the needle in the flames of a gas burner or with a lighter until it glows. You need to pierce any trapped air or your links could burst when you cook them.
- Once the sausages have hung, smoke them over pecan wood for 3 to 4 hours. If you hot-smoke your links, pull them when they reach an internal temperature of 155°F. If your links don't get to that temperature in time, you can either smoke them longer, or you can finish the cooking in an oven set at 200°F. Once they're fully cooked, let them cool before freezing.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 20links
Amount Per Serving
Calories 146 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 146kcal | 7% |
| Carbohydrates | 2g | 1% |
| Protein | 23g | 46% |
| Fat | 4g | 6% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol | 81mg | 27% |
| Sodium | 697mg | 29% |
| Potassium | 367mg | 8% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 430IU | 9% |
| Vitamin C | 1.3mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 14mg | 1% |
| Iron | 3.3mg | 18% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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