Boudin

This article is about the sausage. For other uses, see Boudin (disambiguation).

Boudin (French pronunciation: [budɛ̃], from Middle French boudcold cut) describes a number of different types of sausage used in French, Belgian, German, French Canadian, Creole and Cajun cuisine.

Contents

[hide]

Types

In the United States

The term boudin in the Acadiana cultural region of Louisiana is commonly understood to refer only to boudin blanc and not to other variants. Boudin blanc is the staple boudin of this region and is the one most widely consumed. Also popular is seafood boudin consisting of crab, shrimp, and rice. Most of Louisiana's Cajuns do not consider boudin a sausage.

Cajun boudin is available most readily in southern Louisiana, particularly in the Lafayette and Lake Charles area, though it may be found nearly anywhere in "Cajun Country", including eastern Texas. There are restaurants devoted to the speciality, though boudin is also sold from rice cookers in convenience stores along Interstate 10. Since boudin freezes well, it is shipped to specialty stores outside the region. Boudin is fast approaching the status of the stars of Cajun cuisine (e.g., jambalaya, gumbo, étouffée, and dirty rice) and has fanatic devotees that travel across Louisiana comparing the numerous homemade varieties. From the Lake Charles area to Lafayette boudin taste and flavors vary. Some Such as Foreman's Boudin Kitchen use no liver, and other such as Richard's Cajun Kitchen use liver.

Boudin Noir is available in Illinois in the Iroquois County towns of Papineau and Beaverville and made by a butcher shop called Papineau Locker. The dish is the featured cuisine at the annual Beaverville Homecoming which is held the first weekend of August. People travel from hundreds of miles to partake of the Boudin.

Le Boudin

Boudin gave rise to Le Boudin, the official march of the French Foreign Legion. "Blood sausage" is a colloquial reference to the gear (rolled up in a red blanket) that used to top the backpacks of Legionnaires. The song makes repeated reference to the fact that the Belgians don't get any "blood sausage", since the King of Belgium at one time forbade his subjects from joining the Legion (verse says "ce sont des tireurs au cul").

See Also

References

  1. ^ Cooking2000.com - Boudin Blanc(French) (accessed 08/Jan/2008)
  2. ^ jedecouvrelafrance.com -Boudin Blanc Rethel(French) (accessed 08/Jan/2008)
  3. ^ a b louisianliving.com (accessed 15/Nov/2011)
  4. ^ Michael Stern (2009-05-07). 500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late: And the Very Best Places to Eat Them. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. ISBN 0547059078, 9780547059075. http://books.google.com/?id=uha0mHZ-N8oC&lpg=PA141&dq=%22boudin%20ball%22&pg=PA141#v=onepage&q=%22boudin%20ball%22. Retrieved 2009-11-24.