Boudin

Where most sausages are ground meat and spice, boudin (boo-DAN) is seasoned rice and meat stuffed into a casing — think meaty Cajun dirty rice in a tidy package. This is the everyday food of southern Louisiana, sold hot from steam trays at gas stations and butcher shops, eaten standing up with saltine crackers and a cold drink.

The rice is doing exactly what rusk does in a traditional British banger — absorbing the fat and spices during the cooking process, holding all that juice inside the casing, and producing a moist, yielding texture that an all-meat sausage simply cannot replicate. Most Americans have never encountered this in a sausage and it will surprise you how something that could be labeled as a filler is absolutely quintessential.

Due to challenges preserving cooked rice, ours comes raw, which gives you more options than the pre-cooked variety. Poach the links gently in simmering water for 10 to 12 minutes and serve hot. Grill them over medium heat for a crisped exterior and a soft, steaming interior. Or press the filling out of the casing, roll it into balls, bread them, and fry until golden — boudin balls are one of the great Cajun party foods and one of the best arguments for keeping a pack of this in your freezer at all times.

Four links per pound for the pork variety, five links per pound for the chicken.

If you are cooking Cajun, red beans and rice starts with our smoked ham hocks, and a dirty rice worth making starts with our bulk pork sausage and ground beef.

Pork Boudin: Pasture Raised Pork from Wishbone Heritage Farms, Water, Rice, Salt, Onion, Chili Pepper, Parsley, Garlic. Pork Casing. Dairy Free, Sugar Free, No Nuts.

Chicken Boudin: Pasture Raised Chicken from Wishbone Heritage Farms, Water, Rice, Salt, Onion, Chili Pepper, Parsley, Garlic. Collagen Casing. Dairy Free, Sugar Free, No Nuts.