How to Make Cajun Boudin Balls

A spinoff of the boudin sausage, the boudin ball makes a crispy fried appetizer.

Boudin, a Cajun specialty ubiquitous throughout Louisiana and parts of Texas, is a sausage product made of pork, liver and spices. If you have the ingredients to make boudin and you want to make boudin balls, your work is cut out for you, because boudin balls, small fried golfball-sized appetizers, are essentially the sausage filling without the casing. Although pork is a standard ingredient in boudins, consider it optional. You will need an egg bath and bread crumbs to roll the balls in before frying them.

Things You'll Need

• 1/2 to 1 pound liver, cut into small cubes
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium jalapeños, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 medium poblano chile, seeded and chopped
• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp freshly ground white pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp curing salt
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 3 1/2 cups cooked white rice
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions (green and white tops)
• 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Bowl
• Large pot
• Meat grinder
• Wooden spoon
• Shallow dish
• Baking sheet
• Dutch oven
• Frying thermometer
• Slotted spoon
• Paper towels

Instructions

1. Marinate the liver, vegetables and seasonings, covered, in a bowl overnight in the refrigerator.

2. Put the marinated mixture in a large pot, and add enough water to cover the mixture by 1 or 2 inches.

3. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat, looking for doneness in the liver, which should not take longer than 1 1/2 hours.

4. Take the mixture off the heat and strain to obtain the solids. Reserve the cooking liquid for later.

5. Cool the solids, and send them through a meat grinder or roughly chop them with a knife.

6. Use a mixer with a paddle attachment, or a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to mix the following ingredients: the cooked rice, scallions, parsley and about 2 cups of the reserved cooking liquid. Aim for a moisture content that allows the mixture to be smashed against the back of a wooden spoon until it sticks.

7. Place bread crumbs in a shallow pan. Form the boudin mixture into balls, approximately 20 to 25 in all, and roll them in the bread crumbs. Set aside on a baking sheet.

8. Put cooking oil to a depth of 2 inches into a Dutch oven or other heavy pot, and heat to a temperature of 375 degrees F. Drop the boudin balls into the hot oil, being careful not to add too many at once.

9. Fry for about a minute until brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels.

10. Maintain the temperature at 375 degrees and fry the next batch, until all the boudin balls have been fried.

References

• Chef John Folse & Company: Fried Boudin Balls
• "Louisiana Cookin"; Boudin Balls; August 2006
• Chow: Boudin Balls Recipe