Andouille sausage is Lousiana smoked sausage used in meals like gumbo & jambalaya

Andouille sausage is a classical Lousiana smoked sausage which is used in meals like gumbo or jambalaya. The regional cooking style known as Cajun employs many hot spices and vegetables and is famous for its original sausages: Andouille, Boudain, Chaurice (local version of Spanish chorizo) or Tasso (smoked butt).

It is not easy to come up with a universal Andouille sausage recipe. Some recipes include dry red wine, others bay leaves, allspice, sage, paprika, crushed red peppers, sugar, onion powder, pequin pepper, mace, nutmeg, sage, ancho chili, file powder etc... So which one is the real Andouille Sausage? Unlike Polish classical sausages where the recipes were controlled by the government and the butchers had to follow them to the letter, here we have a great deal of improvisation. As nearly all recipes agree on the following ingredients: pork butt, salt, cracked pepper, garlic, thyme and cayenne pepper, we have decided to keep it simple and to include only those mentioned and nothing else. But please feel free to improvise and include any spices that you like.

1.	meat selection	Pork butt - 5 lb (2.27 kg), Meat total: 5 lb (2.27 kg )
			salt	54 g	1.9 oz	3 Tbs
			Cure # 1	6 g	0.21 oz	1 tsp
			cracked black pepper	18.9 g	0.66 oz	3 Tbs
			chopped garlic (about 15 cloves)	52 g	1.83 oz	1/2 cup
	ingredients		cayenne pepper	12 g	0.42 oz	2 Tbs
	ingredients		dried thyme	4.2 g	0.15 oz	1 Tbs
2.	curing	Optional. Every smoked sausage will be of higher quality when cured but it's up to you. Procedure: cut all meats into 2" (5-6 cm) cubes. Mix diced meats with all salt, and Cure #1. Pack tightly in a container and cover with a clean cloth. Keep for 72 hours at 38º- 42º F, (6º-8º C) or in refrigerator.
3.	grinding	Grind all meat with 1/4" (5 - 6 mm) plate.
4.	mixing	Mix with meat all ingredients. You can use blender.
5.	stuffing	Stuff into 38 - 40 mm hog casings. Leave as a rope or make 12" (30 cm) links.
6.	drying	Dry for two hours at room temperature or preheat smoker to 130º F (54º C) and hold without smoke for one hour
7.	smoking	Apply hot smoke for 2 hours
8.	cooking	Before serving
9.	cooling	Shower with cold water
10.	storing	In refrigerator
	notes	If you want ready to eat sausage increase smoker temperature to 170º F (76º C) until internal temperature of 154º F (68º C) is obtained. You may poach it in water at 175º - 185º F (80º - 85º C) until internal temperature of 154º F (68º C) is obtained.