Homemade Andouille Sausage

Name: Homemade Andouille Sausage
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1485 min
Ingredients: 5 lbs. pork shoulder, silver skin removed and cut into 1/2-inch chunks; 1/4 cup dry milk powder; 2 1/2 tbsp. pressed garlic; 3 tbsp. creole seasoning mix, or more to taste; 1 1/2 tbsp. mild paprika, or more to taste; 1 1/2 tbsp. smoked paprika, or more to taste; 2 tsp. black pepper, or more to taste (I always use mixed peppercorns); 2 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste; 1 tsp. ground cumin, or more to taste; 1 tsp. Prague Powder #1 aka Insta Cure #1 or Pink Curing Salt; 1/2 tsp. ground Himalayan pink salt; 1/3 cup dry red wine (substitute water), cold; grapeseed oil, for lubricating nozzle; hog casings, rinsed, as needed

Author: Francine Lizotte

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At one point, as a foody, you’ll want to try making 👩‍🍳👨‍🍳 homemade sausages. I don’t blame you because it’s fun to make your own! You’re in control of the amount of sodium, how spicy you want them and you can also tweak the recipe with other spices.

New Orleans is definitely on my bucket list. Live Jazz 🎶, history, great bars, amazing joie de vivre, and incredible Creole & Cajun cuisine… what’s not to like about the “Big Easy”! It’s food is an amazing blend of different cultures combined. This is what makes Creole/Cajun cuisine so interesting and delicious! Many common ingredients are utilized in these two styles such as gumbo file, okra, chili peppers, catfish, duck, and alligator, just to name a few.

There’s a particular sausage that is also used often in both cuisines and here’s my version of it… Homemade Andouille Sausage. I’ve shared several sausage recipes with you already including my North African Merguez, Garlic Sausage, Hot Italian Sausage and Chorizo, plus more coming soon 😉.

Andouille sausage is spicy, flavorful, and it enhances any recipe you use it in. As I mentioned earlier, making homemade sausages is great because you can add your own intensity of spiciness 🌶 and create some new flavors. Here’s one important thing to keep in mind… increase the amount of spices. Don’t be shy when it comes to seasoning as the meat will absorb a lot of the flavor from the spices, making them less spicy than you originally thought.

Now let’s talk about Prague Powder #1 also known as Insta Cure #1 or Pink Curing Salt 🧂. This is important to add when making sausages for many reasons. It helps to preserve the meat and prevents the possibility of botulism. It helps give a nice color and also improves the flavor. If you’re serious about making sausages, don’t skip it and buy some.

The components in curing salt are 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% salt. The simple reason why this particular salt is “pink” is so it won’t be confused with table salt. If sodium nitrite is overly consumed even in small quantities, it can kill an average-sized adult. Adding a teaspoon per 5 pounds of meat is fine but beyond that, it can be very dangerous. I’m not trying to alarm you 😲 with the risk of using this salt but I definitely want you to be aware of its powerful effects and repercussions if too much is consumed.

I don’t show you all the steps of the sausage making process. I have a tutorial where I explain the tools used and a few tips to successfully make your own sausage. If you’re new to this, I highly suggest you take a moment and watch the video 🎥 on How to Make Homemade Sausage.

I also have another video recipe that you should definitely check out and it’s my Creole Seasoning Mix. This is a blend I use often for my Cajun/Creole recipes and the taste is phenomenal! It’s quite “zippy” but the beauty of it is when you cook your recipe, it mellows out and brings a wonderful bouquet 💐 of flavors… give it a try! It’s also perfect for this Andouille Sausage recipe.

As mentioned in the video, here are some quick reference points on how to dry, smoke, and cook your sausage.

– To dry out sausages: Place them on a wire rack or hang them on a laundry drying rack for 2 hours ⏰. Depending on the humidity and if you’re using a fan, the drying time may vary. You’ll know they’re ready when they’re dry to the touch.
– To smoke sausages: Use wood chips of your choice and place them in a smoker or BBQ 🔥. If you’re using the BBQ to smoke the sausages, use indirect heat and bring the temperature to around 160ºF. Smoke them for 3-4 hours. Keep in mind that if you use mesquite or hickory wood chips, you might want to reduce the smoking time by an hour because of their strong flavor.
– To cook sausages on the stove: Add a little bit of olive oil</a> in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook them for 12 to 14 minutes flipping them every 2 minutes.
– To cook sausages on the BBQ: Grill the sausages at around 300ºF for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping them as well every 2 minutes ⏳.

Last but not least, if you have 2 lbs. of meat, you should be able to make about 8 sausages (1/4 lb. each) and that’s good for 4 people 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦. Five pounds of meat will make 20 sausages therefore 10 servings. Also, if there’s any leftover casings which there probably will be, put them in a container, add plenty of salt (regular not curing), close the lid and transfer to the refrigerator. They will keep for a long, long, long time!

As much as it may sound overwhelming, after you’ve made your first batch of homemade sausages, you’ll see how easy it really is. With summer 🌻 just around the corner, this is the perfect time to give them a try. Just experiment along the way and have fun making your Andouille Sausages.
Bon Appétit!🍽

Here are a few more scrumptious pork recipes you definitely have to try…😀
– Sweet & Sour Pineapple Pork
– Zucchini Pork Penne
– Farmer’s Sausage Skillet
– Pork Loin Chops with Cranberry & Pistachio Chutney
– Asian Sesame Pork Chops
– Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin
– Pulled Pork Enchiladas
– Chinese 5 Spice Spare Ribs
and for even more pork recipes 🐷, click on this link… Recipe Category • Pork

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