Cold Smoked Andouille

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I've read that a lot of Andouille producers in the La south will smoke with sugar cane along with other woods. Before my next shot, I'd like to have the AMAZN so I can get a good 8-10. That would make for some amazing flavor and depth.
 
Nice looking Andouille, sorry for being so late here. I have to agree, my first andouille I warm smoked 100 to 130, pecan and the next two times I cooked it to 165 just to learn. I much prefer the warm smoked. I also like the large hog casing vice the beef, and I do mine about 1/2 the length that you would typically find in the grocery stores. I would be cooking a much bigger pot than normal to use a whole link.

Just a suggestion, use a shorted than normal length. Why? Because everyone will come visiting wanting just a link or two to try, then they'll be back as often as their concience will allow...LOL

I have not tried Craigs recipe on here, but it looks alot like I might use.

I also have a couple a andouilles on here. I have always had pretty good homemade andouille, its where I live. But now they nearly all have gone to the ease of making andouille sausage, and mass produced. There are still a few families around that butcher and make it, but not like it used to be.

Again, nice looking andouille. 
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I've read that a lot of Andouille producers in the La south will smoke with sugar cane along with other woods. Before my next shot, I'd like to have the AMAZN so I can get a good 8-10. That would make for some amazing flavor and depth.
I warm smoke and 4 hours was more than ample. De-water at least an hour, maybe two.

We have the old Veron's just down the road in Lutcher, and just past that is Wayne Jacobs and Bailey's in La Place..
 
 
Hi All Can Andouille be HOT smoked? I've hot smoked home made Italian sausage too IT 160*.

Thanks Dan
Yep. You'll want to start the smoker off around 100 for 30 minutes or so to dry the sausages. After that, hit it with the smoked and increase the smoker by 10 degrees after hour until you reach your destination. This is what I'd do at least. 

Edit: Forgot to add I wouldn't set the smoker any higher than 180. You don't want to render the fat out.
 
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Hi I don't know IF I can my smoker down too 100*..I have COS Brinkmanns Smoke N Pit. With your recipe was the final product hot?

My wife can't take the heat.

Thanks Dan
 
 
Hi I don't know IF I can my smoker down too 100*..I have COS Brinkmanns Smoke N Pit. With your recipe was the final product hot?

My wife can't take the heat.

Thanks Dan
The recipe I used was not hot. The recipe is very mild, so if hot isn't your thing, this should be a good place to start. Many have commented on this same recipe saying it's a bit mild for their tastes, so that should tell you it isn't hot. Go for it!
 
 
The recipe I used was not hot. The recipe is very mild, so if hot isn't your thing, this should be a good place to start. Many have commented on this same recipe saying it's a bit mild for their tastes, so that should tell you it isn't hot. Go for it!
Now you know sausage is about making what you like. Me, I use garlic, I don't get it hot. People can always add tabasco to whatever you are cooking it in. Matter a fact, Tabasco sits on the counter and table especially when cooking home style.

Something to try, yes it has cayenne but the predomiant pepper in andouille is cracked black. But I am going by my southern Louisiana influience. LOL  Its really all about where ya grow up.

And with a name like Gauthier, I imagine you know what you like...LOL

DanBono becareful with the heat with andouille, its the one sausage you do NOT want any fat render. It should have chunks of fat in it like below.


I would also recommend you do add a very little ground pork to the sausage, it does help it bind together in the casing better.
 
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Foam, those are beautiful! I've pondered making my next batch more like 80% diced and the rest ground, and now I'm convinced that's what I'm going to do.  I cook creole home cookin as much as a can up here Chicago...seeing as that's the best food out there.  I try and cook like my mother who did most of the cookin at home when I was growing up and of course it's what I like most. I'll be making a batch of Gumbo tomorrow with a lb of my Andouille, so be on the lookout for a new thread.
 
Its all in what you grew up with. See when they buttchered here its was always a special time, and they waited all year for two or three days to do what they could. Ground cayene was readily available, so of course to be special they used cracked black.

I always heard that same old story about andouille was designed for wash days, it was supposedly to hold all the spices and flavors for a pot of food (mostly red beans). Salt pepper garlic cured pork smoke and any other herbs like thyme that they had grown.

Cool, I have a basic gumbo thread on here somewhere, check it out if you have a minute and see if you see anything wrong within it. Of course, again, its all about which street you grew up on...>LOL
 
Hi All I don't really know "IF" I could slow smoke Andouille, in my COS..I've HOT smoked/250* home made Italian sausage, the hog casings came out tough. Will give the andoullie a try in my next sausage endeavor.

Thanks Dan
 
 
Hi All I don't really know "IF" I could slow smoke Andouille, in my COS..I've HOT smoked/250* home made Italian sausage, the hog casings came out tough. Will give the andoullie a try in my next sausage endeavor.

Thanks Dan
Dan, Andouille should not be hot smoked like your saying you did your Italian sausages. Andouille needs to be cold/warm smoked to the fat doesn't render.  Cold smoked it best of course (80 and below I think?). If you heat the sausage up too fast it will render the fat and it just simply won't be right. What's the temps around you at night? I warm smoked mine at something like 100 degrees and it came out as shown above. I then hung it in the oven with all the racks removed except the top to cook at 175. To smoke it, all I did was hang the sausage in my smoker and then used my DIY soldering iron on an aluminum can filled with chips cold smoker for 2 hrs. 

This sausage can be cold smoked and then frozen also. It doesn't NEED to be cooked right away. Of course you don't get to try the deliciousness you've just made, but it can be vac sealed and frozen also. Just pulled it out when needed and cook it with whatever your making.

I'm actually making another batch this weekend using beef middles (60/65) this Sunday.
 
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Hi rgautheir,

Your andouille looks great!  Like others have commented, your texture looks really nice.  I'd be very interested in seeing what the next version of your recipe looks like.  I haven't made andouille before, just kielbasa a bunch of times which I guess is similar except for the heat.  I'm looking forward to making andouille this fall when dishes like red beans & rice start to sound appealing again ;-)

Thanks for posting some great pictures, and looking forward to seeing your edits to this post!  Have a great weekend!
Clarissa
 
Well the newest batch of Andouille has been stuffed, cold smoked, then baked in the oven until 160. Got a little cold water bath and now they're in the fridge for a day or two to dry out a bit before vac dealing. I used beef middle for stuffing and I'm gonna say they're not my favorite. They are chewier than I'd like. Maybe that will change with a couple days in the fridge. I change the recipe a bit. Added more cayenne and thyme to the mix. The spice level is nice. Got a nice smoke level but I'm buying the amnps tomorrow I've decided.


 
Well the newest batch of Andouille has been stuffed, cold smoked, then baked in the oven until 160. Got a little cold water bath and now they're in the fridge for a day or two to dry out a bit before vac dealing. I used beef middle for stuffing and I'm gonna say they're not my favorite. They are chewier than I'd like. Maybe that will change with a couple days in the fridge. I change the recipe a bit. Added more cayenne and thyme to the mix. The spice level is nice. Got a nice smoke level but I'm buying the amnps tomorrow I've decided.


 Remember my friend, andouille is not sausage, its a seasoning meat. You don't need that break/tearable skin on andouille because you do not want it to break and tear, you want it to hold the meat together while its boiling away all that fat and most excellent cured meat. Ya know when I was a little boy, I thought they made andouille with the left over holiday hams. LOL.

Andouille and tasso are seasoning meats, they never stand alone.

I can't really see on that little cut piece, how did the cooling go, do you maintain the large pieces of fat? I see lots of cracked black, thats good. Nice color too, sort of red, what did you smoke with?

Looks great to me. Need some red beans or gumbo now to throw it in....... Tomorrow's Monday its red beans and rice day in Louisiana. A bit of bacon trim, or andouille, or even keilbasa..... You just can't lose!
 
Well yesterday I took a shot at my very own cold smoked Andouille. Being from New Orleans, just the smell of this stuff brings me back home, and I really wanted to try and make it because I can't seem to find the authentic stuff where I live. We used the recipe from Nola Cuisine to make it which is a great base, but I will be making changes to it next time to suit my tastes. It needs to be hotter and a little less salty I think. I only got a few pics of the process. We used 4 lbs of pork butt and 1 lb of pork fat. Of the pork, I cut 1/4 of the batch into small chunks. I plan on changing this too. All in all, it looks, smells, and tastes awesome. Sorry for only a few pics.





Looks really good to me. Wish I had some right now . I like Cajun Andouille sausage and have it several times when I have traveled to New Orleans.

Pig
 
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