- Mar 16, 2020
- 408
- 271
Took the time to make some crawfish / shrimp boudin today. Im ashamed to say, in the end, it did not turn out very well. If was so delicious and flavorful at the end of cooking, I knew it was going to be fantastic! Here's where things went wrong, it tasted just right but knew it would need more salt once the rice was added . I added an additional salt, then started setting my stuffer and thought "I need to add the salt", here comes and additional salt and PRESTO, too SALTY. If it had been a large batch, it wouldn't have made much difference but this was only a 5lb batch. Added additional rice which dried it out too much and thinned out the rich flavor, and still salty. Crying is over, so I can now explain why I really started this post.
Over time, there have been a few post talking about boudin blow out, some thinking it may be the boudin swelling. Growing up, mom worked for a local boudin / seafood restaurant. The owner told her, the best way to cook boudin was to steam it. Now steaming it or boiling as some do, is only to cook the casing. While cooking the casing, steam will build up inside the casing, if not released, it can sometimes blow out, heavy steam can do the same. When casing is cooking it will shrink, which adds to the possibility of blow out while steam builds. Shrinking will be more then most will expect until you actually witness it. Many markets that make boudin will have a short, about 1", casing tag on the end of the boudin. This acts as a vent when cooking but started out longer, it's also faster then tying the ends. I know this is dragging on so I will try to speed up lol.
Here is the length of the tag on each end after the boudin is stuffed.
Several years ago, I bought a Nuwave induction cook top. It has a low setting, set at 175°. This is the perfect temperature for steaming the boudin. I set up a pot with a wire rack, about 1" of water in the bottom. Bring the water to a boil, then set on the low temperature.
Boudin is put inside the pot one layer at a time. I poke about 3 holes on top of each link with a tooth (these links were about 6") and repeat until it's all in the pot. I wait until they are laid in the pot to assure all of my holes are on top. Put on the lid, then walk away for about 15 minutes.
After 15 min, here is the finished boudin, no blow outs.
Now let's take a look at the shrinking of the casing. Hope this may be helpful for someone going forward.
Over time, there have been a few post talking about boudin blow out, some thinking it may be the boudin swelling. Growing up, mom worked for a local boudin / seafood restaurant. The owner told her, the best way to cook boudin was to steam it. Now steaming it or boiling as some do, is only to cook the casing. While cooking the casing, steam will build up inside the casing, if not released, it can sometimes blow out, heavy steam can do the same. When casing is cooking it will shrink, which adds to the possibility of blow out while steam builds. Shrinking will be more then most will expect until you actually witness it. Many markets that make boudin will have a short, about 1", casing tag on the end of the boudin. This acts as a vent when cooking but started out longer, it's also faster then tying the ends. I know this is dragging on so I will try to speed up lol.
Here is the length of the tag on each end after the boudin is stuffed.
Several years ago, I bought a Nuwave induction cook top. It has a low setting, set at 175°. This is the perfect temperature for steaming the boudin. I set up a pot with a wire rack, about 1" of water in the bottom. Bring the water to a boil, then set on the low temperature.
Boudin is put inside the pot one layer at a time. I poke about 3 holes on top of each link with a tooth (these links were about 6") and repeat until it's all in the pot. I wait until they are laid in the pot to assure all of my holes are on top. Put on the lid, then walk away for about 15 minutes.
After 15 min, here is the finished boudin, no blow outs.
Now let's take a look at the shrinking of the casing. Hope this may be helpful for someone going forward.
