F&DB Andouille Challenge Submission Thread March 2 & 3, 2021

Andouille Infused Bloody Mary
I started with a half pound of andouille from Jacobs in Laplace.

I sliced off six pieces a little over 1/4 thick

The slices went on a sheet pan to bake.
I baked them at 325 for about 10 minutes.

While they were baking, I filled up my bottle with about 12 oz of vodka.

As you can see, the fat is starting to come out of the sausage which is what you want to look like when it goes into the vodka.

I put the slices into the bottle and put it in the freezer for 2 hours

After the 2 hours, the fat solidified and was easily strained off leaving the flavor and the vodka. For those that may be interested, this process id known as "fat washing"

The final product ready to be used in the Bloody Marys.

The fun part was assembling all of the fixings for the drinks. I used olives, onions, 2 kinds of peppers, a bacon cheddar cheese. and i rimmed the glass with a mix of granulated garlic, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.

The drinks fully assembled!

This is a take on cassoulet.

Chicken & Andouille Cassoulet

CHICKEN CONFIT
1½ pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
2 large shallots, halved
4 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
4 - 6 juniper berries
1 cup duck fat
Olive oil if extra fat needed



Step 1
Preheat oven to 225°. Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in a small Dutch oven or other heavy pot. Arrange garlic, shallots, thyme, bay leaves, and juniper berries around chicken; drizzle oil over. Bring to a very low simmer over medium-low heat, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook until meat is very tender, 2–2½ hours. Let cool in oil (preferably overnight).






Chicken can be cooked 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.




Step 2
Tarbais beans for the cassoulet. In addition to the pictured ingredients, I added a link of smoked sausage. My original plan was to use smoked andouille, along with the fresh andouille, but plans changed. Cook as you would other dried beans. I cooked these on day 2 and then refrigerated overnight.




Step 3
Putting the cassoulet together.




Preheat oven to 350°. Heat 1/3 cup oil from chicken confit in a large skillet over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft, 10–12 minutes. Squeeze garlic cloves from chicken confit from their skins into skillet and add tomatoes, crushing with your hands. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add beans and their cooking liquid. Skim off remaining fat from chicken confit and pour juices (about ½ cup) into skillet (reheat fat in pot just enough to loosen juices underneath if needed). Bring to a simmer; season with salt and pepper.

Step 4

Transfer bean mixture to a 2–2½-qt. baking dish.

Nestle chicken into beans, leaving as much skin exposed as possible, then tuck sausage and shallots from confit chicken around. Cook until chicken skin is very crisp and cassoulet is nicely browned, about 2 hours.

Andouille crusted scallops over andouille/sweet potato puree, topping with a pepper jelly/bell pepper/andouille sweet relish.

I used andouille from Iverstine.





First made the breading. This is panko bread crumbs, garlic powder/cajun seasoning, and pulsed andouille.



Scallops a bit on the small side, but workable.



Next we do the topping. I did bell peppers, onion, garlic, and andouille in the topping and once it was all cooked down I added the pepper jelly.











Pull the potatoes from the oven.



Puree potatoes with andouille, a little seasonings to taste, and heavy whipping cream. Blend very well.



I should add that I had been at an outdoor concert all day and was also drinking cooking, so my destroyed kitchen is due to that.

I dipped the scallops first into flour, then egg wash, then the andouille crust mixture.





Plated one with topping and puree to taste.



It was great.

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NOLAGT

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NOLA

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The wife requested some good old fashion creamy New Orleans style red beans and rice with andouille sausage. As a side I stuffed with pepper jack cheese. I decided to plate it a little differently by stuffing it in some bell peppers and baking it in the oven for a little bit.

First task make some Andouille. I decided to try some pepper jack in some of it to change it up a bit. I used high temperature cheese so it wouldn’t melt out, I am not sure if I could have cooked it in the beans as well, I didn’t try.

A pair of nice butts… Because who does not like a nice butt. I took the fat cap off so I could grind it a little finer than I did the meat. Used a three-quarter inch plate on the meat and a half inch plate on the fat to get that traditional course andouille texture.







I took the cubed up meat and threw it in the freezer to firm up and then ground it up. My choice of seasonings for this project. Other than the curing salt I went at 2% of the weight of the meat. I only used one of the butts for this that was around 9 pounds cleaned up. Made one passed through the grinder, added to seasoning, and mixed it all up adding a little water until I got the texture that I needed. Then I let it cure overnight in the fridge before stuffing.








The next night it was time to stuff it up. I used some beef round casing that I was able to get from my neighbor. I pulled out a couple pounds to mix in some pepper jack cheese. Once I had it stuffed I put it in the fridge for another night so the casing could dry off.








The next night was the smoke show. I used pecan and smoked at 150° for 6hrs. Once I hit the temperature I wanted I pulled it off and into an ice bath to cool and help stay plump. Then into the fridge to wait for the beans.








I like to render pork belly for the oil to cook my vegetables in. I don’t like to brown the sausage first because I don’t put it in until the last 30 minutes or so. I find if I put it in the beginning all the flavor cooks out and I am left with tasteless sausage. Take that pork belly and render it down in a pan for a couple hours. I rinse and soak my beans (4lbs) so maybe there is less gas










Cooking day

My little blind dude loves cooking day. When he smells it he heads for right between my feet looking for what I drop....sometimes I drop on purpose



I used three onions, three bell peppers, five sticks of celery, some fresh parsley, and a bunch of garlic. For my liquid I like to use chicken stock although I needed a little bit of water because one box turned out to be turkey stock.

Drop that pork fat into the pan and cook the crunchy vegetables down until dark and tender. Then I start the de glazing process with a stick of butter and that is when I put in the parsley and garlic.












Once the vegetables are ready I’ll put a little bit of stock to deglaze the pan. Once I get everything up I fill her up with the rest of the stock, beans and smoked pork shank. I usually use two for this dish but with the smoked Andouille I decided to try it with just one. I would probably still use two next time.








Now we let it simmer for about three hours. I season a long the way with whatever kind of seasoning I use. This time I tried something new since it is made in New Orleans and it has chicken on the front. So chicken this is for you if you read these post






After about three hours the pork shank is starting to get a little tender. So this is where I add my sausage. I took the casing off which I am glad I did sliced it up and dropped it on in.








The pork shank tells me when it is done. When it needs to be removed carefully with pieces falling off and all of the meat comes off the bone clean it is time. I throw the meat back into the dish and let it cook for a few more minutes for the flavors to mix.








This time I decided to stuff and some bell peppers. While it was different and not bad I just prefer a plate of red beans and rice. I heated up the pepper jack cheese Andouille on the grill and used it as a side dish.

As always thanks for watching

Andouille Meatloaf






Venison, Veal, & Pork Meatloaf stuffed with Pepper Jack Cheese and Andouille Sausage w/Pontchatrain Sauce & Tabaco Onion
Homemade Sausage Thread
The meatloaf contains an andouille in the middle as well as pieces of browned andouiile studded throughout. The sauce contains pieces of fried homemade bacon.
Homeade Bacon Thread


Smoked at 250°F for 4 hours. Notice the cheese pimple oozing where the temp probe was residing.

Wife got impatiently hungry and made me cut it early… You can see a couple of pieces of andouille pieces in the meatloaf on the left side. Also a faint smoke ring near the surface.

Plated

Who’s holding out on us?

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