Crawfish Boudin Balls Recipes

CRAWFISH BOUDIN BALLS

Steps:

• For Aioli: In 8-inch skillet, heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil on medium-high. Add green onions. Cook 2 minutes, stirring. Add garlic. Cook 2 minutes or until garlic is deep golden brown, stirring. When mixture is no longer hot, add to food processor along with mayonnaise, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Purée until smooth; refrigerate, covered, up to 2 days.
• For Boudin Balls: In food processor, pulse red pepper, poblano, celery, onion, and garlic until very finely chopped, scraping down side of bowl occasionally. In 10-inch skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil on medium-high. Add vegetable mixture. Cook 8 to 10 minutes or until mixture is mostly dry, stirring frequently.
• Wrap sage, thyme, and bay leaves in cheesecloth and secure with butcher's twine; add to 6-quart saucepot, along with vegetable mixture, Cajun seasoning, stock, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Heat to boiling on high. Stir in rice. Reduce heat to low. Gently simmer, covered, 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Spread rice in rimmed baking sheet or 3-quart baking dish to cool, discarding herb sachet. Return rice to pot. Fold in crawfish, green onions, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• In medium bowl, lightly beat eggs. Place crumbs in shallow dish. Using golf ball-size scoop, form rice mixture into balls. Dip balls into egg, letting excess drip off, then roll in crumbs.
• In 5-quart saucepot, heat remaining quart oil on medium-high until it reaches 375 degrees F on deep-fry thermometer. In batches, fry balls 2 to 3 minutes or until deep golden brown, turning occasionally. With slotted spoon, transfer to paper-towel-lined platter. Makes about 4 dozen balls. Serve warm with green onion aioli.

CRAWFISH BOUDIN BALLS, ANDOUILLE GRITS AND COLLARD GREEN CHOWCHOW

Steps:

• For the collard green chowchow: Combine the collard greens, cabbage, green tomatoes, red onions, bell peppers, mustard seed and turmeric in a nonreactive heatproof bowl. Bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil, then pour over the vegetables. Marinate for at least 1 hour.
• For the andouille grits: Render the andouille in a skillet over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the stock, milk and cream, and bring to boil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the grits and cook, stirring frequently, for 30 to 40 minutes. Finish off with the Gouda and green onions. Keep warm.
• For the crawfish boudin balls: In a large pan over medium-high heat, saute the celery, garlic, onions and bell peppers in the olive oil and butter for 12 minutes, until cooked through.
• Meanwhile, pulse half of the crawfish a couple times in a food processor. Add the chopped crawfish and the whole crawfish to the pan of vegetables; saute for 10 minutes. During cooking, add the lemon juice, breadcrumbs, crab boil, Parmesan, Creole spice and rice. Finish off with the green onions and parsley. Spread on a baking sheet and let cool.
• Roll the boudin mixture into six balls. Arrange the flour, egg wash and panko in separate bowls; season with salt and pepper. Dredge the balls in flour, dip in egg wash and coat in panko.
• Deep-fry the boudin balls at 350 degrees F for 7 to 10 minutes, until golden brown.
• Serve two boudin balls to a plate, accompanied by grits and chowchow.

BOUDIN BALLS

Steps:

• Stir pork shoulder, livers, onion, celery, poblano pepper, jalapeno pepper, garlic, kosher salt, 1 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper, chili powder, and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper together in a large pot. Cover the pot with a lid and refrigerate until flavors combine, 2 hours to overnight.
• Pour enough water into the pork mixture to cover by 2-inches; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from heat. Pour mixture through a strainer, reserving strained liquid and meat separately.
• Transfer drained meat mixture to a cutting board and finely chop.
• Stir chopped meat, rice, parsley, and green onion together in a bowl. Gradually add reserved cooking liquid, 1 ladleful at a time, to meat mixture, stirring until completely incorporated between each addition, until mixture has a paste-like consistency. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours to overnight.
• Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll chilled meat mixture into 1-inch balls.
• Whisk flour, 1 pinch cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper together in a shallow bowl. Pour breadcrumbs into another shallow bowl. Beat eggs in another shallow bowl.
• Gently press 1 ball into flour mixture to coat; shake off the excess flour. Dip ball into the beaten egg; press ball into bread crumbs. Place breaded ball onto a plate and repeat breading process with remaining meat balls.
• Working in batches, cook boudin balls in preheated oil, turning once, until crispy on the outside and hot on the inside, 3 to 4 minutes.

PRUDHOMME'S CRAWFISH BOUDIN - BOUDAIN D'ECREVISSES - LOUISIANA CRAWFISH AND RICE SAUSAGE

Steps:

• To prepare casings: Let casings soak in cool water about five minutes to remove salt on outer surface (no longer, or they will become too tender to stuff) and flush salt from the inside by placing one end on faucet nozzle and turn on cold tap water (if you see holes or water leaking, cut and discard).
• Remove casing from faucet and gently squeeze out water; cover rinsed casings and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Place the crawfish in a bowl and sprinkle the seasonings on top; mix well and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the vegetables over medium heat for about five minutes or until translucent.
• Add the seasoned crawfish and cook about 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat and stir in the rice, mixing very well.
• While the mixture is still hot, fill the casings, making links by twisting the filled casing several turns periodically (a four inch link is a good size).
• To cook:.
• Place the sausage in a single layer in a large pan or dutch oven and cover with water.
• Heat over high until water is nearly simmering and reduce heat to maintain just under simmering until the sausage is heated through about 15 to 20 minutes (cooking over higher heat may lead the casings to burst).
• Drain and serve immediately.
• An alternate method of cooking would be to saute the sausages in a frying pan in a little oil or butter.