What Is Andouille Sausage And How Do You Cook With It?
The name andouille sausage might not sound familiar to you, but if you have ever eaten a plate of gumbo or jambalaya, you may have tried it without even knowing it. Andouille sausage (also known as just plain andouille), is a type of smoked sausage that is often associated with Cajun and Creole cuisines.
Andouille, pronounced like "ann-doo-wee," has origins in France, but may be best known by Americans for its appearance in dishes from Louisiana. In fact, a Louisiana city called LaPlace is touted as being the andouille capital of the world. Yes, the whole world!
In this article, we will teach you more about the history of this delicious sausage, as well as how to cook it and how it differs from what most would refer to as regular sausage. We will also tell you exactly how it's made — but as is the case with most sausages, you may want to cover your eyes for that part (spoiler alert: it involves intestines).
What is andouille sausage?
While some people swear that andouille comes from Germany, where many other types of sausage originated, it actually comes from France. It is a smoked sausage, meaning that it is a cured meat that has been dried and then smoked. Popular cooking methods for it include steaming and boiling, but that, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg.
As is the case with all sausages, andouille is made by stuffing meat and spices into a casing. Most often it is made with pork, but the contents of its casing (and the casing itself) can change according to where it is being made. There are several variations of andouille, with the most famous being found in France and Louisiana (more on those in another section).
Andouille is usually a larger sausage, but you can also find a smaller version, appropriately called andouillettes (small andouille). The look of this sausage may seem a bit odd compared to others, as its traditional French version is a grayish color rather than red or pink thanks to the ingredients used to make it. What is lacks in color, though, it makes up for in flavor. This is a spicy sausage with a full, rich taste and texture, making it the standout ingredient in the recipes it is used in.
How is andouille sausage made?
Now for the part that may make the more squeamish readers skip to the next section. In France, andouille is traditionally made with the entire digestive tract of a pig. We're talking the stomach, the large intestine, and the small intestine too. The large intestines are stuffed with chitterlings (which American Southerners may also know as "chitlins"), which are cooked pig intestines, and/or with tripe, the stomach lining of the pig. The stuffing is seasoned with onions, pepper, herbs, spices, and sometimes wine, and the resulting sausage is often very thick. The original cooking method in France was to poach the sausage instead of smoke it, then cut it into thin slices, but now the more common way of preparing andouille is to smoke and then boil it, creating a sausage that is gray in color with an extremely strong odor.
In America, Cajun-style andouille is made from tripe, chitterlings, and pork butt. This version also includes garlic and cayenne pepper in addition to the onions. The process of making it is also slightly different: Instead of being stuffed, smoked, and boiled, the filling is smoked before it is stuffed and then smoked again once everything is in the casing. This is the type you are most likely to see on the shelves of your local grocery store.
Andouille vs sausage
Wait a second. We've been calling this food andouille sausage" this whole time! Isn't it a type of sausage?
Well, yes and no. Yes, it is classified as a sausage, but no, it is not the same as the other types of sausage you are probably used to. Sausage comes from Germany, but andouille comes from France and has a completely different texture and flavor profile. Sausages with roots in Germany are most often made with ground meat, often beef instead of pork. Andouille is always made from pork that has been chopped, not ground up, giving it a chunkier consistency.
The spices used to make them are also very different, as is the curing process. Most sausage is smoked, fried, or grilled, but andouille is usually smoked over a fire made with hardwood. The latter also tends to have a more pungent aroma as well as a more grayish color. It also includes onions, something that doesn't usually make an appearance in other types of sausages.
What does andouille sausage taste like?
As with all things, the taste of andouille sausage depends on how it is both made and cooked. In general, though, andouille has a strong, spicy, smoked flavor. You will likely also taste the herbs and onions inside, as well as a hint of garlic.
If you are eating your andouille sausage in Louisiana, however, you will likely need a glass of water to go with it. This type of andouille is spicier, with a hot flavor that comes from the addition of chilies and cayenne pepper.
The European version of andouille is a bit more balanced when it comes to spice, with the smokiness helping to give it a more even flavor, but Cajun-style andouille is almost always quite fiery. Both kinds are well known for their rich taste, which, in most cases, comes from its being smoked twice. That smokey flavor really penetrates deep into the meat (thanks to the interior ingredients being smoked themselves before cooking), making it one that goes great in dishes with other flavor-packed ingredients that can hold their own, like gumbo or jambalaya.
How to cook with andouille sausage
Now that we know what andouille sausage is and how it's made, what can we do with it? The most obvious answer is to make jambalaya, a spicy dish (as in, full of spices — the heat level is something you decide when you're cooking) chock full of meat, vegetables, and rice. However, this isn't the only way to go. You can also use it in meat sauces, in white bean and sausage soup, or to kick your plate of beans and rice up a notch. And you can't forget about gumbo, another famous vehicle for andouille. This is a stew that is extremely popular in Louisiana and consists of meat, thickened stock, celery, onions, bell peppers, and sometimes okra.
Your options for using andouille are wide and varied, as you can also steam it, grill it, pan-fry it, broil it, or boil it. But no matter how you decide to cook it, there are a few things to keep in mind when you do. The first is that you should check the internal temperature after cooking to see if it is done. 160 degrees F is considered to be the safe temperature here. The second thing is that, as it is cooking, you should never poke your andouille with a fork. This releases the juices inside, which will dry out the meat.
Where to buy andouille sausage
Prepackaged andouille sausage can be found at most grocery stores. You'll see it in the refrigerated section with the other smoked sausages and pre-packaged meat and/or seafood products (not alongside the raw meat or near the butcher or deli counter). You will most likely come across the spicy Cajun or Creole type of andouille instead of the traditional French kind, but you may also see that there are various levels of spiciness on offer.
You can purchase andouille sausage online or in-store at many popular chains like Walmart and Target, as well as specialty online stores like D'Artagnan. The price depends on the size of the package and how the meat was prepared, with prices varying widely from around $4 to over $100 for artisanal sausages.
Purchase Adells Cajun Style Andouille Smoked Pork Sausage at Target for $5.99.
Purchase New Orleans Andouille Smoked Sausage at Walmart for $3.94.
Purchase Andouille Cajun-Style Sausage at D'Artagnan for $10.99.
Nutritional information about andouille sausage
The nutritional values of andouille sausage vary because there are many different ways to make it and many different brands, types, and sizes. One thing they all have in common, however, is that they are quite high in fat. A 68-gram sample that is around four inches long and 1 1/8 inches in diameter is said to contain a whopping 210 calories and 19 grams of fat, which is 24% of the recommended daily value. 6.3 grams of that fat are saturated, which is 32%t of the recommended daily value. It also contains 0.2 grams of trans fat, 2.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, and 7.6 grams of monosaturated fat.
It isn't great for those with high cholesterol either. This same sample of andouille sausage also contains 41 grams of cholesterol, 14% of the recommended daily value. It is fairly high in sodium too, with 562 milligrams per serving of this size (of which you could likely eat more than one).
It does, however, have 328.4 milligrams of potassium, which makes up 7% of the recommended daily quota. It has a bit of iron, calcium, and vitamin D as well, but their amounts are fairly negligible. So, needless to say, andouille is not a healthy food, but it does make for a good occasional treat.
How to store andouille sausage
Equally important as cooking your andouille to the right temperature is storing it at the right temperature. According to the USDA, cooked sausages like andouille should be kept in the refrigerator and can remain fresh for two weeks before opening. After they are open, they can remain there for up to seven days without going bad. You can freeze them from one to two months if you would like, but it is recommended to wrap them up tightly in plastic wrap to stave off freezer burn. When you're ready to cook it, it should be thawed out in the refrigerator, not on the counter, unless you want your andouille with a side of food poisoning.
If you aren't sure if your andouille sausage has gone bad, you should first rely on two senses: sight and smell. First, take a look and see if the color has changed. Most sausages you buy from the store will be red, so if it is anything other than that, throw it out. A white film on its exterior is a sign that bacteria is growing on it, so that's a bad sign as well. If you're still not sure, take a whiff: if your andouille smells sour, it has spoiled.