A favorite of Rabelais and an acquired taste, andouille is a French smoked sausage made primarily from pig chitterlings, tripe, onions, wine and seasonings, and is enclosed in a blackened skin. It is frequently served in cold slices as an hors d'oeuvre. In the U.S., andouille is most often used in Cajun and Creole dishes such as jambalaya and gumbo; it tends to be spicier than the French version.
While there are many imitations, there are only two genuine types of andouille, guaranteed to be prepared with traditional methods in their region of origin. Genuine Vire andouille is made in Normandy with stomach and intestines, smoked over beech wood for two months, and cooked in water or a court-bouillon. Vire andouille made outside of Normandy often includes neck and breast meat, making it higher in fat. Andouille de pays contains heart and head flesh.
Guémené andouille from Brittany is trademarked and is made by layering intestines inside of one another -- before being dried, smoked and cooked in bouillon or steamed -- producing a concentric circle pattern when sliced.
Note: if you want to let a French person know you think he's a bumbling idiot, calling him an "andouille" is a rough equivalent of the old British "silly sausage."
Recipe: Becca's Jambalaya (Simply Recipes)
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Recipe: Whole Wheat Linguine With Andouille, Carrots And Tarragon
Recipe: Artichoke Hearts And Andouille
A roux is a thickening agent made from equal parts butter and flour. The mixture is cooked until the flour taste disappears (about one minute per tablespoon of flour) and then combined with milk or stock to create a sauce.
There are basically two kinds of roux.
White (or blond) roux is cooked just until the flour taste vanishes, but before the butter begins to turn the roux brown. This becomes béchamel sauce when blended with milk. Combined with stock, it becomes velouté.
Brown roux is cooked until it turns a nutty brown color. It is used as a thickener for French demi-glacesauce. It can be made with butter, as well as pork or beef drippings. Many Creole and Cajun dishes, including gumbo, use lard to create a dark brown roux. (In our Chicken And Sausage Gumbo, we use less indulgent canola oil. Don't try this in Vermilion Parish; they may jail you for using oil.)
Reference: What is bechamel sauce? (Cookthink)
Reference: Macaroni And Cheese (Cookthink)
Related: Real Cajun Recipes
Gumbo is a gift from Louisiana to American cooking.
Especially popular in the South, this Creole and Cajun dish is made from rich stock, meat and/or shellfish, the so-called "holy trinity" of celery, bell peppers and onion, and thickened with okra, filé powder or roux, depending on where the cook stands on the matter.
This one-pot dish was inspired by French bouillabaisse and dates from the 18th century. Gumbo often contains some mixture of chicken, duck, quail, smoked pork like tasso or andouille, crawfish, crab, and/or shrimp. Recipes vary according to the cook; Creole gumbos tend to use a slightly paler roux and sometimes contain tomatoes, unlike Cajun gumbos, which never do.
Filé powder is a Creole seasoning made from ground sassafras tree leaves that's believed to have been first used by Choctaw Indians in the Louisiana bayou country.
Used to thicken and flavor gumbo, filé powder is added to a dish after it's been taken off the heat since overcooking it can make it turn stringy.
Sometimes referred to as gumbo filé, the powder can be used as a substitute for okra. It is also used to flavor tasso before it is smoked.
Related article: What is gumbo? (Cookthink)
Gumbo is a Creole dish that has been adopted by Cajuns.
Creole gumbo contains stock, meat or shellfish, the so-called "holy trinity" of celery, bell peppers and onion, and is thickened with okra, filé powder or roux and is usually served over rice.
So how can you tell the difference between Creole and Cajun gumbo?
Creole gumbos tend to use a paler roux and sometimes includes tomatoes (Cajun gumbo never does).
What's the difference between Creole cooking and Cajun cooking?
What's the difference between Creole cooking and Cajun cooking?
Because they share signature dishes like gumbo and jambalaya and originate in the American south, Creole and Cajun cooking are often confused. But they're not the same thing.
Creole cooking is a mixture of French, Spanish and African influences. Invented in the 18th century by European residents of New Orleans (named Criollos by the Spaniards in charge at the time), Creole dishes use butter and cream and a light roux as a base for numerous preparations.
Cajun cuisine was invented by French Acadians who were driven out of Nova Scotia by the British in the 18th century. It is a combination of French and Southern influences and is generally spicier and more "country" than more refined European-influenced Creole cooking. Cajun cooking is also defined by its use of pork fat and dark roux.
Both cuisines share a rampant use of the "holy trinity" of celery, onions and bell peppers as a base for many dishes and the use of filé powder.
Related article: What is gumbo? (Cookthink)
Related article: What is jambalaya? (Cookthink)
How to make salmon croquettes with a Cajun remoulade
How to make salmon croquettes with a Cajun remoulade
Try this recipe for salmon croquettes with spicy remoulade for a quick and satisfying mid-week meal. Just follow the directions outlined in this great video by Handmade TV.
Reference: What is an Omega-3 fatty acid? (Coothink)
Reference: What does it mean to sauté? (Cookthink)
With a spice grinder on hand, you can buy spices whole so they retain their flavor longer, toast them whole if you like then quickly grind them with a couple of pulses of the grinder.
Use a mortar and pestle if you've got time and don't mind the elbow grease; otherwise an inexpensive electric coffee grinder is great for the task.
When you use a coffee grinder to grind spices, remember not to use it to grind coffee or cloves, since the flavors of both will haunt the grinder and taint the flavor of whatever it is you want to grind.
To clean the grinder and remove the flavor of other spices between uses, try grinding up some chunks of white bread or uncooked rice, which will clean out any traces of previously ground spices before your next use.
Reference: What is a mortar and pestle?
Reference: What is a spice paste good for?
Reference: Should I toast whole spices before grinding?
Jambalaya is Creole comfort food.
A legendary one-pot dish that's ubiquitous in the American south and popular elsewhere, it's made with rice, stock, tomatoes, onions, celery, green peppers and various meats, poultry and shellfish. One of the most important classic ingredients is andouille, a French smoked sausage made primarily from pig chitterlings, tripe, onions, wine and seasonings, and enclosed in a blackened skin.
The word jambalaya is thought to be derived from jambon, the French word for ham. Jambalaya is believed to be a descendent of Spanish paella that was born in Louisiana when Spaniards in the French Quarter of New Orleans subbed unavailable saffron for tomatoes in an imitation of their native dish.
Cajun cuisine also has its own version of jambalaya without the tomatoes.
Tasso is highly spiced cured and smoked pork shoulder that is sometimes mistakenly referred to as "ham."
This Cajun specialty is generally not eaten on its own, but used to add a deep kick to dishes like gumbo and red beans.
Scarce outside of Louisiana, it is made by rubbing cured pork shoulder with cayenne, filé powder, garlic and other herbs and spices before smoking it for as much as 48 hours. This gives it a firm texture and incredibly smoky, tangy flavor that adds rich seasoning to a dish.
Related article: What is gumbo? (Cookthink)
