Make Your Own: Chicken and Duck Andouille Sausage

I’ve made quite a few recipes by Emeril Lagasse which called for andouille sausages. I have never seen halal andouille in any of the upmarket grocers or deli stores in KL, and even when an ad for a non-halal deli pops up in my feed (need to do better, Facebook -_-) I rarely see andouille in their product list. So I usually would substitute with other sausages, such as chorizo (hard to find), Italian or any other smoked sausage.

At one point I wanted to try making my own andouille sausages. I’ve looked up a possible recipe from Emeril. Rudy even got me a gorgeous Zwilling Twin Smoker set. I was pretty new to cooking at the time, and was still very wary about taking liberties and modifying recipes, so my inability to find a substitute for file powder called for in the recipe basically ground the project to a halt. Almost seven years later, having more cooking experience and exposure to recipes from so many more chefs and home cooks, I finally got around to making my own andouille, based on this really inspiring recipe by Hank Shaw.

I’ve made sausages before, my first being Mexican chorizo, where I tried stuffing the meat mixture into casings and twisting them into links. However I cheated a bit last time, because I used store-bought minced chicken. Andouille is supposed to be a country-style sausage where the meat mixture is chopped more coarsely, so this time I cut up the meat into cubes, seasoned them, and chopped them up using a food processor. This is the most “proper” way to make sausage, but when we don’t have time nor the patience to clean up so many bowls and appliances, store-bought mince will have to do. Bear in mind that if we do take that shortcut, we’ll lose control over the desired fat and meat ratio, and the mince may be too finely ground for certain recipes like this andouille.

Smoking the sausages was another first for me. My Zwilling’s first outing, still in pristine condition. After the first use, you will start seeing the bottom of the pan darken due to the smoking process, and this will continue to gain more color with every use. I used beech wood chips which came together with the smoker, and as the sausages slowly cooked on the stove the kitchen smelled wonderful. My first batch of sausages burst and most of the liquid oozed out, and the sausages ended up dry and grainy. I had better luck with my second batch, and they turned out really plump and juicy I just couldn’t resist cutting myself a few morsels to try. I ended up finishing a whole link of sausage. -_-

Without a smoker set it is still completely possible to build your own stovetop setup, using regular kitchen stuff like aluminium foil, a steamer basket and a pot (see this video for more info). All you need to do is find the wood chips for smoking, which is quite easy online or at shops selling barbeque equipment.

I started by preparing the spices first. I had whole cloves and allspice on hand, so I ground them using my pestle and mortar.

Add the ground spices in a bowl, together with the paprika, cayenne, thyme, and mustard powder.

In a large tray or bowl (try to find one which can fit in your freezer), add the duck and chicken, then sprinkle with the spice mix, salt, milk powder, and garlic.

Toss until evenly coated. Here I didn’t have the sense to just leave the mixture in the tray, and you can see that I’ve transferred the mixture to a smaller container. Don’t do this – you wanna use a wide enough container, preferably one which can fit the meat mixture in a single layer for faster cooling.

Place the container uncovered in the freezer, until the mixture is 2 degrees C or colder, around 1 hour.

While the meat is resting in the freezer, sautee the onions. In a small skillet over medium heat, heat the fat or oil.

Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft and slightly browned on the edges, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

When the meat mixture is sufficiently cold, add it to your food processor in batches, with a portion of the onions. Be careful to not fill the jar more than half full.

Pulse the mixture in 1-second bursts, about 20 times. We’re looking for the texture of chopped meat, not a paste. Repeat for the remaining meat mixture and onions.

You can also hand chop about 1/4 of the mixture for better texture. Here’s a good video on how to do it.

Return the processed meat mixture to the tray used for chilling the meat. Place in the freezer, until the mixture is very cold (around 0 degrees), xxx minutes).

Add the juice or vinegar mixture.

Mix the liquid into the meat, by squishing the ingredients using very clean or gloved hands. If using an electric mixer, keep the paddle and bowl chilled in the fridge until ready to use, then mix for about 1 minute 30 seconds.

Do a taste test of your sausage mixture. I usually take about a teaspoon of meat and nuke it in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Tie off one end of your prepared sausage casing, and stuff it with the meat mixture. I recommend splitting the sausage into two separate rings, so that they can be smoked separately without having to cut the links.

Twist into links, and tie off the other end.

Hang the sausages to dry at room temperature, 1 to 2 hours, but no longer than that. For those living in warmer climates, I highly recommend making your sausage at a cooler time of day.

While hanging your sausages to dry, prick any visible air pockets to release any trapped air, using a large sterilized needle. You will see your casing tighten around your meat mixture. This is important to minimize the risk of your sausages bursting when cooking.

At this point you can store the sausages in the freezer until ready to use, and use as desired. If you’re planning to smoke these sausages, proceed to the next step.

Smoke in a stovestop smoker, using 3 tablespoons of hickory or apple woodchips, until the internal temperature registers around 68 degrees C on an instant-read thermometer, 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove from heat and let completely cool before storing.

Recipes using Andouille

• Sausage and Chicken Jambalaya
• Smoked Duck and Sausage Gumbo
• Classic Chicken Jambalaya