Boudin Balls
Cajun bar-snack: boudin sausage filling pulled from the casing, rolled into balls, breaded and deep-fried into crisp-shelled spheres of pork and rice.
Overview
Boudin filling combines pork shoulder, pork liver (optional, traditional), cooked rice, onion, celery, garlic, parsley, green onion, cayenne, salt, pepper. Either bought ready-made boudin (casings removed) or made from scratch by simmering then mincing pork shoulder with the aromatics. Filling rolls into walnut-sized balls; chills for 30 min so they hold shape. Dredges in flour, egg, then seasoned breadcrumbs. Deep-fries for 3-4 minutes at 175°C.
Ingredients
Boudin filling (or use 500 g of pre-made boudin, casings removed)
- 400 g pork shoulder (cut into 3 cm cubes)
- 100 g pork liver (optional, traditional - gives the iconic boudin earthiness)
- 1 onion (large, chopped)
- 2 celery stalks (chopped)
- ½ green pepper (chopped)
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 200 g cooked long-grain rice
- 30 g flat-leaf parsley (chopped)
- 3 spring onions (sliced thin)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
Breading
- 100 g plain flour
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- 200 g panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (paprika + cayenne + garlic powder + onion powder)
Frying
- 800 ml neutral oil
To serve
- Creole mustard
- Crystal hot sauce (or any Louisiana hot sauce)
Method
Stage 1 - Boudin filling (from scratch)
- In a heavy pot, combine the pork shoulder, pork liver, onion, celery, green pepper, garlic, bay leaf and 500 ml water.
- Bring to a simmer; cook 1 hour 15 minutes until the pork is very tender.
- Drain (reserve some cooking liquid).
- Remove the bay leaf.
- Coarsely mince or pulse the pork mixture in a food processor (don't reduce to paste - keep some texture).
- Mix with the cooked rice, parsley, spring onion, salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika and thyme.
- Stir in 2-3 tablespoons of the reserved cooking liquid to moisten if dry.
Stage 1b - Using ready-made boudin
- Squeeze the filling out of 500 g of boudin sausage casings into a bowl.
- Fluff with a fork.
Stage 2 - Shape
- Roll the filling into walnut-sized balls (~30 g each).
- Place on a tray; chill 30 minutes (firms up; easier to bread).
Stage 3 - Bread
- Set up three plates: flour, beaten egg, panko + Cajun seasoning mix.
- Dredge each ball in flour, dip in egg, roll in seasoned panko.
- For extra crisp: double-bread (back through egg + panko a second time).
Stage 4 - Fry
- Heat oil to 175°C.
- Lower 5-6 balls; fry 3-4 minutes turning, till deep amber-gold all over.
- Lift onto a wire rack.
Stage 5 - Serve
- Pile on a plate.
- Serve with small bowls of Creole mustard and hot sauce.
Notes
- Pork liver is traditional: gives the iconic boudin earthiness. Omit if squeamish; the balls work but taste subtly different.
- Don't over-process the filling: texture should remain visible - bits of pork, distinct rice grains. Pasty boudin balls taste of nothing.
- Chill before breading: room-temp filling slides around during the dredge. 30 min firm-up makes neat balls.
- Cajun seasoning in the breading: not the filling. The pepper hits twice - in the filling and on the crust - for the iconic flavour.
Storage
- Best within 30 minutes of frying.
- Unfried, shaped, breaded balls freeze 2 months on a tray then bagged; fry from frozen + 1 min.
- Cooked balls reheat in a 200°C oven 6 minutes; crisp returns.
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