Boudin


 * This article is about the Sausages. For the Geological feature see Boudinage

Boudin (pronounced BOO-danh, IPA ) describes a number of different types of sausage used in French, Creole and Cajun cuisine. Boudin can also refer to a bakery in San Francisco; to Le Boudin, the march of the French Foreign Legion (see below); or to French painter Eugène Boudin. In french slang, "boudin" is used to talk about fat and unattractive girls.

Types

 * Boudin blanc: A type of sausage made from a milk or pork rice dressing, much like dirty rice, only moister, stuffed into pork casings. Pork liver and heart meat are typically included.  Rice is more frequently used in Cajun cuisine, whereas the French version tends to use milk, and is therefore generally more delicate than the Cajun variety. Although the sausage wrap is edible, the stuffing is typically squeezed out of one end. In Cajun cuisine, it is often served with cracklins (fried pig skins) and saltine crackers. Boudin Blanc dressing is also used to make Boudin balls. The dressing is not stuffed into a casing but formed into a ball, rolled in breading and deep fat fried, similar to the Italian arancini.


 * Boudin noir: A dark-hued French blood sausage or Cajun sausage containing pork, rice, pig blood, and other ingredients.


 * Boudin rouge: In Louisiana cuisine, a sausage similar to boudin blanc, but with pork blood added to it. It originated from the French boudin noir.

Availability
It is notible that when one refers to 'boudin' in the cultural region of Louisiana,Acadiana, it is commonly understood that he/she is referring to Boudin Blanc and no other variant. Boudin Blanc is the staple boudin of this region and is the one most widely consumed. Cajun boudin is available most readily in southern Louisiana, particularly in the Lafayette area, though it may be found nearly anywhere in "Cajun Country" including eastern Texas. There are restaurants devoted to the speciality, including one named "Boudin King" in Jennings, LA, though boudin is also sold from Crock pots in convenience stores along Interstate 10. Since boudin freezes well, it is shipped to specialty stores outside the region. Boudin is fast approaching the status of the stars of Cajun cousine (e.g., jambalaya, gumbo, étouffée, creole, and dirty rice).

Le Boudin
Boudin gave rise to Le Boudin, the official march of the French Foreign Legion. "Blood sausage" is a colloquial reference to the gear (rolled up in a red blanket) that used to top the backpacks of Legionnaires. The song makes repeated reference to the fact that the Belgians don't get any "blood sausage", since the King of Belgium at one time forbade his subjects from joining the Legion.