Quintessential Southern: Fried Boudin Balls
Blogger Amber Wilson's blog-to-book, For The Love of the South is packed with recipes we Yankees are simply itching to recreate. Revitalize your passion for Southern food with this excellent collection of dishes, drinks, desserts and more. These fried boudin balls are first on our list!
This is my favorite way to enjoy boudin. The hot, crisp crust breaks, revealing tender, steaming spiced pork and rice. These are best eaten with your fingers, but you can use a fork if you must. Dip the boudin balls in the ravigote sauce or simply drag a piping hot boudin ball across a mound of Creole mustard.
Variation: Boudin Links: You can use the Boudin Ball mixture to make boudin links (it makes approximately 1½ pounds; nine links). Once stuffed into casings, poach the links in gently simmering water for 10 minutes. Serve the poached boudin with Creole mustard and Ravigote Sauce.
- 1/2 pound boneless pork chops
- 1/4 medium red onion
- 1 Serrano pepper
- 3 green onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- A few dashes Tabasco chipotle pepper sauce
- 1 3/4 cups steamed rice
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
- peanut oil
- Ravigote Sauce or Creole mustard
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon Creole or whole-grain mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- Pinch smoked sweet paprika
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- :::sauce:::
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, vinegar, horseradish, cayenne, and paprika. Season with salt and black pepper and adjust the other seasonings to your taste. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
- :::Boudin balls:::
- In a quart-size plastic bag, combine the pork, onion, serrano pepper, green onions, garlic, cayenne, chili powder, smoked paprika, 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and chipotle pepper sauce. Rub all the ingredients together. Marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
- Transfer the pork and vegetables to a medium saucepan and add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, partially covered, for 2 hours. Remove from the heat and pour into a sieve set over a bowl. Measure out ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons of the poaching liquid and set aside. Transfer the pork to a food processor and pulse a few times. The boudin mixture should resemble a loose sausage mixture.
- Transfer the boudin mixture to a stand mixer fi tted with the fl at beater attachment. Add the rice, parsley, and reserved poaching liquid and mix on a low speed for 5 minutes. The boudin will be a little loose, but this ensures the rice will not dry out as the boudin cooks later. Cover and refrigerate the boudin mixture until completely cool, or up to 12 hours if you want to make the boudin ahead of time.
- Set up a dredging station in 3 shallow dishes. Scoop the fl our into one dish, crack and lightly beat the eggs in a second, and pour the breadcrumbs into the third dish. Season each lightly with salt and pepper. Create boudin balls by scooping the mixture into 1½-tablespoon balls. (I use a 1½-tablespoon cookie dough scoop.) Gently roll the boudin balls between your palms. Roll each ball in fl our, then toss in the egg. Shake off any excess egg and roll in the breadcrumbs. Place the boudin balls on a platter.
- In a medium heavy-bottomed pot, heat 2 inches of peanut oil over medium heat to 350° to 360°F. Line a plate with paper towels.
- Working in a few batches, fry the boudin balls until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain on the paper towels. Serve immediately with ravigote sauce or Creole mustard.