A Celebration of Boudin in New Orleans

The Cajun delicacy is front and center at Boudin, Bourbon & Beer

Boudin is the original Cajun fast food. Pronounced boo-dan, the rice-studded sausage is a hallmark of South Louisiana, at once reflective of the culture’s French roots and tradition of exercising thrift in the kitchen. While it’s often made with pork, common iterations include shrimp, crawfish, and alligator. It’s flavored with spices and, regardless of the protein used, it’s always (always) stretched with rice.

The sausage is everywhere in Cajun country. A favorite road snack, it’s sold wrapped in butcher paper from specialty meat markets, grocery stores, and gas stations with hand-painted signs that beckon with the simple but effective “HOT BOUDIN.”

This Friday in New Orleans, some sixty chefs will gather for an epic celebration of the South Louisiana specialty at Boudin, Bourbon, and Beer. Hosted by the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, the event calls on participants to craft dishes using boudin. They’ll range from the traditional—Donald Link plans to plate up grilled boudin with pickles and mustard—to the inventive (see: Carey Bringle’s Nashville hot chicken boudin served with a Kool-Aid pickle).

If the Crescent City isn’t in your weekend plans, follow along with the Local Palate on Instagram as we explore the city and hit up Boudin, Bourbon & Beer Friday night.

Craving more? You can get a taste of the sausage at home with Lagasse’s boudin recipe. The team at Emeril’s serves it alongside homemade andouille sausage with greens, beer-braised onions, and whole-grain mustard, but it’s just as tasty eaten the Cajun way—fresh and straight from the casing.