This New Orleans chef has discovered a delicious substitution for pork: swordfish
At GW Fins restaurant in New Orleans, chef Michael Nelson is making waves with his “sea-cuterie” program—and swordfish is all over the menu in versions of mortadella, pastrami, bacon, and Bolognese. “You can interchange [swordfish] with pork in a recipe without adjusting the recipe in any way,” Nelson says. He compares the texture to that of a pork chop: “It’s not typically flaky like other fish; it has this much more dense, meaty texture, and it’s a lot higher in fat content than most fish.”
Nelson’s reasoning for subbing swordfish for pork is twofold: It’s both healthy and sustainable. GW Fins sources fish from the Gulf that weigh between 40 and 70 pounds and tend to be much lower in mercury, and the US fishes well under its quota for swordfish, which means we could risk losing that quota altogether—so increasing demand is a good thing. “The stuff we get out of the Gulf is so clean and beautiful,” Nelson says. “I think it’s one of those fish that people don’t have enough experience with.”
The chef makes andouille sausage with swordfish and traditional spices that he uses in seafood gumbo, pasta, and his Deep Sea BBQ plate. Essential steps include making sure the seasoned meat is well chilled before grinding, hand mixing in part of the fattier meat for that marbled appearance and texture, and resting the ground meat overnight. “The results are going to blow your mind,” Nelson says. “Once you try it, it’s a done deal.”
Swordfish Andouille 
yields
Makes 5 pounds or 30 sausages
5 pounds swordfish (a mix of 60% tail and head cuts to 40% belly cuts)
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon pink salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon ground mace
½ teaspoon ground cloves
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
¾ teaspoon dry mustard
1 cup small-diced onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Special equipment: Food processor or stand mixer with food grinder attachment and optional sausage stuffer kit; 26-mm cellulose hot dog casings, such as Walton’s (optional, available online); smoker (optional)
KitchenAid offers a metal food grinder attachment kit with three grinding plates and sausage stuffer tubes.
ingredients
steps
- Separate belly meat into two equal amounts; set aside one half in a separate container. In a large bowl, toss remaining belly meat with all remaining swordfish cuts and all seasonings. Freeze both containers until fish is slightly hard to firm on the outside, about 1 hour.
- Chop unseasoned belly meat first. If using stand mixer, fit food grinder attachment with coarse grinding plate and grind unseasoned belly meat. Otherwise, hand chop unseasoned belly meat to a fine dice. Set aside.
- Chop seasoned swordfish. If using food processor, pulse seasoned fish until it resembles texture of ground beef or pork. If using stand mixer fitted with food grinder attachment, attach fine grinding plate and grind seasoned fish, then remove grinder attachment.
- In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix processed fish on low speed until it develops a uniformly sticky appearance. Remove bowl from stand and, with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix in diced unseasoned fat.
- Optional step: If making links, fit stand mixer with sausage stuffer attachment and fill casings. (Pro tip: Cellulose casings are not edible and can be peeled off after smoking.) Using a pin, poke 1 hole about every 2 inches on either side, then twist casing to desired length (5 to 6 inches, about the length of a hot dog) to remove air and tie off with butcher twine.
- Allow swordfish andouille to rest overnight in the refrigerator before cooking or smoking.
- Optional step: Preheat smoker to 140 degrees; smoke sausage links or hand patties for 1 hour, or until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. (Avoid letting sausage get too hot or consistency will be grainy.) Submerge links in ice bath to stop cooking process, then pat dry and refrigerate until ready to serve. Swordfish andouille freezes well for up to 6 months
Keep Reading
Partnered
18 Stops Along the Cajun Bayou Food Trail
Enjoy delectable and unabashedly authentic cuisine along the award-winning Cajun Bayou Food Trail in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.
Partnered
4 Must-Visit Restaurants in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana
Embark on a flavorful journey through St. Martin Parish restaurants, where Cajun heritage infuses every bite with authenticity and tradition.
At the Table
3 Versions of One NOLA Classic: the Po’ Boy
The po’ boy gets three new versions thanks to New Orleans-native Chef Kelly English. He brings authentic NOLA cuisine with his second restaurant in Memphis.
share
Emily Havener
Emily Havener enjoys writing about food almost as much as she enjoys eating it. She has been food blogging and developing recipes since 2008, and her particular areas of expertise are finding creative ways to use leftovers and never making a recipe the same way twice. She’s always up for raw fish of any kind and a good gin cocktail or a glass of orange wine.
trending content
-
Where to Get Outside Along the Coast
-
Halloween Recipe Round-Up
by TLP Editors -
8 Baking Cookbooks to Keep Fall Cozy
-
Road Trip: Maryland to Virginia
by TLP Editors -
The Chef and the Farmer
by Emily Havener