Homemade White Pork Sausage (Boudin Blanc De Liege)
Submitted by booper
Boudin blanc de Liege, a delicate homemade white pork sausage. Lean pork and fat pureed silky with eggs, Port and aromatic spiced milk, dotted with currants, poached gently then browned in butter.
YIELD
20 servingsPREP
1 hrsCOOK
1 hrsREADY
2 hrsThis is charcuterie worth the effort: a fine-textured Belgian white sausage from the city of Liege, far more refined than your average breakfast link. Its pale color and silky bite come from skipping any browning during cooking and from careful technique.
First you infuse milk with onion, carrot, celery, shallots, bay, cloves, nutmeg and thyme, then chill it so the flavor sets deep. The pork loin and fat must stay very cold before they’re pureed with eggs, flour and Port until smooth, a near-mousse that gives boudin blanc its luxurious feel. Minced currants add little pops of sweetness against the savory meat.
The cooking is the gentle part: poach the piped sausages in water held just below a simmer, never boiling, or the delicate emulsion can burst. A final brown in butter gives them color and a crisp skin right before serving.
Chef Tips
- Keep the pork and fat ice-cold right up to pureeing; warm fat smears instead of emulsifying and the sausage turns greasy.
- Strain the infused milk and press hard on the solids to capture all that aromatic flavor before blending it in.
- Poach below a simmer, around 180°F (82°C), never at a boil; a hard boil splits the casings and the emulsion.
- Cool the cooked sausages in cold water to keep them plump, then brown in butter just before serving.
Variations
- Swap the currants for finely chopped dried apricots, or add a splash more Port for sweetness.
- Blend a few rehydrated dried mushrooms into the puree for earthy depth.
- Skip the casings and poach the mixture as quenelles or bake it as a terrine.
Ingredients
Directions
Bring milk, onions, carrots, celery, parsley, 3 shallots, garlic clove, bay leaves, salt, cloves, pepper, nutmeg and thyme just to boil in heavy 4-quart saucepan over medium heat.
Remove from het, cover and let stand 30 minutes.
Refrigerate until mixture is well chilled, about 2 hours.
Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy small skillet over low heat. Add remaining 4 minced shallots.
Cover and cook until very soft, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
Purée with on/off turns in processor with pork, pork fat, eggs, flour, Port and ¼ teaspoon garlic until smooth.
Strain milk into processor, pressing down on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
Blend into puree. Transfer to large bowl.
Stir in currants. Refrigerate 1 to 8 hours. (If processor has small capacity, purée in batches.) Cut sausage casings into 3-foot lengths.
Tie knot at one end of each. Gather 1 piece around tip of pastry bag fitted with ½-inch plain tip.
Spoon pork mixture into pastry bag, pressing down to prevent air pockets.
Pipe mixture into casing, twisting casing every 6 inches to create individual sausages.
Tie know at end of casing.
Repeat with remaining pork and casings. Tie twists in sausage with string.
Bring 8 quarts water to boil in stockpot. Remove from heat and add sausages.
Return pot to heat, adjusting as necessary to maintain water just below simmer (180 F).
Cook until sausages are firm to touch, 20 minutes, turning occasionally.
Cool in cold water to retain plumpness.
Cut into individual links. (Can be prepared ahead to this point.
Wrap and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 months.)
Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium heat.
Lightly brown sausages on all sides, about 8 minutes total.
Serve hot. (Sausage can also be grilled.)
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