Have been making fresh sausage for the past 10 years, and even made some cold smoked sausage with good results. I have always wanted to take a stab at Andouille as I love it and I grew up in LaPlace, La - the Andouille capitol of the world.
Few improvisations: Didn’t have any beef middles and used a large hog 42-45 mm casing from Walton’s. Didn’t have a 3/4 (18mm) grind plate, but able to get a nice coarse grind through a 1/2 (12mm) plate.
Used a combination of different recipes that I saw, keeping it simple like the way I remember growing up.
10 lbs Boston Butt with back fat removed, ground
69 g salt, 15 g cayenne pepper, 10 g black pepper, 2 g paprika, 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh garlic, 2.6 tsp cure, 2 cups cold water. Did add 1 cup Soy Pro - not sure if that was needed and pretty sure most stores in LaPlace do not use it. Just experimenting…
Stuffed and let links dry in refrigerator overnight. Took out next morning and let come to room temp with a fan blowing on them for additional drying. Hung and cold smoked
for 11 hours, gradually raising the temp until internal temp reached 155.
Came out great! Looked like what I get from the markets and tasted incredible! Haven’t used it yet in a gumbo, but have eaten 2 links as is or with crackers… Going in a gumbo for family Christmas party next week.