CopyCat Andouille Sausage

Let's Cook

1. Step 1.

   Soak the casing in a bowl of cold water for about 1 hour to soften it and loosen the salt. While it soaks, cut the meat and fat into 1/2-inch chunks and set up your meat grinder with the coarse blade.

2. Step 2.

   After soaking, cut the casing into 3-yard lengths. Place the narrow end of the sausage stuffer into one end of a casing, then hold the wide end of the stuffer against the sink faucet and run cold water through the inside of the casing to rinse away any salt. If you have extra casing you don't plan to use, roll it up, put about 2 inches of coarse salt in a large jar, place the rolled casing on the salt, fill the rest of the jar with salt, close tightly, and refrigerate for later use.

3. Step 3.

   Pass the meat and fat chunks once through the coarse blade of the meat grinder. In a large bowl, combine the ground pork with the remaining ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed.

4. Step 4.

   Cut the casings into 26-inch lengths. Tie a knot in each piece about 2 inches from one end. Fit the open end over the tip of the sausage stuffer and slide it to about 1 inch from the wide end, then push the rest of the casing onto the stuffer until the top touches the knot; the casing will look like accordion folds on the stuffer.

5. Step 5.

   Fit the stuffer onto the meat grinder as directed by the machine's instructions, or hold the wide end of the stuffer against or over the opening by hand. Fill the hopper with the meat mixture. If using an electric machine, turn it on and feed the stuffing gradually into the hopper; for a manual machine, push the stuffing through with a wooden pestle. The casing will fill and inflate gradually.

6. Step 6.

   Stop filling when you are about 1 1/4 inches from the funnel end. Slip the casing off the funnel, smoothing out any bumps carefully with your fingers without pushing the stuffing out. Tie off the open end tightly with string or make a knot in the casing itself. Repeat with the remaining casings and stuffing until all the meat mixture is used.

7. Step 7.

   To cook, slice the andouille 1/2 inch thick. Heat a skillet over high heat until hot, then add the slices (no water) and grill for about 12 minutes on each side, until brown and crisp at the edges.