You wanna give us
a little tune?
And get your,
get your prayer ready?
>> Toby Rodriguez, Lache
Pas Boucherie. We decided
to do a true
community boucherie.
None of y'all
really wanna be in
the receiving end
of the bullet.
It's the butchering
of a hog.
When we shoot the pig,
we're gonna go ahead and,
like, right away
after it's shot,
it gets stunned.
We're gonna pull
it to the edge of
the it's gonna, should
be right here already.
>> Yeah.
>> Cuz I'm gonna
put feed for it.
>> In a traditional
boucherie,
we cook things such
as backbone stew,
we make smoked sausage,
hog head cheese
to name a few.
If it flops around
too much, it,
like it hurts itself.
It gets bruised up and
cut up.
So, we actually hold it
down while I go ahead and
bleed it out.
It's comfort, yeah,
comfort him as,
as much as possible.
>> Kill them,
butcher them, and
made a little bit
of boudin with it.
[MUSIC]
Muchies presents.
Cajun Boudin.
Get some boudin.
>> Do it.
>> Simple recipe,
the pork,
the onions, the rice cake
and cajun seasoning and
stuff it in a natural
hull casing.
It's not really
complicated about
the boudin
process you know.
>> Boudin was
something that was
just always there when
we were growing up.
Like people would
think of going and
getting a box
of doughnuts,
we'd go get
a box of boudin.
>> When I was
driving truck for
the Parish and things,
we would stop at a store
in the morning and
get a neck of boudin
with some milk.
And we'd eat it for
breakfast.
>> Perfect thing
to do as a family.
Get boudin.
Anytime I'm hung over.
>> Boudin.
>> Boudin.
[LAUGH].
You go to someone's
house, and
instead of bringing
a bottle of wine,
you bring a box
of boudin.
It's just always there,
you're always having it.
I mean,
I still eat it every day.
>> It sounds good,
it tastes good,
it smells good, and it's
pretty much everywhere.
[MUSIC]
Johnson's Boucaniere,
Lafayette, LA.
>> Two pounds of boudin,
Danny.
Cut in half.
[SOUND] Wallace Johnson,
Johnson's Boucaniere.
>> My name is
Wallace Johnson,
I work at the Boucaniere.
>> My name is Lori Walls,
I'm his daughter.
I'm the owner of
Johnson's Boucaniere.
We do sausage,
the smoked meats,
the tasso, beef jerky,
and then boudin.
>> Back in the old days
when the farmers
would kill a hog.
They would make make
little bit of boudin to
use up everything.
Cuz there was no
refrigeration at
the time.
It was a way of not
wasting any of the meats.
They would cook the liver
and then boil some meat
and, and they'd get some
greens in, and some rice.
They would take the
entrails from the hog and
clean them out and
wash them good and
then stuff the, the
mixture into the casing.
It's all fully cooked
except for the casing.
You can simmer it,
you can grill it,
you can steam it.
>> I wouldn't say
it's considered
extremely attractive.
>> There was no boudin
made commercially until
my daddy started
it in 1948.
And my daddy decided
he was going to start
making boudin to sell
in the grocery store.
That's what he did,
he and my sister.
That's lagniappe (extra).
>> Ooh, lord.
We used to be
the only one, but
now they've got hundreds.
[LAUGH] Every, every gas
station you go to in
Louisiana sells boudin.
[MUSIC]
Floyd Poche, Poche's
Market and Restaurant.
I'm Floyd Poche the owner
of Poche's Market and
Restaurant.
It's been in business
since 1976, Diane had it
before me since 1962.
We do a lot of boudin,
cracklin, andouille
sausage, tasso and
a lot of specialty meats.
You
know like stuffed pork
roast, you know, and all
this famous Cajun foods.
We make about 5 to 6,000
pounds a week of boudin.
And we put porked liver
in our, our boudin and a
lot of the younger people
don't like liver quite
as much as it used to
be in the old days.
So we cut off all the
liver a little bit more.
And replace it with a bit
more meat and stuff.
>> Whenever I was a kid,
boudin was the scraps.
Roddie Romero,
Cajun musician. It was
the things that we
weren't going to be
eating or like had
to be eaten fresh.
And we made
boudin out of it.
And nowadays they're
breaking the whole
shoulder down.
>> Yeah.
>> For for boudin.
The stuff that
people used to
associate with boudin.
Like all the scraps and
the nasty parts
of the pig.
>> Yeah.
>> I think there's a
thing going on right now
where they're no longer-
Tony Davoren,
Lache Pas Boucherie.
The nasty parts.
They're the delicious
parts, you know.
>> Because of Bizarre
Foods, and, and Bourdain,
and all these guys
that have gone in and
shown that hey it's cool.
It's cool to eat
some strange stuff.
It's actually not
that strange and
it's delicious
as a delicacy.
>> It's not even
that it's cool.
It's the best part.
>> It's the best part.
[MUSIC]
Boudin is native I
feel to our area.
Much like the po' boy's
native to New Orleans.
I don't know of any
boudin in New Orleans.
Maybe you might
find a link or
two here are there.
But not in the same
capacity as over here.
[MUSIC]
Cochon, New Orleans, LA.
Donald Link,
Chef/Owner, Cochon.
>> Believe it or
not, it's hard to find
boudin in New Orleans.
I mean, we serve it
at Cochon Butcher and
it's probably
the only place I
can think of that you
can get hot boudin.
Which is strange cause
we're so close to it.
[MUSIC]
The ingredients in boudin
has always been pork and
some liver.
My ratio is
about a quarter.
What we do is just have
enough in it to where you
don't really know
its in there.
But it supplies the,
the richness and
the depth of flavor
that you want.
Without tasting
like old liver.
Here's the juice
from the cooking.
It's like risotto.
You know, you have to
stir it to get it creamy.
We're not just
blending it here.
We're actually trying to
break the starch out of
the rice to give it
that certain texture.
It's kinda based on, you
know, all the things I
liked about the different
boudins that I've had.
One of the interesting
thing about boudin,
same ingredients and
everything is so
different.
>> Definitely more
meat than rice.
>> Mm-hm.
>> I can
barely get
the rice at all.
>> I know.
>> I like the amount of
vegetables it had.
>> I like
the green onions.
>> Yeah.
>> It's definitely got
some liver to it.
>> It's very dry.
They do not grind
their meat.
I think they
shred their meat.
>> It's really, you know,
everyone has their
favorite spot.
>> People
are committed and
religious about their
favorite boudin.
They, they've got their
favorite boudin and
nothing is better
than that.
That's their boudin,
you're not gonna talk
them into anything else.
Doesn't matter
what you say,
doesn't matter what
you put on the table.
I aint sa, I,
I, you know,
I haven't seen people
fight over boudin yet.
>> [LAUGH] It's
coming close.
>> It wasn't
the abundance of
specialty meat shops
that exist now.
Now, people go,
want boudin and
they go to a specialty
meat store
that specializes mainly
in boudin and cracklin.
Well as a kid you went to
an actual butcher shop or
your grocery
store which had
a meat department
in there.
And, like,
boudin was usually made
in those departments.
[MUSIC]
>> Five links of
boudin please.
I know, but we got sushi.
Go ahead, brother.
Is that sushi for lovers?
When's the last
time you saw
boudin served over
a sushi counter?
[MUSIC]
Scott, LA.
The Best Stop, Scott, LA.
>> What we got?
>> Here we go.
>> It's, it's the ass
end of the boudin.
>> [LAUGH].
>> And liver's
coming out of it.
Is the best part.
>> I mean, that always
gets me excited.
The ass end of anything
gets you excited.
>> The Best Stop
is probably,
along with Porsay's,
probably one of the first
places that built this
reputation around boudin.
>> I wish blue
man was here.
He'd tell you how
many thousands of
pounds they would,
they sell everyday.
I don't know the number
but it's, it's amazing.
>> Oh, it's big money.
Like, like
there are a few
different families
that are funding.
Completely funded,
like Jack Christmas is
all paid for by Boudin.
Purvis Morrison,
Mayor of Scott, LA.
>> I never thought that I
would see boudin become
a multi-million
dollar industry.
Last year when we found
that that year prior was
1.5 million pounds of
boudin sold in the city
of Scott.
Employees, about 80
employees that work in
the city of Scott because
of the boudin industry.
So that was one
of the biggest,
I guess, That we were
able to use to influence
the legislature, to give
us the opportunity to be
called the Boudin
capital of the world.
Broussard was self
proclaimed as
the Boudin capital
of the world.
But there were
no records of
anything that showed
through legislation that
they went through
the process to
become the Boudin
capital of the world.
And we are the Boudin
capital of the world.
[MUSIC]
Jenny's is
still the Boudin capital
of the universe.
>> I mean Poches Bridges
is probably the,
the king.
I don't think any of
them sell more boudin
than I do, so.
You know they
might lie and
tell you they
sell a lot more.
Because after a while
when you see my place,
and what it takes
to make you know,
5 to 6,000 pounds a week.
If they're selling
20,000 pounds ain't no
where near my place.
You know.
But a lot of them
don't tell the truth.
>> I think the big
deal about Scott is
very accessible
exit of of I-10.
There are three bad ass
boudin places right at
the exit.
>> I think it's taken
the heavy hitters,
Don's, Billy's, Best Stop
in a radius of two miles.
>> So that created
that market along I-10.
Like Don's is
a perfect example.
The reason Don's is so
big, it's not
people that live in that
city that are carrying it
because it's not
that big of a city.
But it's, it's everyone's
stop on the interstate.
>> We have a lot of
people that migrated to
the cities from this,
this area.
They went to,
they went to Houston,
they went to Florida,
they went to Dallas.
And whenever they get
an opportunity to
pass through here again,
in business or
in pleasure,
they'll stop by.
And they'll pick up
some of this boudin,
some cracklin,
especially meat, and
they bring it home.
And when they come,
they might come down and
a neighbor might say hey,
you going down
to Scott's?
Bring me $200
worth of meat.
Bring me some boudin.
Bring me some cracklin.
Bring me some things
of that nature.
>> My dad lives
in Lake Charles.
It's three hours
west of here.
And I never go to
Lake Charles without
stopping to get boudin.
Usually I get enough
to eat in the car and
then, have enough for
the remainder of my trip.
And cracklins.
I mean, the cracklins
are dangerous,
cuz you basically eat
them till you get sick.
Cracklin can be pretty
much anywhere on the pig.
The actual skin and
the fat with a little bit
of meat attached to it.
But the best part is
either the back or
the belly.
It's cut up in cubes and
then it's fried.
And then it's pulled from
its own grease after the,
the lard is rendered.
It's usually cooled and
they put it back into hot
grease so it can pop.
>> When you eat one
piece of cracklin,
you lose two days
of your life.
He just lost four
days right there.
>> Yeah.
>> Like, he wasn't,
he wasn't using them.
>> I wasn't using them.
>> Yeah.
>> I know this one guy
who was telling me
that he had, he had
a little restaurant,
I think, somewhere.
It was in Arkansas or
Alabama or somewhere.
And he was coming
down here and
he'd buy boudin and
cracklin.
And he'd go
over there and
sell a little link,
with about five or
six cracklings,
for $10 appetizer.
I know we have a guy
by the name of Mike's.
Mike has a little
boudin place right out
the city of Scott he
does a boudin pie.
When I first seen it,
I was like, boudin pie?
And I tasted it and
it was great.
I mean it was
kinda a mixture of
sweet candied yams,
with boudin and a crust.
And so, you hear,
you hear of Billy's with
the boudin balls with
the pepperjack cheese
in the middle.
>> It will change
your life.
>> Oh yeah, for
the better too, bro.
>> A lot of
people eat it,
they love to put it in
between a slice of bread.
And they eat it with
a slice of bread.
Some people like to
drizzle a little bit of
syrup on it, you know,
and get like,
a little sweet and, and
salty kinda mix with it.
They'll eat it that way.
Some of the,
the, the elaborate ways
they making boudin,
putting different things
in it, is unbelievable.
>> Well, we make
crawfish boudin also.
Breaux Bridge is
the crawfish capitol
of the world.
It's crawfish tails
mixed with the rice and
like an etouffee mixture,
you know with,
smothered with the onions
and stuff like that.
>> That's regular smoked
and this is regular.
>> The smoked regular
boudin is good.
>> Bad ass.
>> Really good.
>> It's my favorite.
>> I don't taste
that richness that I
taste of the,
when it's just broiled.
>> Yeah.
>> The smoke kinda
hides it a little bit.
[LAUGH]
>> What we're
learning from
this is that we
just need to smoke
everything right?
[LAUGH].
>> As Waylon Jennings
once said,
smoke everything.
>> Yeah.
>> Smoked boudin and
smoked blood boudin.
In blood boudin
right here.
>> Blood boudin,
which is also referred to
at boudin noir,
is the same consistency
of regular boudin,
except there is blood
added to that mixture.
The only time you can
really get blood boudin
is at a slaughterhouse or
at a boucherie.
>> Salt, bowl, salt.
Okay, okay.
>> How's it look?
>> That's good.
>> Once the blood is
collected, it's salted.
You beat it with a whisk
pretty vigorously to keep
the actual platelets
from activating and
clotting the blood.
Once the blood
is secured,
the entire boudin
process takes place and
everything is mixed up.
Then you add your blood.
You need to go a little
bit shy on the salt
because there's so
much salt already in
the blood itself.
You mix that up,
load it into a stuffer,
stuff it inside the
casing, make your links.
And finally,
boil it and eat it.
The blood is not cooked
until the boudin is
actually boiled.
Once it's boiled,
then it's ready for
consumption.
Where in regular boudin,
everything's already
cooked
beforehand with the
exception of the casing,
which has to be boiled
for, for consumption.
>> Oh.
>> Without that
smokiness.
[INAUDIBLE].
>> It tastes just
like duck breast, man.
It tastes like
fucking duck breast.
>> It's that blood
flavor, the wild,
the wild rich flavor.
[MUSIC]
>> This is its
true state.
[MUSIC]
>> This is kinda a way
of life, you know,
eating boudin and
craklins, and
boiled crawfish are your
three main food groups.
And this is just
what people eat.
It's what they've
always eaten.
And so when I grew up it
was just always there.
>> For us, it was always
a very popular item.
You know, we grew up
around it so I was not
surprised that more
people are enjoying it.
>> You know our
sales are always steadily
increase over the years.
You know, we try to make
a good quality product,
you know.
I'm happy.
[LAUGH].
>> We do have big
demand for boudin now,
a big demand for some
of these Cajun product.
I feel like,
puts a strain on what
can be supplied.
Because it used to be
if you got boudin or
you got hog head
cheese it came from
a slaughterhouse or
it came from a butcher.
And instead of saying
sorry we're out
there's an order putting
into a meatpacking plant.
I mean, I see it
within the next 10,
20 years it being
everywhere and
there being plenty of bad
interpretations of it.
>> But you're,
you're always gonna
have people that prefer
the good stuff Toby.
>> Yeah man cuz once you
get that first taste of
something real.
You're gonna want to
get that every time or
find out where
it comes from.
>> But wouldn't it be
great if south Louisiana
got it's due.
Like got some like
really positive.
>> I think we're getting
it. >> Some like you
mean with like Swamp
People or Duck Dynasty?
>> No, no, no.
Not at all.
>> I'm saying like,
like you know I think
food could help to turn
>> Of course.
>> That.
That people do get
some credit and
do get some attention and
>> It's slow.
>> [CROSSTALK] Slowly,
slowly, so good.
>> It is because of true
talent, now that I'm good
at being an idiot and
growing a beard.
[MUSIC]
