If you’ve got boudin in your blood, (and who doesn’t have a little pork fat in their arteries around here), it’s not too late to sign up to compete in the first ever Boudin Cook-Off. Conceived by the guys behind the Boudin Link website, Dr. C and Coach T, (UL’s Bob Carricker and Crowley Catholic High’s Noland Theriot) the competition will be held on October 25 in downtown’s Parc Sans Souci.
The cook-off is open to home cooks and professionals, but what levels the playing field, says Carricker, is that the boudin is made off-site. No sausage making on view in the park. Contestants need to bring 65 pounds of their finest, to be heated and served to the panel of judges and a crowd of tasters. The prize de jour is the People’s Choice Award. “Everybody’s a boudin expert in Acadiana,” Carricker says.
There are three categories: traditional pork boudin, heated by poaching or steaming; speciality boudin, which can be anything from crawfish to alligator to dessert (think rice pudding), and can be smoked or grilled; and unlinked, such as boudin balls, boudin stuffed quail, boudin tacos or biscuits and boudin patties with a soupçon of Steens syrup.
Entry fees are $50. To sign up, visit boudincookoff.com.