This is the brain-child of myself & my coworker J. When J started at our office, it was a few weeks before we realized we shared something in common—LOUISIANA. His wife’s family was from Abbeville (just south of where I lived in Lafayette, if you’re not familiar with the area). What a coinky-dink! We quickly became friends as we reminisced over our favorite Louisiana restaurants & watering holes.
We also periodically drift into discussions of our favorite make-at-home Southern favorites, which includes jalapeno poppers. Which we of course had to take to the next level. Boudin-filled jalapenos? No… WRAP the popper in boudin, and THEN wrap it in bacon!
The other day, J stopped at my cubicle, absolutely giddy, and said, “I have something for you.”
Yup. Authentic Louisiana boudin from Richard’s (pronounced “Ree-shards, for non-locals). J definitely won Friend of the Week.
So of course, I had to take it home, and test out our idea.
Our delicious, delicious, overkill of an idea.
INGREDIENTS: (makes two servings)
1 link smoked boudin, split in two
2 large jalapenos, deseeded & caps removed
2 tbsp fat free cream cheese
4 slices low-sodium bacon
DIRECTIONS:
Pre-heat the oven to 400F.
Lightly char the outsides of the jalapenos over a burner (this way the jalapenos aren’t too crunchy in the end product). Place the cream cheese into a baggie, then clip off a corner & pipe the cream cheese into the pepper.
Slice the boudin long-wise and press gently so that there’s a pocket inside. Leave the casing on to help hold it together.
Face the open end of the jalapeno toward the closed end of the boudin link—it’ll help keep the cream cheese from leaking out.
Close the boudin around the jalapeno as much as possible, and then use the bacon to bind it together. It’ll take two slices per roll.
Bake on a foil-lined parchment for 20-25 minutes (or a grill for the same amount of time), or until the bacon is crisp & browned. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes, then dig in!
This ended up being a celebratory meal, as I came home & found out that I PASSED MY ASBOG EXAM—so I get to apply for my license to be a Registered Geologist!!!!
NUTRIFACTS:
Calories: 410
Fat: 19.5 g
Fiber: 0.8g
Carbs: 30g
Sodium: 890 mg
Protein: 23.6g
Say that a person lives in a place that has never even heard of boudin ... what might that person use as a substitute sausage?
ReplyDeleteWell, since boudin is mainly made of rice, you could make some "dirty rice" (http://feauxcajun.blogspot.com/2011/12/recipe-creole-dirty-rice.html) as a side to go with dinner one night, and then use some of the leftovers to wrap around the jalapeno. Not having the casing might make this a little bit more challenging, but I think you could lay down a couple strips of bacon, then spread the dirty rice on top of that, then place the jalapeno popper on it & roll the bacon up.
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