What is “andouille” sausage and what can I substitute for it?
Andouille sausages are pork sausages, heavily spiced and usually smoked In Europe, they are popular in France and Belgium and in this country, popular in Cajun cooking. The real authentic composition of “andouille” sausage will probably turn you off – but here goes: they are made from chitterling, tripe or “calf mesentery”. Chitterling is the middle section or small intestines of the animal; “tripe” refers to the lining of the animal’s stomach and “mesentery” is a connecting ruffled looking fold, also from the intestinal area of the animal. In France there are as many varieties of “andouille” as you can imagine, but here, they are harder to get. If you can’t find “andouille”, substitute another spicy smoked cooked pork sausage.
