Boudins Noirs à la Flamande

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small sausage stuffer with a ½-inch nozzle, or a sturdy piping bag with a wide plain nozzle
• •Wide 4-quart saucepan or sauté pan for poaching
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Heavy 10-inch skillet or ridged grill pan
• •Food mill or potato masher for the apple sauce

Instructions

1. 1

   Swell the fruit

   Wash the raisins and currants, then cover them with the lukewarm water for 20 minutes. Drain them thoroughly and blot them dry. They should be plump, not dripping; water carried into the preparation loosens the filling and makes the casing harder to manage. Rinse the hog casing inside and out, then keep it in clean lukewarm water until needed.

   Keep the brown sugar, raisins, and currants at the book's exact 3:2:2 proportion by weight. That balance gives sweetness without turning the boudin into confectionery.
2. 2

   Make the apple sauce

   Put the apples, water, and superfine sugar in a covered saucepan. Cook over gentle heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples collapse under the spoon. Beat them into a soft sauce with a wooden spoon, or pass them through a food mill for a finer finish. If the sauce is loose, uncover it and reduce gently; if it tightens into a paste, loosen it with a tablespoon of water. Ça se rattrape. Keep it warm over the lowest heat.

3. 3

   Fill the casings

   Keep the preparation as for black boudins cold while you break up the brown sugar and fold it through with the drained raisins and currants. Mix only until the fruit is evenly distributed. Fit the casing to a small sausage stuffer or wide piping nozzle and fill it gently, leaving enough slack that the links bend without strain. Tie four equal links, each about 7 inches (18 cm) long, and pierce only visible air pockets with a clean fine needle. A tightly packed boudin splits in the poaching water, so restraint begins here.

4. 4

   Poach without simmering

   Heat a wide pan of water to 80 to 82°C. Lower in the boudins and poach them for 25 to 30 minutes, regulating the heat so the water remains still, with no bubbles breaking the surface. The centres must reach 71°C. If the water begins to simmer, pull the pan off the heat and add a little cool water. If a casing splits, lift that link out at once, pack its filling into a buttered ramekin, cover it, and set the ramekin in the poaching water until the centre reaches 71°C. It will not be a link, but it will still be supper. Never apologize at your own table.

   The thermometer is more useful than the clock. Gentle water protects the casing, while the centre temperature confirms that the fresh boudin is safely cooked.
5. 5

   Dry and settle

   Lift the poached boudins onto a clean towel and leave them to settle for 10 minutes. Pat the casings completely dry and brush them lightly with the melted butter. Wet casings stick and tear in the skillet; dry ones take an even bronze.

6. 6

   Grill them gently

   Warm a heavy skillet or ridged grill pan over medium-low heat. Lay in the boudins and brown them gently for 2 to 3 minutes on each broad side, turning with a spatula rather than stabbing them with a fork. The poaching cooked the filling; this step gives the casing colour and a delicate bite. If the skin blisters quickly or pulls tight, lower the heat at once. Patience, not a hard sear.

7. 7

   Serve with apples

   Spoon the warm sugared apple sauce generously onto a heated platter and settle the browned boudins beside it, keeping the casings whole until they reach the table. Sweet against savoury is the point, so each forkful should catch both dark boudin and pale apple. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask a trusted butcher or charcutier for fresh, uncased preparation as for black boudins, already seasoned but without dried fruit or sugar. Keep it below 4°C and use it promptly. Finished plain links are not an honest substitute because the fruit must be folded into the filling before poaching.
• •Boskoop, Reinette, or another tart cooking apple gives the sauce backbone. Granny Smith is the practical market equivalent. A soft dessert apple makes a sweet, flat purée beside an already sweetened boudin.
• •Butter the dry casings lightly before the skillet. Butter, gentle heat, and a broad spatula give colour without violence; oil and fierce heat make the skins blister before the centres are warm.
• •Serve with a dry northern bière de garde or a brisk dry cider. Both have enough bitterness or acidity to meet the sugar and enough body for the boudin.

Advance Preparation

• •The sugared apple sauce can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, chilled promptly, and reheated over gentle heat with a spoonful of water if it has thickened.
• •The boudins can be stuffed and poached 1 day ahead. Chill them promptly, covered, then dry, butter, and grill them just before serving. Do not hold the raw filled links at room temperature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 315g)