This is one of my family’s favorite appetizers. It doesn’t matter how many I make, they disappear so quickly it makes my head spin!
If you’re not from Louisiana, chances are you may not know what boudin is. First of all, it’s pronounced “boo-dan.” I recently watched a show in which the host traveled to Lafayette to see how boudin was made. He kept pronouncing it “boo-DAN” and you could see the Cajuns he was talking to start to twitch.
Boudin is a “sausage” created by stuffing a rice dressing into pork casings. The mixture is very similar to dirty rice. Cajun boudin always uses rice. There are other boudins in France and Germany and other parts of the world that use milk instead of rice. The boudin most often used in Louisiana today is a white boudin. There are also a couple of other traditional variations, boudin noir and boudin rouge which are darker in color due to the addition of pork blood.
No, thanks.
I always use white boudin. When I cook boudin, I usually either grill, smoke, or bake it. I like the casing to be really crisp and easy to bite through. I can’t stand to eat boudin with chewy casing.
For this recipe, I use uncooked boudin that I removed from the casing. The flavor of the boudin is wonderful in these mushrooms!
Boudin-Stuffed Mushrooms
- 2 pounds of whole mushrooms
- 1 pound of uncooked boudin (three links)
- 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
- 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
- 4-5 green onions, white and green parts sliced thinly
- 1 teaspoon of garlic salt
- 1 cup of plain bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Remove the stems from mushrooms. Discard or save for future recipes.
Remove boudin from casings and crumble into a large bowl. Add cream cheese, mayonnaise, onions, and garlic salt. Use a potato masher to combine. Add the bread crumbs and either mash or stir until completely combined.
Use fingers to stuff the mushroom caps, overstuffing so that filling is abundant. Place mushrooms snugly together on a large baking sheet (It may take more than one.).
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until filling is golden on top.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Well Duh #1: I used creminis (baby portabellas) this time, but regular white mushrooms are great in this recipe, as well.
Well Duh #2: I really don’t think there is an adequate substitute for boudin in this recipe. If it is not readily available where you live, you should probably find another stuffed mushroom recipe.
Well Duh #3: Depending on the size of your mushrooms, you should get between 40-50 mushrooms. My creminis were not huge, sort of medium-sized, and I got right at 50. They were gone VERY quickly.
Well Duh #4: These are really best when they are NOT piping hot. Warm is best, but room temperature is pretty dang good, too.
Well Duh #5: I used low-fat cream cheese and light mayonnaise. This is not a dish for fat-free cream cheese. You really need that unctious creaminess of at least the low-fat cream cheese.
Well Duh #6: You can also add a little spice if you’re so inclined. Tabasco or cayenne would be great. Our boudin had quite a bit of spice in it, so I didn’t find it necessary to add any.
I will not embarrass my family by telling you how quickly these disappeared. I made them early in the day on the Fourth of July since we were cooking most of the day in preparation for that night’s dinner. I thought these would be a good nibble while we worked. They were. And I really can’t place the blame on any one family member for inhaling them because I ate a bunch of them, too. They are awesome!
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