Sandwich of the Week: Boudin Po' Boy at the Tabasco Factory Commissary (Avery Island, La.)

You may have to be on "by any means necessary" status to get your hands on one, but it's worth it.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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(Unfortunately, the Commissary itself isn't open to the public, only Tabasco employees, but it's been the eating place/country store for the island for over 100 years.)

On a recent expedition to the Tabasco Factory, your correspondent happened upon several Cajun specialties, but this sandwich in particular caught my fancy. Boudin (pronounced boo-dan) is a pork (usually liver & heart) and rice sausage, common in Cajun cooking when food stores needed to be stretched out a little (hence the rice). It’s not something you come across every day, but when you’re in a commissary on an island in the Louisiana bayou and it’s being served by two wonderful women with legitimate Cajun accents, you need not question the authenticity nor the means by which it came to be. Coincidentally, the latter tenet is usually best applied for all sausages.

The boudin is splayed, opening up its warm, granular contents and then it's po' boy’d up on a sub roll and dressed with shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato slices, and a little mayo. I highly recommend adding a little Tabasco sauce for good measure.

On this particular occasion, I dressed half with the Garlic Pepper Sauce and half with Tabasco's new Buffalo Style Sauce. The buffalo sauce half won out and that’s why it’s half eaten in the photo. Next time you’re in Cajun country, go the offal route and try some boudin. Grow your taste buds up a little.

Boudin Po' Boy ($4.50)
Tabasco Factory Commissary
Avery Island, La.

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