I'm assuming you have a sausage machine?
Yes. It is an old cast iron commercial grade grinder with the stuffer attachments. It belonged to my Dad. It was not an unusual piece of equipment to have. I think it may have belonged to my Grandfather. I have to ask Mother.
Fall also reminds me of a Boucherie. When the weather cooled off extended families would gather to butcher hogs. We would gather at the farm of my Mother's Uncle. We would arrive Friday evening and we would have a Fete Do Do. Music, dancing, card playing, food, drinking - some store bought but most home made, children and dogs running wild. The adults slept where ever they could find a spot. sometimes on a mat on the floor. The children slept on the porch with the dogs.
It was an arduous, two day process.
The work day began before dawn with the women making cornbread to feed every one breakfast. They also set out large pots of red beans, sausage and rice on a low heat - wood burning stove - to slow cook for a noon meal.
The older children were put to work helping the women with all of their projects. The little ones ran wild, got in the way and frequently received a swat on the butt.
The hogs were butchered and bled. The head and the innards were removed. The men used a chain fall to lower the carcass into scalding water to loosen the hair. The hair was scraped off the skin.
While that was happening the women cleaned the intestines for sausage and Boudin casings. The head was cleaned - brain, tongue and eyes removed. The eyes went to the dogs. The tongue and brain were reserved to cook with other organ meats, except the liver, to make a Debris.
The head was boiled for hours. The meat from the head and all of the lovely gelatinous material were combined with seasonings and herbs then put in pans to set. Hog's Head Cheese - actually a terrine.
The liver and other meat from the hog would be ground then cooked with salt, pepper, cayenne, lots of green onions then mixed with cooked white rice. The mixture was stuffed in the casings for boudin. Another batch would be made incorporating the blood for blood boudin.
The hog was skinned and the skin, fat and bits of meat would be cut into 1" to 2" pieces then put in a huge cast iron cauldron over a fire pit. The skin and meat would cook in the fat as it rendered. When the pieces were golden and crispy they were removed and seasoned with salt and pepper - cracklins.
The rendered fat was a treasure. It was used to make soap, stored in crocks for lard. It was also used to seal crocks of salt pork for curing.
The ears, tails and feet were pickled.
Once the meat was cut off of the bones the bones were cracked and boiled to render the marrow.
Most of the meat was salted, smoked or made into sausage. My Great Uncle had a smoke house. Dad kept some of the fresh meat because we had a modern refrigerator and - such a luxury - a freezer. Some of my country cousins were still using ice boxes for refrigeration.
I have such fond memories of those occasions. The men did the heavy lifting - drinking, smoking and telling lies the entire time. The women did the majority of the work.
Nothing was wasted. The only thing not used was the squeal.
I was a child the last time we had a family Boucherie.
That old family tradition has evolved into a festival in a small town near Lafayette. Music, food, street dancing, food, booze, food.
In south Louisiana we have a festival for just about every thing. Crawfish Festival, Shrimp Festival, Frog Festival, Boucherie, Rice Festival, Sugar Cane Festival, Festival Acadian and the 2 big ones Mardi Gras and Festival International. Any excuse for a PARTY!!
Festivals are held in the fall and the spring. Summers are just to hot to dance in the street.
Wow - I think I may have rambled a little.
