The smoked pork sausage commonly used in Cajun cooking is andouille.
Louisiana andouille is a coarse-ground smoked pork sausage seasoned with ingredients such as garlic, pepper, onions, wine, and other spices. It is especially associated with Cajun cuisine and is a classic ingredient in dishes including gumbo, jambalaya, and red beans and rice. The sausage is often smoked more than once, producing a firm texture and deep, savory flavor.
Andouille is not originally an exclusively American invention. The name and sausage tradition came from France, where regional versions are often made with pork intestines and other parts of the digestive tract. Louisiana cooks adapted the idea into a distinct sausage, typically using a larger casing and a coarser pork mixture. LaPlace, Louisiana, is particularly famous for its Cajun andouille producers.
A frequent mistake is treating andouille and boudin as interchangeable. Boudin is a softer, cooked sausage whose filling usually includes rice, while andouille contains no rice and is valued as a smoked flavoring sausage. It also differs from finely ground hot links and heavily spiced New Orleans hot sausage, even though all may appear in Louisiana cooking.