“Boudin is what the gods would eat if the gods were looking for the transcendent; a dish as satisfying to the soul as it is to the palate.” So writes Ken Wells, Louisiana native and boudin hound, in this lively travelogue through the aromatic precincts of the makers, sellers, and connoisseurs of what one noted Louisiana chef calls the world’s most versatile sausage. Sure, boudin is just pork, rice, veggies, and spices in a casing. Yet in creative hands—and there are many in Louisiana—the link becomes a transformative dish, as at home at breakfast as it is as a lunchtime snack in the car. This book tells you where to find boudin in any cuisine: boudin tacos and burritos, boudin eggrolls and wonton, boudin sushi rolls, and more.

Boudin isn’t so much a guide as a journey that explains how a sausage created in the humble rural kitchens of Cajun and Creole “maw-maws” and “paw-paws” has been reimagined into a national food sensation. We observe the boudin-making rites of the state’s oldest existing boudin producer where old-school blood sausage is still made. We travel to the Boudin Capital of the World to delve into how the Cormier family has gone from selling boudin out of a rice cooker in a tiny store to creating the Best Stop boudin juggernaut—making tons of boudin a day and shipping it all over America.

Boudin examines the Continental French roots of Louisiana boudin, unveiling some surprises such as a crawfish boudin recipe in an 1824 French cookbook. Readers will learn how the fabled Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804 came to feast on buffalo boudin. There are mysteries to be plumbed, some unresolvable, as in the question of when rice entered the Louisiana boudin recipe. And, yes, there is a personalized tour along the Boudin Trail, where Wells discovers some extremely rare boudin as he eats his way across Louisiana.