Can I Procure Andouille Sausage Without Driving to Villa Park on Saturday?
More Mardi Gras - a friend of mine is having a "Fat Saturday" party and needs andouille sausage. I have found chicken andouille at Trader Joe's and, oddly, at Schaeffer's in Skokie, but no pork andouille. She has found the andouille she needs at the fish market (name slipping my mind) in Villa Park, and since she needed crawfish as well and they have it on special, she was planning to drive out there on Saturday.
The thing is, she wants me to drive out there with her and I'd really rather not. So - Captain Alex's in Niles has the crawfish for only a dollar more a pound than the place in Villa Park, and if I find a much closer source for real andouille sausage I can spend my Saturday doing something more exciting than driving to Villa Park. Like laundry.
If no andouille is to be found within 50 miles of Chicago and the trip is necessary, can anyone suggest how to make the most of a visit to the western burbs?
AndreaOK
Feb 20, 2003 11:56AM
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Paulina Market (Lincoln and Cornelia) has andouille. It's probably a tad Germanic for Cajun food, but it's pork and it's homemade.
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Treasure Island on Broadway carries a very good andouillein its meat section. Sorry, i cannot remember the brand.
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Treasure Island on Clybourn has it too. I don't remember the brand, either, but I do know that it is imported from Louisiana and is the real thing.
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Bornhofen's meat market on Broadway often has it.
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They are almost walking distance from me - I called them and they carry it for $4.98/lb.
Thank you!!!!
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Villa Park trip averted.
My laundry thanks you too.
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Glad the hounds saved you a trip to Supreme Lobster on North Avenue in Villa Park. Although the place is amazing (king crab legs the size of my arm), I totally understand your desire to have clean clothes.
While I live in the Wheaton area, I frequent a butcher in Lake in the Hills. The Butcher on the Block has great quality stuff and makes his own sausages. The variey he carries is amazing and the spice blends are his own. Seasonally, he makes potato sausage, many varieties of brats (habenero and garlic/cracked black pepper are some of my favs), hot and sweet italian sausage, andouille, and chicken brats! The quality of his beef is this/close to prime. I got a standing rib roast a Christmas that was absolutely amazing. Reasonable prices for extremely high quality stuff!!
Tom (the owner) makes fresh andouille for me that is to die for! I now prefer this over smoked andouille as I can grill it at home and control the smokiness a bit. This lets the flavor of the meat and spices permeate my gumbo. Lean, smooth texture sausage with lots of punch. Now I've got to make a batch this weekend.
If you're ever going to be in that area, call ahead and see what he's got in stock. If you call enough in advance, you might be able to convince him to make a batch of andouille. I buy several pounds (like 10+ of several different varieties) and freeze for future use.
He only carries Boar's Head deli products, has a local person make his tamales (yum!) and some other local supplier makes his deli salads and soups. Great local atmosphere with friendly employees. These guys put up with me making a quarterly trip and requesting multiple packings. I guess it helps that we spend some $$$. Well worth a trip.
Butcher on the Block
Algonquin Road west of Randall Road
(847) 669-6679
Tell them their FedEx guy sent you there!
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Paulina Meat Market has what you are looking for at 3501 N. Paulina.
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Paulina's meat market doesn't have a good concept of what an Andouille is. Just because it is "cajun" they think that it gives them the right to add 1 lb of red pepper to each pound of meat. Their Anouille is too hot and will mess up your dish.
You're better off order some from LA, there are a number of places which will FedEx. Go to the NO board and ask (Best Stop Market is the best).
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Please let me second the thumbs down on Paulina Meat Markets sausage. The seasoning is off, tastes only of cayenne and smoke.
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They have in the meat department at Dominick's new store at 1 N. Halsted.
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Andrea,
I have Andouille made up at Joe's Market. Joe's is a United Nations of sausage shops on North Western Ave. The proprietor is Hungarian and his wife is Mexican. He makes all types of sausage, from Hungarian and Mexican to Italian and Polish. They also have a few types of HOT sausage the best of which is Firehouse. Firehouse is a smoked sausage, which is somewhat dry and quite spicy.
The Andouille that Joe makes is also smoked and dry, he says that given the neighborhood it does not sell as quickly as the ethnic sausages so he smokes it longer and dries it out to last longer in the shop. It is good as a snack and in recipes, but it is not like Louisiana style Andouille.
I have Joe make up Andouille sausage in what he calls "Fresh Polish Style" This is like a Louisiana Andouille and is the best that I have found in Chicago. You must order this in advance and you should also specify just how much you want. The first time that he made this up for me he made what he considered a small batch, 25lbs. I had asked him to make it up for me so I ended up with the whole batch. We had Andouille for quite a while. Luckily it freezes well and is great on the grill as well in Jambalaya.
Joe is a very good sausage maker and a nice guy, but not the most organized guy in the world, English is not his first language so be specific and make sure that you are both on the same page when you order. He usually makes the Andouille on Thursday and does what he calls a double smoke, this is not what I am referring to. You want to ask him to single smoke it, or as he calls it, Fresh Polish style Andouille. He will sell smaller amounts than 25lbs.
Leons Sausage makes a decent andouille, though I prefer the hot, which is only available at a few groceries in Chicago. Last I checked, which was a few years ago, Sunset Foods and Hyde Park Co-op, on opposite ends of the city, carried Leons hot andouille, but you best call first.
I have also ordered andouille, boudin, tasso and other Cajun products from Bellues in Baton Rouge, LA. I will include a link.
Enjoy,
Gary
Joe's Market
4452 N Western Ave.
Chicago, IL. 60625
773-478-5443
Hyde Park Cooperative Society
1526 E 55th St
Chicago, IL 60615
773- 667-1444
Sunset Food Marts Inc
777 Central Ave
Highland Park, IL 60035
847-432-0035
Link: http://www.belluescajuncuisine.com/
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Thanks Gary!
Andrea
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Actually, I am further West of Villa Park and am looking for Andouille Sausage for a meal this Saturday night. Can you tell me if any is available
closer to the Fox River ? ... anybody ?
Thanks.
Bill
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