What would Cajun cooking be without tasty andouille sausage? Many Cajuns carefully guard old family recipes for the spicy, smoked andouille sausage, which is used in Cajun dishes like red beans and rice, jambalaya and gumbo. Andouille sausage can be the main ingredient in a dish or can be used to add spice and flavor.

Andouille sausage is made by coarsely grinding lean pork with a bit of pork fat, then seasoning with salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper and garlic. The mixture is stuffed into sausage casing and smoked over sugar cane and pecan wood, which gives the andouille sausage its dark color. There are, however, many variations on this basic andouille sausage recipe. Some alter the recipe by mixing in other herbs and spices.

Others use different woods for smoking, which can lend unique flavors to the andouille sausage. Still others recommend cold smoking the andouille sausage for several hours for a smokier taste. It is said there are more than 200 recipes for the flavorful andouille sausage.

Pronounced ann-DOO-ee or ahn-DWEE, the andouille sausage was common in both France and Germany. The French version of andouille sausage is milder than the Cajun version and made from pig's stomach and intestines. It is commonly served in cold slices as an hors d'oeuvre, and the best andouille sausage in France is said to come from the regions of Normandy and Brittany.

Some believe that the Germans brought the andouille sausage to Louisiana, while others say it was introduced by the French who emigrated first to Acadia in Canada and then to Louisiana.

The term "Acadian" was changed to "Cajun" over time. Immigrants of many different cultures settled in Louisiana and andouille sausage makers were influenced by the cooking methods of the French, German, Spanish and Africans, as well as the local ingredients and spices. Over the years the andouille sausage evolved into the spicy favorite we know today.

Popular uses for andouille sausage include soups and stews, but andouille sausage can also be used in meat dishes. To add a little extra kick to a dish, try substituting spicy andouille sausage in any recipes calling for smoked sausage.