Chef de Cuisine Chris Clime is buying whole pigs to make his own boudin, andouille sausage, and bacon at Acadiana restaurant in Washington, D.C.  Clime was motivated to undertake this labor-intensive project to have more control over the taste and appearance of the sausage and bacon he is serving and to ensure the freshest product is being offered to guests.

The pigs, weighing in at about 245 pounds each, are from New Castle, Pennsylvania.  They are slaughtered locally, and Chef Clime butchers them himself.  The fresh sausages are cured and/or smoked without the use of sodium nitrate.    Now in the kitchen you’ll see sausages hanging to dry, drip the excess fat, and mature over the course of a few days.

You can sample Chef Clime’s work in the grilled sausage po’boy with peppers, in pork sausage ‘two ways,’ and in many other dishes.