Andouille sausage is a smoked sausage made out of pork and garlic. The sausage is closely associated with Cajun food, where it plays a major role in dishes such as jambalaya, in addition to being served plain. Andouille is also made in France, in a more mild version. The sausage can be made at home, or purchased from companies or butchers which specialize in Cajun food.

The rich, spicy flavor of Andouille sausage is characteristic of Cajun cuisine. The cuisine is found primarily in the American South among people descended from French immigrants who had initially settled in Acadia, Canada. When the British took over the region, they drove the Acadians south, and they took on an Anglicized pronunciation of their ethnic identification. Many Cajuns speak French, and are proud of their cultural and historical origins.

A traditional Andouille sausage is made from ground pork and garlic, seasoned with salt and black pepper and stuffed into a sausage casing which can be made from beef or pork. The sausage is smoked over pecan wood and sugar cane for an extended period of time, often up to 14 hours. The result is an intensely flavored, very spicy sausage with a very dark color. The level of spiciness varies, depending on the cook and the region.

In France, Andouille sausage is made with tripe, the stomach of the pig. It represents a very efficient use of body parts, since the tripe is stuffed into the intestines when making sausage. The French version of the sausage has a much more mild flavor, and appears to have its origins in Germany, where numerous varieties of sausage have been made for centuries. French immigrants to the Americas brought the recipe for Andouille sausage with them, along with numerous other traditional French foods, which later evolved into Cajun cuisine.

To make Andouille sausage, pork butt and pork fat are ground together or chopped very finely. Chopped fresh garlic, black pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme and salt are added to the meats and the sausage mixture is well combined to ensure an even distribution of the spices. The mixture is forced into sausage casings before being smoked for a minimum of four hours. Fresh Andouille sausage can be used in an assortment of dishes, or the sausages can be frozen for use later on. The spicy flavor of Andouille sausage complements Cajun cuisine very well, and pairs excellently with sweet white wines such as Riesling.