Puff Pastry Emergency

[Chad]

I'm planning an andouille sausage in puff pastry hors d'oeurve tonight for dinner guests. I was planning on using some frozen puff pastry I have on hand (I know, I know, bad cook). However, I'm estimating that the pound of andouille is going to take 30-40 minutes in the oven to cook through properly. Will the puff pastry hold up that long or will it go from light & flaky to burned cardboard?

Help!

Chad

[Ladybug]

Can you pre-cook your andouille?

[Carolyn Tillie]

Can you pre-cook your andouille?

Same thought.

Par-boil them so they are essentially cooked through and then the oven cooking of the puff will brown the pastry and the sausage.

[Chad]

Oooh, I hadn't thought about par-boiling. Good idea. I was resisting pre-cooking the andouille because my wife has a phobia about sausage casings (I know, I don't get it either). I was planning on removing the casing, keeping the sausage in a roll and baking. Can I still do that if I par boil?

Chad

[Dave the Cook]

Are you wrapping the whole sausage in the pastry, then slicing it for service?

[Chad]

Yup, that was the plan. Remove casing from sausage, roll in puff, bake until GB&D, let it rest a bit then slicing into bite-sized hors d'oeurves.

Chad

edited to add "bake in puff," but y'all guessed that part, didn't you?

[Dave the Cook]

I don't know why that wouldn't work. Parboiling will also render off some fat, which will help keep the thing from being too greasy.

Alternatively, make an "Cajun Danish": peel the casing and parboil. While it's cooling, caramelize some trinity (onion, bell pepper, celery -- maybe the celeryis optional in this case).

Cut your pastry into squares about 3x the diameter of your sausage. Slice the sausage into 1/4-inch rounds. Place a round in the center of the pastry. Spoon some trinity over the sausage. Fold up the corners to the center and secure with a bit of egg wash. Bake.

Edit: red bell pepper would be prettier, and a little garlic wouldn't be amiss. And I'd brush the pastry with egg wash for a glossy finish.

Edited December 19, 2003 by Dave the Cook (log)

[Dave the Cook]

Ooh. Garnish it in the center where the pastry comes together (it's likely to look a little ragged) with a plop of creme fraiche, sour cream or (if your guests have a high spice tolerance) celery remoulade and a celery-leaf sprig.

[Chad]

Damn, you folks are great. I really appreciate the help. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Off to par-cook some French beans & get my rissotto started.

Chad

[elyse]

PLEASE remember to cool the sausage before you let it come in contact with the pastry.

[foodie52]

Dave, your Cajun Danish sounds fantastic!

[Chad]

Thanks for all your help, folks!

My hors d'oeurves turned out great. I poached the sausage, peeled the casing and rolled in puff pastry. Dave was right about rendering the fat. I didn't think to prick the skin of the sausage before poaching, so the andouille didn't render off as much fat as it could have, which made the puff pastries a tiny bit soft in the middle. No biggie. Once sliced and served to hungry guests on their second glass of wine, a little sogginess was easily overlooked . They tasted absolutely wonderful.

Things I'd do differently:

- prick the sausage skin before poaching

- use Jacques Pepin's heavy brioche dough rather than puff pastry

Next time I'm definitely making Dave's Cajun Danish. That sounds wonderful. As a matter o' fact I have another pound of andouille and could pick up some more puff pastry.

I really appreciate the last minute help. Dunno why I didn't think the recipe through thoroughly beforehand. Duh. Buy y'all really bailed me out.

Chad

[elyse]

Were they cool when you rolled them?

[Dave the Cook]

i'm glad it went well. That's a great feeling.

The fat in sausage is problematic, isn't it? It carries flavor and creates tenderness (just try renedering all the fat out of a suasage sometime!), but it can be a pain in the ass.

The brioche is an excellent idea.

I think you definitely should make the Cajun Danish. Somebody should, anyway, 'cause I want to know if it works! I should have suggested docking the dough right in the center, though. Maybe I'll try it as an app on Chrismas day.

(and thanks, foodie!)

[Chad]

Were they cool when you rolled them?

Yup. After poaching I slit and peeled off the casing and let the sausage rest until it was just lukewarm, which gave my wife and I a chance to sneak off and have a cigarette . I couldn't let them cool too much more because I was running out of time to get them in the oven.

Chad

[Chad]

i'm glad it went well. That's a great feeling.

The fat in sausage is problematic, isn't it? It carries flavor and creates tenderness (just try renedering all the fat out of a suasage sometime!), but it can be a pain in the ass.

The brioche is an excellent idea.

Well, dinner went spectacularly well. The andouille in puff pastry was a big hit. The fat is a problem, but I suspect that if I'd simply pricked the skin in a couple of places enough would have rendered out that it wouldn't have made the puff too moist in the middle. Of course one guest was picking the fat-laden middles out of his wife's hor d'oeurves, so I suppose that it wasn't too big a problem .

The brioche idea comes from "Jacques & Julia Cooking at Home." Jacques does a homemade sausage in brioche that looks pretty damn yummy. The only drawback was discovering that he wants you to let the dough rise overnight. Not good when guests will hit the front door in two hours . Next time, though. I think the brioche dough will be a better fit in this particular application.

Your Cajun Danish, on the other hand, will probably find its way into my stove some time this week.

Chad