Sampling a German sausage with a French name on Louisiana’s Andouille Trail
By Tom Adkinson
March 5, 2021

Editor’s note: This is one in a series of travel stories spotlighting destinations and activities to consider in a time of coronavirus and to inspire safe outings elsewhere.)

Andouille in the gumbo. Image by Louisiana River Parishes Tourism.

Driving trips are an early escape from the confinement of coronavirus travel limitations, and the Louisiana parishes (counties) along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge offer a culinary incentive in addition to the bliss of simply being out on the road. It’s the 34-stop Andouille Trail.

Cooking with Spuddy. Image by Louisiana River Parishes Tourism.

You don’t know andouille (ahn-do-ee)? It’s a chunky German sausage rooted in the French and German settlement history of Louisiana. Despite its appearance, some locals don’t even consider it a sausage because of the coarseness of the ground pork that is its primary ingredient. Sausage or not, it is smoke-flavored heaven when served in gumbo or jambalaya or even as a pizza topping. Some of the stops on the Andouille Trail are famous, such as Oak Alley Plantation, and one, Spuddy’s Cajun Foods in Vacherie, even offers cooking classes.