Chaurice, Revisited

About two years ago, I realized that "hamburger" apparently means something different to New Orleaneans than to most of the rest of the country. In most places, hamburger means beef, ground and formed into a patty, then grilled. It might be seasoned with salt and pepper. In New Orleans, hamburger is more accurately described as a beef sausage formed into a patty and grilled. The beef is usually contains minced onions, garlic, and parsley. It is also may be seasoned with little salt, black pepper, paprika, cayenne, oregano, thyme, and Worcestershire. Some people add an egg as well. I grew up eating this type of burger, and didn't know any different until I was in a restaurant in Virgina that advertised "New Orleans-style hamburgers". Then I noticed that everywhere else I went, burgers were predominantly just beef with different toppings. Like nearly everything else, we do it differently (and people in Texas thinks they're like a whole other country...).

So what does this have to do with Chaurice? Well, in the last 10 years or so, somebody got the bright idea to mix bulk Chaurice with ground beef to make a hot sausage burger. I have an 11 LB sausage stuffer that generally has about a pound of sausage in the piston and tube after stuffing. When I make Chaurice, I take this remainder and mix it with about two pounds of ground chuck to make burgers. They are really good. If you make Chaurice, I recommend that you try it.

David

Note: I failed to mention in the previous post that some people who still make Chaurice do not stuff it at all and use it in bulk form.