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Nord-Pas-de-Calais
A dish of the people on the worker's table, an aristocrat's dish on the banker's: in Arras, andouillette brings everyone together.
Charcuterie speciality from Nord-Pas-de-Calais.
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It is Arras's best-known gastronomic speciality. The Office de Tourisme d'Arras Pays d'Artois describes it as a culinary institution since the Middle Ages, at a time when cooking was a simple, effective way to preserve meat. At that time, it was reportedly made from frison de porc, a part of the pig's small intestine.
The authentic andouillette d'Arras is traditionally made with fraise de veau—that is, the animal's mesentery, the pleated membrane whose folds resemble a ruff. According to an Arras fair website, the recipe changed at the end of the 19th century: it switched to fraise de veau, before Arras charcutiers reintroduced the pork frison andouillette in the early 2000s. The Hauts-de-France gastronomy portal dates the shift to the mad cow crisis of the late 1990s: the artisan butcher-charcutiers of Arras then decided to make most of their andouillettes from pork fraise.
Everyone wonders what sets the andouillette d'Arras apart from that of Cambrai. The latter is made from 100% fraise de veau, whereas three-quarters of the former are made solely with pork fraise; for the rest, the preparation is identical: stuffing into beef casings, followed by several hours of cooking in simmering water.
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The Confrérie de l'Andouillette d'Arras, founded in 1997, is honoured during the annual andouillette festival, which celebrates this speciality in Arras at the end of August. The tourist office recounts that the brotherhood watches over this savoir-faire passed down by passionate artisans and awards a medal to its members, such as a charcutier on Rue du Marché-au-Filé who wears it with pride. In town, the andouillette can be found in several charcuteries and restaurants, making it possible to taste it at any time of the year.
Appearance
an andouillette in a beef casing, weighing around 450 to 500 g at one of the Arras charcutiers—the ideal portion for two people.
Taste
a delicate, relatively lean flavour when made from pork frison, enhanced by restrained seasoning: onions, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Texture
a fragile skin that must not be pricked, and very little fat, which escapes from the ends when heated.
veal or pork, the base of the recipe.
to tenderise it, before mincing.
onions, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg, plus a secret unique to each house.
cooking takes several hours in all: five hours at one Arras charcutier.
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The andouillette is served grilled, with chips and a salad, or braised, and can be enjoyed as an aperitif as well as a main course. At one Arras charcutier, it is reheated for half an hour in the oven at 150 °C without pricking, then placed under the grill for a few minutes after being coated with mustard. Chips and baked potatoes are its best allies, preferably with a bière de garde; it also goes well with red cabbage or a leek fondue.
The andouillette d'Arras does not benefit from any official quality mark (PDO (AOP), PGI (IGP), Label Rouge, TSG (STG)), and the sources consulted make no mention of any official specifications: each house balances its recipe in its own way. Its tradition is upheld by the Confrérie de l'Andouillette d'Arras and an annual festival.
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