Andouille
Andouille (pronounced ahn-DWEE or ahn-DOO-ee) is a spicy heavily smoked sausage made from pork. Several variations exist that use different combinations of pork meat, fat, intestines and tripe. Originally from France or Germany (the exact origin is uncertain), the most well known variety in the US is the Cajun style.
French andouille is traditionally made of pork intestines and tripe. It is heavily seasoned and smoked though not as spicy as the Cajun variety.
The German andouilles are made only in certain regions of Germany. They are made from remaining intestines and casings that are seasoned and pulled through a larger casing then smoked.
Cajun style andouille is the spiciest of all the variants. Made of pork meat (usually butt or shank) and fat, they are seasoned with salt, cracked black pepper, and garlic. The sausages are smoked over pecan wood and sugar cane for up to seven or eight hours at approximately 175 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius). Cajun style andouille is commonly used to flavor typical Lousiana dishes such as gumbo, jambalaya, and etouffee. It lends a smoky aroma to the dish with traces of heat from the pepper.
In Italy a variation derived from Andouille is known in Calabria (a southern region of Italy) as 'ndulla. It is similar to cajun's andouille but with more red pepper. 'Ndulla is smoked over and seasoned. The 'ndulla origin probably is connected with the Calabria French domination, from the year 1060 until nearly all the 12th century.
Andouille is also an insult in French, designating some ridiculous or incompetent person, or a lurdan.