The subject of boudins came up here last week, thought I'd add what there was from some of the old sources.
Boudins were a favorite treat among the mountain men.
From George Ruxton:
There was merry-making in the camp that night, and the way they indulged their appetites—or,
in their own language, “throw’d” the meat “cold”—would have made the heart of a dyspeptic leap
for joy or burst with envy. Far into the “still watches of the tranquil night” the fat-clad “depouille”
saw its fleshy mass grow small by degrees and beautifully less, before the trenchant blades of
the hungry mountaineers; appetising yards of well-browned “boudin” slipped glibly down their
throats; rib after rib of tender hump was picked and flung to the wolves; and when human nature,
with helpless gratitude, and confident that nothing of superexcellent comestibility remained,
was lazily wiping the greasy knife that had done such good service,—a skilful hunter was seen to
chuckle to himself as he raked the deep ashes of the fire, and drew therefrom a pair of tongues
so admirably baked, so soft, so sweet, and of such exquisite flavour
Ruxton also:
On slaughtering a fat cow, the hunter carefully lays by, as a tit-bit for himself, the boudins and
medullary intestine, which are prepared by being inverted and partially cleaned (this, however, is
not thought indispensable). The depouille or fleece, the short and delicious hump-rib and tenderloin,
are then carefully stowed away, and with these the rough edge of the appetite is removed. But
the course is, par excellence, the sundry yards of boudin, which, lightly browned over the embers
of the fire, slide down the well-lubricated throat of the hungry mountaineer, yard after yard disappearing
in quick succession.
More from Ruxton:
Although already in the buffalo range,
no traces of these animals had yet been seen; and as the country afforded but little game, and the
party did not care to halt and lose time in hunting for it, they moved along hungry and sulky, the
theme of conversation being the well remembered merits of good buffalo meat,—of “fat fleece,”
“hump rib,” and “tender loin;” of delicious “boudins,” and marrow bones too good to think of.
Ruxton on butchering a bison:
Now, for the first time, he was initiated
in the mysteries of “butchering.” He watched the hunters as they turned the carcass on the belly,
stretching out the legs to support it on each side. A transverse cut was then made at the nape
of the neck, and, gathering the long hair of the boss in one hand, the skin was separated from
the shoulder. It was then laid open from this point to the tail, along the spine, and then,
freed from the sides and pulled down to the brisket, but still attached to it, was stretched upon
the ground to receive the dissected portions. Then the shoulder was severed, the fleece removed
from along the backbone, and the hump-ribs cut off with a tomahawk. All this was placed upon
the skin; and after the “boudins” had been withdrawn from the stomach, and the tongue—a great
dainty—taken from the head, the meat was packed upon the mule, and the whole party hurried to
camp rejoicing.
Rufus Sage, from Rocky Mountain Life:
Meanwhile, divers of the company had joined the butcher, and, while some were greedily feeding
upon liver and gall, others helped themselves to marrow-bones, “boudins,” and intestinum medulæ,
(choice selections with mountaineers,) and others, laden with rich spoils, hastened their
return to commence the more agreeable task of cooking and eating.
The camp-fires soon presented a busy and amusing spectacle. Each one was ornamented with
delicious roasts, en appolas, on sticks planted aslope around it, attentively watched by the longing
voyageurs, who awaited the slow process of cooking. Some were seen with thin slices from the
larder, barely heated through by the agency of a few coals, retreating from the admiring throng to
enjoy solo their half-cooked morsels, —others, paring off bit by bit from the fresh-turned hissing
roasts, while their opposite received the finishing operation of the fire, —and others, tossing their
everted boudins into the flames, and in a few seconds withdrawing for the repast, each seizing his
ample share, bemouthed the end in quick succession to sever the chosen esculent, which, while
yielding to the eager teeth, coursed miniature rivulets of oily exuberance from the extremities of
the active orifice, bedaubing both face and chin, and leaving its delighted eater in all the glories of
grease!
Back to Ruxton for one more:
On slaughtering a fat cow, the hunter carefully lays by, as a tit-bit for himself, the boudins and
medullary intestine, which are prepared by being inverted and partially cleaned (this, however, is
not thought indispensable).
