Good things come to those who wait! Finally, almost a year later, here is the post from our last day in France...
Early in the morning, we drove into Vouvray, where we had an appointment at Hardouin at 9:30 a.m. Charcuterie Hardouin supplies Maître Philippe & Filles with loose pâtés, jambon blanc, blood sausages, andouillettes, etc.
Virginie Morand, the charcuterie sales assistant, greeted us warmly and invited us into her office. After a brief introduction to the company's history, she said we would be guided through the entire production. The Hardouin company has existed for a century and was founded by Amédée Guillon, a highly renowned butcher. André Hardouin senior was then the head chef at Monsieur Guillon's. After Guillon's death in 1936, Hardouin senior took over the company and continued the tradition. The company's sausages, above all its andouillettes, quickly became famous throughout the region. It is said that Hardouin was François Mitterrand's favorite butcher. In the mid-1950s, the two sons, Jacques and André junior, joined the company and expanded it further, adding a catering division, for example. Unfortunately, none of the Hardouin brothers' children were willing to continue the family business, and so the company was eventually taken over in 2003 by Julien Garnier, a young entrepreneur from the region. Production continues to be managed by the responsible staff, some of whom have worked for Hardouin for over 20 years. Together with Virginie Morand, Julien Garnier is carefully modernizing the company, especially its appearance, to appeal more to younger customers.
In addition to classic charcuterie, Hardouin's second mainstay is its catering business. Everything they need for this is made in-house—not only the sausages and meat products, but also baked goods such as bread, pasta, etc. Our tour began with the delivery of goods. Only French meat, mostly from the region, is processed. As hygiene regulations require, each type of meat is stored in its own refrigerated room.
First, we saw the production of Hardouin's most important product—the andouillette. The andouillette is an offal sausage made exclusively from pig intestines and stomachs, and its production is extremely labor-intensive. First, the intestines are soaked for a long time in a water-vinegar mixture and then washed again in a kind of washing machine using only water and vinegar until they are perfectly clean. Then they are defatted (meaning all the fat is scraped out by hand) and cut into long, thin strips. Then they are wrapped around a large rope (see photo), which is why they are also called andouillette à la corde (andouillette on a rope). When the intestines are wrapped together with the tripe to form a thick sausage, another casing is slipped over them, and then they go into the kitchen, where the andouillettes are simmered in a wine-and-vegetable broth for about 4 hours. The cooking loss is enormous—it is about 70%. Andouillettes are produced at Hardouin every day. Andouillettes are not really to ac's taste, so she was especially looking forward to seeing the production of the next product: the blood sausages!
The production of the blood sausages had been specially prepared for us. The blood sausages consist of one-third onions, one-third firm pork fatback, and one-third fresh pig's blood. The whole mixture is then rounded off with spices and crème fraîche. First, all the ingredients except the blood are sautéed together in a large cauldron. The two buckets of fresh pig's blood are already ready, poured in, and everything is mixed. Then it's time to get started: using a funnel, the mixture is stuffed into natural casings, which the master butcher expertly twists when the sausage has reached the right length. Finally, the blood sausages are simmered for just under 10 minutes—and that's it. Pig's blood, by the way, is an extremely delicate ingredient. It must always be perfectly fresh, which is why blood sausages are never produced after holidays or weekends, as the blood would otherwise not be fresh enough.
After visiting the production facilities, we drove into Vouvray with Virginie to visit one of the retail stores before continuing on to Tours, where we had lunch with Virginie and Lucien at the bistro, which is operated by Hardouin and where you can eat all the good "pork delicacies" as well as some other specialties from the region. tv ate stuffed pig's trotters and was happy. Sated, we said goodbye to Virginie. Lucien accompanied us into the city center of Tours, gave us some sightseeing tips, and showed us the covered market hall of Tours, where Hardouin also has a presence. We thank Virginie and Lucien for this interesting and very pleasant afternoon!
