By MELISSA PEACOCK

LAPLACE – The Percy Hebert building, home to numerous parish government offices during the week, is, in an instant, home to some of the world’s most unique and entertaining yard ornaments. They will come alive today, bringing lights, music and merriment to residents and visitors.

It is October, one month after the official change of seasons and festival workers, local chefs, entertainers and residents are ready to herald in autumn at the 2002 St. John the Baptist Parish Andouille Festival, is held in LaPlace, the Andouille Capital of the World.

St. John the Baptist Parish is renowned for a number of things – its industry, southern hospitality, charm, and its annual festivals. But it is in every plate of andouille jambalaya and in every piping hot bowl of andouille and okra gumbo that people are discovering one of parish’s most unique treasures.

What is andouille? Andouille is a mouth-watering staple in Cajun cuisine, a unique sausage used for seasoning, as well as a stand-alone.

“It’s versatility is exceptional,” renowned Louisiana Chef John Folse said. “Because it is a sausage, it is normally sliced and put into gumbos. I can’t even imagine New Year’s Day without smoked andouille and cabbage.”

Chopped up fine, andouille is a tasty ingredient to put in puff pastries, crab cakes, cheese dip or to stuff into artichokes, Folse said. In soups, salads, appetizers or as an entree, andouille makes a great addition to any meal.

“We really like that smoked flavor in our food,” Folse said. “Smoking is important to the Louisiana palate.”

Not all sausages are created equal and there are imitations.

“The main difference is, normally when people think of sausage, they think of meat run through a grinder,” Folse said. “Andouille is not ground. It is chopped by hand into quarter-inch cubes and put into a beef casing.”

The appearance and texture of the meet after cooking will indicate whether the meat has been ground or chopped. A hand-chopped sausage will come together solidly during cooking.

More than just a versatile meat product, andouille is also considered an “easy” ingredient to use in everyday dishes or in the most complicated of recipes. If purchased already cured and smoked, it requires no preparation before cooking.

“The sausage is fully cooked when it goes into the pot,” Folse said. “It is a hardy meat that can cook for long hours and still hold taste. I recommend putting it in at the front of cooking time to impart the majority of smoke into the dish.”

Perhaps the trickiest part of using Louisiana Andouille is purchasing it.

“I encourage people to go to LaPlace to buy andouille,” Folse said. “It isn’t processed by a machine, so it is hand-cut. Second of all, a lot of commercial companies put it into a pork casing. It is a larger sausage and must go into a beef casing.”

Mass-produced commercial andouille also has artificial flavoring that could affect the taste and quality of the meat.

“The smoke needs to be hot wood smoke, not a commercial sprayed on smoke,” Folse said.

So where does Folse, a culinary giant in Louisiana, buy andouille for his recipes? Whenever possible, he comes to the heart of andouille country to purchase the regional specialty.

“When I go to Jacob’s (Jacob’s World Famous Andouille in LaPlace), I buy whatever I need for cooking and then ask them to slice off about a half-inch link so that I can eat it while I drive,” Folse said.

Jacob’s is one of a handful of locally owned smokehouses/stores selling smoked meats. Open since 1928, Jacob’s is a part of a tradition that dates back to some of the earliest settlers in St. John the Baptist Parish.

While German settlers who came into the River Parishes in the 1700s are credited with bringing traditions in pork sausage making, French influence in the area certainly had some effect on local meat products. Certainly the andouille, along with other sausages, took French names.

“Andouille is probably a French and German combination,” said Aaron Lions, fourth-generation owner of Jacob’s World Famous Andouille. “If you go to France, you will have a different type of andouille. The French andouille is casings inside of casings.”

Andouille sold at Jacob’s is a more regional version of the meat – although even local recipes vary. It is about 70 or 80 percent pork. Jacob’s cuts up Boston Butt into about one-inch cubes. Salt, black pepper and garlic are added and the meat is stuffed into a beef casing and allowed to cure overnight. The following day it is smoked in the smokehouses at the back of the shop.

The andouille is cooked over a fire made with pecan wood, Lions explained as he opened the door on a little cyprus smokehouse and a plume of smoke rises from the building. Sausage links hang in a line above the fire just inside the doorway.

Some andouille makers use oak or hickory in their fires. However, the availability of pecan wood makes it a local favorite.

Jacob’s was founded in Milesville, a small town that is now part of LaPlace, in 1928 by Nelson Jacob and his wife Camille. Jacob was from a family of German immigrants, and Camille, was French.

“We have some of the original smokehouses built in 1928 and we still use them everyday,” Lions said.

The long dark links of fresh andouille are stacked up in the glass case inside the little “andouille barn,” along with other sausages, smoked chickens and turkeys. Aromatic smells of meat and spices welcome patrons.

About 70 percent of business comes from locals. Still, the quaint shop corners a good percentage of the tourist market as well.

Lions estimated about 30 percent of the company’s sales are made to out-of-town visitors.

Although southeast Louisiana has yet to see true fall weather, there are bound to be a lot of cooks, amateur and professional, looking for some fresh andouille. The local Andouille Festival, slated to begin today, is a delicious opportunity for Cajun food lovers to experiment with andouille.

If you are not acclimated to Cajun cooking, local chefs at the festival could hold the answers. At 10 a.m. today, local connoisseurs will divulge secrets of good Cajun cooking in an early morning cook-off judged by Folse. At 11 a.m., Folse will broadcast his famous radio talk-show live from the Percy Hebert grounds. Cook-off winners will be interviewed on the show.

Cooking Cajun can take some practice. Why wait for the rewards? After watching experienced chefs whip up andouille dishes, mosey on over to one of the 13 food vendors and do some sampling. You do not have to be a good cook to enjoy the benefits of a great meal.

Proceeds from the event will fund St. Peter School, Our Lady of Grace School, the Rotary Club, LaPlace Lions Club, Reserve Lions Club, St. John the Baptist Church and other local non-profit organizations.

Arts and crafts, storytelling, rides and live performances by local bands are scheduled all weekend long.

About 15,000 visitors attended the festival last year. It was a substantial jump in attendance from the previous year, parish officials said.

Come taste what everyone else is talking about. The 2002 St. John Parish Andouille Festival is a whole weekend of entertainment, food and fun.