Made In Louisiana: Wild Boar Sausage Arrives On The Shelf

'You Ain’t Never Had This Sausage Before'

SPRINGFIELD, La. – Louisianians have heard of Andouille and Boudin, but the kind of sausage being cooked each week in a customized smoker on a shady spot of land in Springfield, Louisiana is a kind that many have never heard of, let alone tasted – sausage made from wild boar.

Officially launched in 2015, Charlie’s Sausage is the first in Louisiana to be licensed to process wild boar under state inspection.

It is the brainchild of founder and owner Charlie Munford, a second generation farmer who took over his grandfather’s farm, Two Run Farm, in Vaughan, Mississippi.

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The result is a flavor-packed, leaner, specialty sausage with a coarse grind that stands up to any other sausage. Although it includes some pork shoulder, the description on the food label is a first in Louisiana – "Wild board meat from feral swine."

Munford started his career selling more traditional meat to restaurants and grocery stores; he marketed locally-grown beef and lamb from his grandfather’s farm. However, after studying the supply and demand market, he focused his efforts on providing quality wild game meat that also offers a solution to a conservation and overpopulation problem regarding wild boar along the Gulf Coast.

Munford, who earned a master’s degree at Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, is as knowledgeable about the history of wild boar on the Gulf Coast as he is about the flavor profile of the feral meat.

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Wild boar have become a nuisance animal in many areas of Louisiana. The animals forage to find food in the ground, uprooting local plants and trees such as the Longleaf Pine and disturbing ground-nesting birds. They also damage earthen levees as they root for food.

Charlie’s Sausage uses USDA-inspected wild boar from Louisiana and Mississippi, brought it live by trappers and slaughtered on site. Their efforts help control the wild boar population.

And they have fun doing it.

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The Charlie’s Sausage team has perfected their wild-game sausage process, trying out nearly 50 recipes before mass producing the specialty meat. 

Munford and Brian Macmanus, plant manager, built a custom stainless steel smoker with a fire-box and use oak hardwood to keep it at a constant slow and low temperature of between 165-180 degrees.

A special vacuum system draws the smoke from the fire-box and into the smokehouse. The sausage is smoked for six hours until tender. 

The secret behind Charlie’s Sausage success is Via Fortier, the company's vice-president. She's a seasoned chef with ties to Patois on Laurel Street and Truburger and Oak Wine Bar and Ale on Oak, responsible for creating the sausage’s bold flavors. She also oversees production, shipping logistics as well as recipe development.

Right now, Fortier is testing out a Swiss cheese and jalepeno recipe, adding to Charlie’s Sausage original, mild and green onion flavors that use a secret mix of garlic, bay leaf, paprika, red pepper and other ingredients.

Fortier has a good test audience; She is a lifelong friend of Munford and used to be roommates with Billy Jones, chef de cuisine of Cochon in New Orleans, who has been a tester and a fan of her recipes for years.

Jones said he regularly uses the wild boar sausage in his specials at Cochon.

Charlie’s Sausage has grown into a full-blown operation, with its unique seasoning recipes being manufactured to prepare anywhere from 10 to 40 wild boars that are brought in to the plant in Springfield each week. 

Fortier works with a local distributor to regularly stock grocery stores, including Rouses’s in New Orleans. For more information, visit www.charliessausage.com or email Via@tworunfarm.com.

Charlie Munford, founder and owner of Charlie's Sausage and Brian Macmanus, plant manager, grind up sausage.

-By Jenny Peterson, Associate News Editor, Biz New Orleans

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