Black pudding or blood sausage
Today I was reminded of just how delicious black pudding is but tragically I think it has a dreadful reputation for many.
This delicious sausage, often called blood sausage, causes horror in the eyes of friends when I’ve mentioned the idea of eating such an item. However, it shouldn’t be shocking since it’s in reality a perfectly reasonable concept that one would use the blood of an animal in a sausage. A sausage is after all only an organ that contains animal flesh as well other ingredients necessary to create the sausage. so, why not add blood? Regardless of where this item is made it takes the shape of a link sausage and contains pork flesh mixed with blood which gives that distinctive colour. It has several names such as blutwurst in Germany, boudin boir in France, Morcilla in Spain, botifarra in Catalyna, blood pudding in England. It doesn’t have a metallic taste at all but it has a complex flavour which is good on its own or behaves as a complement to other ingredients. The recipe used clearly depends on where the sausage is made and a variety of ingredients is added changes according to geographical region that the sausage is made. Ingredients such as black pepper, cayenne pepper, mace, herbs, oatmeal, coriander, onions, cream, can be added to the of blood and all the other basic ingredients used in each regional recipe.
Why should people dislike this sausage? Well, perhaps this reaction is connected to one one’s cultural background of what is good to eat and what isn’t. Indeed, the chapter on meat and sausages in the book of Classic American cooking doesn’t contain any mention on blood sausage or black pudding. I like it when a few slices are fried in the same pan for breakfast with eggs, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes and possibly even fried bread. This would be accompanied by a pile of buttered toast and large cup of tea. Perhaps if you had this everyday it would be a recipe for a heart attack but its part and parcel of a good English fry up. However, black pudding is scrumptious when it’s grilled and served on a bed of sweet sliced, peeled and cored apples which have been cooked in sausage fat. Elizabeth David describes this recipe in her book on French Provincial Cooking. While white and dark blood sausages, called botifarra, in Catalunya is a crucial ingredient in many of this region’s dishes. Indeed, nothing can be substituted for it.
Check out the blood sausage dish at: Le Reservoir, 9 (I think) rue Duluth, Montreal, Quebec.
