Blood sausage / black pudding

I'm preparing to make my first blood sausage. I couldn't find fresh blood so i got dried pigs blood. I've found lots of recipes online and in books but didn't see anything in this forum, does anyone have experiences to share? Especially with dried blood. I'll post results and pics eventually, will make it within the next few weeks.

Only eight months late, but I have now made the first attempt at black pudding. My cooking partner and I followed the (apple/chestnut) boudin noir recipe from Modernist Cuisine, pretty closely, I think the only substitute was butter for foie gras fat. We used reconstituted dried pig's blood as we couldn't get fresh stuff. Packed in cow casings (~4cm diameter), which was pretty easy, the mix is really liquidy so we only needed a funnel to fill the casing. Made 8 very hefty ~450g sausages. They are now in the fridge to finish setting (they were very soft before cooking, and a bit firmer after), and I'll try them tomorrow for the first time, better be damn good or I'm not gonna even post the pictures!

Blood Sausage Parametric (%) Grams
Pork fatback 42 420
Butter 16 160
Pork blood 100 1000
Whole milk 20 200
Calvados 8 80
Ground bay leaf 0.3 3
Onions 100 1000
Chestnut puree 20 200
Fine breadcrumbs 13 130
Apple 10 100
Chestnut flour 5 50
Salt 5.4 54
Activa RM 0.6 6
total: 3403

blood is reconstituted per instructions. onions (diced finely) are softened in some butter over low heat. in a small pot chestnut powder and puree, rest of butter, milk, salt, apple, bay leaf are whisked and heated to a simmer, and left to cool. fat is diced, blanched quickly, drained. onion, fat, breadcrumbs, calvados, activa, chestnut mix and blood (ie everything) are mixed well in a large bowl. casing is prepared normally, and the mix is funneled into the casing, which is tied off with butcher's string as desired, leaving a short linker segment between two sausages. sausages are blanched in boiling water 1 minute, and cooked in a waterbath at 82 degrees for 1 hour.

I'm a big fan and would love to see pictures (at least at the time of consumption).

I get it, black pudding is a tough sell... people are squeamish about blood (I think evolution did part of that) and its definitely not the prettiest of dishes, but I think its a great way to show respect for an animal (nose to tail eating) and has a wonderful flavor. Healthfully full of vitamins, minerals and essential metals as well if I'm not mistaken.

Never made it but I've certainly eaten enough of it. Stuff I have had seems to have oats rather than breadcrumbs...

yep, there are many kinds out there made with a huge variety of ingredients, the british isles versions with oats, and often prominent chunks of backfat, portuguese versions with chunky half-rendered fat, spanish versions with rice and pimenton, the french ones i've had tend to be more smooth in texture, i assume they are made with bread but i don' t know, and french-carribean ones with a very soft spreadable texture inside, and lots of allspice and chili, to name a few that i've had the pleasure of encountering.
pics to follow soon (making and eating)

I'm in! I really need to get back to doing sausages.
I'll be waiting for those pictures.

here they come

more- blanching, water bath cooking.

finally- the good part! slicing into one of these beauties. Nice texture, crumbly but moist. great taste, subtle spicing, hint of sharpness from the apple and sweetness from the chestnut, mostly the earthy blood and texture of the fat. I knocked up a quick dinner- fried black pudding slices, then utilized the leftovers from making them- chestnut/shallot puree, and fried apple slices. fried some delicious porcini i picked this afternoon. made a bock beer and chicken stock sauce with shallots and peppercorns. Yep...

That's made me feel hungry.

I like eating black pudding with pears and blue cheese.

Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the black pudding on both sides until it's crisp.

Peel and core the pears, slice thinly, add to the pan and fry until golden brown.

Remove from the pan and add some crumbled blue cheese (I use stilton) before serving. It sounds a bit strange but it's delicious.

I also make black pudding burgers. I mix 500g of mince pork with 250g of black pudding and a small onion. Make into burgers and top with caramelised apple rings.

I love blood sausage. Gobbled down tons of it with wonderful lagers in Germany and Austria.

Tried my first black pudding in Stornaway, Scotland a few years ago and have been trying to find it again. Never thought of making my own.

Currently stationed in Kyrgyzstan where I thought I might be able to find some, especially since our butcher here is British. Sadly, he won't make them. No idea why. He makes every other sausage known to man, just not blood sausage.

DogStar said:

That's made me feel hungry.

I like eating black pudding with pears and blue cheese.

Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the black pudding on both sides until it's crisp.

Peel and core the pears, slice thinly, add to the pan and fry until golden brown.

Remove from the pan and add some crumbled blue cheese (I use stilton) before serving. It sounds a bit strange but it's delicious.

I also make black pudding burgers. I mix 500g of mince pork with 250g of black pudding and a small onion. Make into burgers and top with caramelised apple rings.

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yum, that sounds great! i have stewing pears and cabrales at the moment, and just defrosted one of the black puddings... i wonder if the cabrales might be a bit strong. anyways i'm gonna serve the fried black pudding, cabrales, old strong dutch cow's cheese (super umami), and a beer soaked wallonian soft abbey cheese with red mold rind that is currently honking up the place, alongside a winter beer tasting, in front of the wood stove with a few friends. for the winter solstice. can't wait.