This is the recipe to use if you want an approachable blood sausage. It is a Portuguese blood sausage made by blending pork, pork fat, and pork blood. I’ll walk you through how to make it.
I’m from New Jersey, and my stepfather Frank taught me a lot about how to get along with people. Always have favors you can collect on, and don’t be afraid to do other people’s favors, was Frank’s main rule. “I do something for you, and you do the same for me. It’s a way of life to scratch each other’s backs.” It’s how I roll.
So I wasn’t surprised when a Portuguese grape grower named Ron Silva told me not to worry about money a few years ago when I drove down to Galt to pick up a few hundred pounds of Touriga Nacional wine grapes from him. “No,” he said. “Instead, show me how to make blood sausage. ” No problem, I said.
Blood sausage. Actually, Ron said “morcella. I understood what he meant, even though I still call it by its Spanish name, morcilla. More-SEE-zhuh is how my Argentine neighbor pronounces it, and sanguinaccio is how my Italian neighbor pronounces it. Go to Louisiana or France and it’s boudin noir. However, I had this peculiar delight for the first time in South Africa as part of an authentic English breakfast. There, any poetic names were removed: The waiter referred to it as “blood pudding.” ”.
I’ve made blood sausage before, but I didn’t have much luck until I came up with this recipe. Many versions consist only of seasonings and blood; they are difficult to stuff into casings and have always failed whenever I’ve witnessed the process in the past. Additionally, the blood-only sausages were a bit too cakey in my opinion; there was more blood cake than sausage. They have a weird mouthfeel.
I know. Many of you are saying to yourselves, blood. As an ingredient. In food that you’d eat. First, there is quite a bit of nutrition in blood (especially iron and other minerals), so if you add blood to a dish, it will appear fattier and richer than it actually is. If you are still reading, I thought I’d stop to let you know this in case you are.
Another reason why the pig is God’s Gift is that pork blood will congeal and remain moist, whereas beef blood will crumble and become dry. Blood is also inexpensive, so if you’re on a tight budget, consider it. Finally, just like egg whites, blood makes an excellent binder. Herein lies the secret to my morcilla.
My blood sausage is not a pure blood sausage; it is bound with blood. It contains ground bay leaves, parsley, onions, pork shoulder, and pork fat.
On a Saturday, I got up early, drove to the Davis farmer’s market, and bought some pork blood and a sizable slab of pork shoulder. I was eager to pay Ron back for the wine grapes, not because I wanted to finish the exchange of favors that used to be the center of my world, but rather because I enjoy it. This is a life that is more closely connected to other people than those who live by the tenet of “neither a borrower nor a lender be.” ”.
I also like sharing some of the more esoteric knowledge I’ve acquired through my travels with other people. (Thus this blog. ).
By the way, you can find the blood in Asian markets, usually frozen, if you want to make your own blood sausage. Or ask a local butcher to get it for you. Although it might take a week or so, it is possible to purchase pork blood in the United States.
Ron and his wife Kathy arrived, and I soon discovered that he is a complete morcella hound. “Morcella, morcella, morcella,” Kathy said. When we visited the Azores, he would find the morcella at Michelin-starred restaurants. ”.
Ron is a big eater, so I believe he was hoping I’d gain more than five pounds. However, all of my recipes weigh around five pounds, and because blood sausage is so expensive, non-farmers typically can’t eat a lot at once. Ron was okay with it, though, so I taught him how to fish while also giving him some advice. At any rate, he watched the process intently.
Morcilla is an odd sausage to make. Pouring in just enough blood to create a loose slurry replaces the solid bind that you would normally want with a normal sausage. It appears to be the remains of a field hospital from World War I.
Although you must tie off those links with string because they are too loose to hold if you just twist them like a regular sausage, at least the slurry is solid enough that I can use a regular sausage-stuffer to form them.
You should also poach the raw blood sausage in 170°F water as a further step. not a boil (the blood will curdle), neither a simmer, Ew. ), but warm enough to cause the blood to congeal, creating a firm sausage.
After the poaching, you can then do what you want. I smoked mine for a few hours at 200°F over almond wood, but you can also fry, grill, add some to soup, or do anything else with them.
They are delicious, with a flavor you can only really describe as “dark” and a texture that is softer than a regular sausage but still meaty. Although there is blood inside, you can still see the pork, onions, and bay leaves. You can eat them on a sunny day without feeling uncomfortable because the fresh parsley brightens the whole situation.
If you’ve never made sausage before, you can find my thorough guide on how to do it here.
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Cook Fry Your Blood Sausages
It is true that cooking blood sausage in an oven while roasting, broiling, or baking it makes for a delectable meal.
The following instructions will teach you how to bake blood sausages:
Step 1: Preheat your oven to about 350°F.
Step 2: Put blood sausages on your oven’s baking sheet.
Cook your sausages for 40 to 60 minutes in step three. Don’t forget to flip them every minute.
Ron and his wife Kathy arrived, and I soon discovered that he is a complete morcella hound. “Morcella, morcella, morcella,” Kathy said. When we visited the Azores, he would find the morcella at Michelin-starred restaurants. ”.
Ron is a big eater, so I believe he was hoping I’d gain more than five pounds. However, all of my recipes weigh around five pounds, and because blood sausage is so expensive, non-farmers typically can’t eat a lot at once. Ron was okay with it, though, so I taught him how to fish while also giving him some advice. At any rate, he watched the process intently.
Morcilla is an odd sausage to make. Pouring in just enough blood to create a loose slurry replaces the solid bind that you would normally want with a normal sausage. It appears to be the remains of a field hospital from World War I.
If you’ve never made sausage before, you can find my thorough guide on how to do it here.
Blood sausage. Actually, Ron said “morcella.” I knew what he meant, although I refer to it mentally by its Spanish name morcilla. My neighbor from Argentina calls it more-SEE-zhuh, my other neighbor from Italy calls it sanguinaccio. Go to Louisiana or France and it’s boudin noir. But the first time I ate this odd delight was in South Africa, as part of a traditional English breakfast. And there it was stripped of any lyrical nicknames: The waiter called it “blood pudding.”