Time for the first controversial item on ‘But Does It Smoke Good?’
Black pudding. Beloved by some, reviled by others. But what is it, exactly?
Blood. It’s blood. It’s a sausage made from blood.
Pig blood, fat, and a decent amount of oats or barley to bind it all together, stuffed into a casing and cooked until it sets firm. You slice it, fry it, and add to a full English for a crumbly extra hit of flavour.
It’s an historic food item. Homer mentions a sausage “filled with fat and blood” in the Odyssey, which means blood sausage was on the menu around 800BC. The Romans had their own version, the French have boudin noir, the Spanish have morcilla and it’s a common ingredient in Asian hotpots and ramen dishes I see on The Best Ever Food Review Show on YouTube (Sonny has enough followers, I’m not linking it).
Let’s find out if it enjoys a lick of smoke…
The process
- Remove traditional Bury Black Pudding Company black pudding from its packaging and place it into the smoker.
- Removed smoked black pudding from smoker, vacuum seal and let it rest for a day
- Fry smoked black pudding and enjoy with eggs, bacon and a fried slice.
So does it smoke good?
Yes it does. I probably kept it in the smoker for too long though. Black pudding is rich as it is, adding a strong smoke flavour just adds to that richness.
Were I to do it again, I think three or four hours of smoke would be more than enough, but of disc of this would be a welcome addition to any fry up- especially one lacking any other smoked components.
