At the end of the year, from Fiesta de San Martín, 11 November, until February, licensed butchers roam the rural regions of Andalucía for the annual matanza, the slaughter and butchery of the villagers’ pig that has been fattening over the previous year. This is a most social occasion for all the neighbours, done with ritual and much libation of rough liquor from the early hours onwards.
The squealing beast is hung up by his back legs and his throat promptly cut, a swift process though not for the faint of heart.
“I am in blood
Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o’er.”
Macbeth
The immediate priority is to capture the precious blood draining out while still warm. This red nectar is whisked away to an outbuilding by the elderly matriarchs whose are tasked with making Morcilla, black pudding as you may know it. This must be done with great urgency before the blood coagulates when it would be impossible to work with although there may be delays while the crones bicker and squabble over whose recipe they should adopt this year. More spirit is taken.
Meanwhile the beast is skilfully butchered into its component parts and the men set about curing the hams and making sausages that will preserve the meat over the coming winter.
Black Pudding Recipe
Contemporary commercial producers of Black Pudding no longer have access to fresh blood straight from the slaughterhouse while still liquid so use dried powdered blood. This is where we shall begin.
Surprisingly dried pork blood is easily available by mail order. It just needs reconstituting before use. Conventionally you would do this with warm water at a ratio of 1:4. It depends on the dried product, but you want it pretty thick so the fat is able to suspend in the mixture without sinking to the bottom. For something special try stout or Guinness in place of the water but nothing too strong in alcohol or it will not set.
In Spain the morcilla community is divided into rice or not, mostly by region. Do not be tempted. It is a foolhardy notion. Stick to barley and rusk, ground oats or even panko.
If you wish to put it in casings then you need to either get fresh ones made of ox intestines which are quite expensive and hard to find, or plastic ones which are inedible but easier to work with. However in this case we are just going to bake it in a loaf tin.
The spices can vary, it is down to personal taste, but a good starting point would be pepper, allspice, nutmeg, mace, cloves and ground coriander.
- 500 ml reconstituted pigs blood
- 200 gm finely diced pork belly or back fat
- 100 gm dried pearl barley
- 100 gm rusks or panko
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp nutmeg & mace
- 1 tsp allspice
- a pinch of cayenne pepper
- a pinch of ground clove
- 4 gm salt
Simmer the pearl barley in stock for 40 minutes and drain. Meanwhile dehydrate the blood (100g dried blood + 400ml cold water)
Slowly fry the pork belly and remove from the pan. Gently sauté the onion in the fat from the pan at a low heat until transparent but not brown.
Mix everything together and put into an oiled loaf tin lined with cling film. It should be quite a thick mix which will keep the fat suspended. Fold the film over and seal it.
Make a bain-marie by floating the loaf tin in a baking tray half full of water. Place in a preheated oven at 170°C for about an hour. Keep an eye on the water and top up if required. When set the mix should be quite firm.
Let it cool naturally then refrigerate.
To serve cut into slices and fry.