About a year ago I posted “Black Pudding and Hops“; a little post that was well received by my visitors. For some time I wasn't aware of the impact it had on my readers until I got a flood of comments. Since then I was asked countless times to post an actual recipe for our traditional black pudding. I tried but to no avail was anyone helpful in giving me the recipe or even take a few shots of them making black pudding.
But me being me, I did not give up and sure enough the opportunity presented itself and I made full use of this opportunity to capture this rare moment in photos. While the pigs were being killed my aunt collected some of the blood to be used for making black pudding. The recipe was based on averages since everyone was busy and did not have time to sit and measure anything. But I did my best to get it as accurate as possible using the resources I had. Do you think I need to explain anything again about black pudding? I guess not, the pictures will say it all. Here then is the long awaited Trini black pudding recipe that no one wanted to share with me.
Black Pudding Recipe
8 cups pig's blood
2 lbs pig's liver
1 lb pig's fat
3 – 4 cups green seasoning ( chive, celery, pimento, onions, fine leaf thyme, spanish thyme, chadon beni)
1 tbsp ground spice
1 tbsp clove powder
12 hot peppers
6 tbsp salt or more to taste
6 hops bread, cut into small cubes (optional)
pig's intestines (about 24 feet)
7 limes
banana straw
water to boil pudding
Mix blood with salt to prevent clotting. Cover and set aside.
Mince liver and fat and set aside.
Wash the intestines with lots of lime and then turn inside out.
Note: Make sure to clean thoroughly removing excess fat and tissue on intestine.
Add green seasoning, ground spice and clove to blood and mix.
Then add minced hot pepper to the blood along with the minced liver and fat. Mix.
Note: Add bread at this step if desired. Also when adding the pepper remove all the seeds before mincing.
Tie one end of the cleaned intestine with string.
Now we're ready to make some black pudding!
Take an intestine, place a funnel at the open end and pour a cupful of the blood mixture.
Ram the mixture using the handle of a swizzle stick. Continue until filled.
Tie and place carefully into a bowl.
Over a very low fire, place intestines carefully to boil in a pot that has been lined with straw
( in this case banana leaves) to prevent the pudding from bursting.
Note: The black pudding took about 3 hours to gently cook.
When it is just about ready test using a cocoyea stick.
Note: The stick should come out clean with no blood seeping through. Cocoyea – rib of the coconut leaf. See here
When finished remove from water and set aside to cool.
So there we have it at long last; a good trini black pudding. All that's missing now is ah hops bread and ah red Solo. lol! Coming up next…..A new way to use fever grass…
Black Pudding
Ingredients
- 8 cups pig’s blood
- 2 lbs pig’s liver
- 1 lb pig’s fat
- 3 – 4 cups green seasoning chive, celery, pimento, onions, fine leaf thyme, spanish thyme, chadon beni
- 1 tbsp ground spice
- 1 tbsp clove powder
- 12 hot peppers
- 6 tbsp salt or more to taste
- 6 hops bread cut into small cubes (optional)
- pig’s intestines about 24 feet
- 7 limes
- banana straw
- water to boil pudding
Instructions
- Mix blood with salt to prevent clotting. Cover and set aside.
- Mince liver and fat and set aside.
- Wash the intestines with lots of lime and then turn inside out. Note: Make sure to clean thoroughly removing excess fat and tissue on intestine.
- Add green seasoning, ground spice and clove to blood and mix. Then add minced hot pepper to the blood along with the minced liver and fat. Mix. Note: Add bread at this step if desired. Also when adding the pepper remove all the seeds before mincing.
- Tie one end of the cleaned intestine with string. Now we’re ready to make some black pudding!
- Take an intestine, place a funnel at the open end and pour a cupful of the blood mixture. Ram the mixture using the handle of a swizzle stick. Continue until filled.
- Tie and place carefully into a bowl.Over a very low fire, place intestines carefully to boil in a pot that has been lined with straw ( in this case banana leaves) to prevent the pudding from bursting. Note: The black pudding took about 3 hours to gently cook.
- When it is just about ready test using a cocoyea stick. Note: The stick should come out clean with no blood seeping through. Cocoyea – rib of the coconut leaf.
- When finished remove from water and set aside to cool.
Hope you enjoyed how to make black pudding trinistyle.
Ah gone 🙂
Man, I can’t wait to try this one day. In Guyana the filling is made with rice cooked with lots of thyme and basil and other seasonings as well as coconut milk, then mixed with the blood and stuffed into the runners.
Thanks for the recipe. I was looking for one that’s close to Charlie’s
Commented on the older post for this one having linked back to the older one with the Hops Bread. But just wanted to say Awesome for posting this recipe, love both Black and White Pudding. Nuff said!
Posted on the old post linked in this one for Black Pudding. Awesome to see the entire recipe here. Respect to dat! Black Pudding is da bomb!
I can’t get fresh uncooked pig blood – do you know if you could mill and use cubes of cooked pigs blood that is found in Asian grocery stores in the US?
I have no idea how it would taste or even the texture since the process involves actually cooking the blood very slowly. But, if that’s what you have then try it. I would love to see the results 🙂
Well, I got around to it, and even tho the pudding LOOK good, it didn’t taste right…I think it needed the fresh liquid blood. It ended up only tasting only like the liver (that was the only thing I got fresh/uncooked) and the texture was very grainy. Just thought I’d let u know. Thanks for the recipe tho! It had smell right before I stuffed it in the casing.
This might be a silly question, but what spices are in ground spice?
Although it is called whole spice or spice it is really cinnamon.
Wonder if this would work substituting chicken blood and chicken liver?
Don’t know.
I can’t find fresh pigs blood or any pigs blood in Winnipeg Canada, so I blended fresh pigs liver with a little water, until it was like liquid, added all the above ingredients and it came out fantastic.
I make black pudding in many different forms but this one is special, I stumbled across the recipe but will not loose it.
My favorite Trini food was from the beach hawker, a sandwich called sharknbake, great with a cool beer in a hot day.