How to Make Blood Sausage

4.79 from 14 votes
Comment
Jump to Recipe

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

If you want a blood sausage recipe that’s approachable, this is the one. It is a Portuguese blood sausage that combines pork, pork fat and pork blood into a cohesive whole. I’ll walk you through how to make it. 

Finished blood sausage recipe on a plate with tomatoes and parsley.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

I’m from New Jersey, and much of what I learned about how to interact with others I learned from my stepfather Frank. Frank’s main rule was, “always have favors you can collect on, and don’t be afraid to do other people favors.” I do something for you, you return the favor — scratching each other’s back is a way of life. It’s how I roll.

So some years ago, when I drove down to Galt to collect a few hundred pounds of Touriga Nacional wine grapes from a Portuguese grower named Ron Silva, I wasn’t shocked when he told me not to worry about money. “No,” he said. “Instead, show me how to make blood sausage.” No problem, I said.

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.”

I know how to make blood sausage, but until I developed this recipe I had limited success. Many versions are blood and seasonings and that’s it — they are brutal to stuff into casings and were the source of failure whenever I’d been around the process in the past. Besides, to my palate, the blood-only sausages were a bit too cakey; more blood cake and less 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. I know I glossed over it in the first few graphs of this post, but if you are still reading I thought I’d stop to tell you that first, there is quite a bit of nutrition in blood (especially iron and other minerals), and the addition of blood in a dish will make it seem fattier and richer than it really is.

(Pork blood also makes a great pasta, believe it or not!)

Pork blood will solidify and stay moist, while beef blood becomes crumbly and dry — one more reason why the pig is God’s Gift. And blood is cheap, so if you are on a budget think about it. Finally, blood is also a spectacular binder, much like egg whites. Herein lies the secret to my morcilla.

My blood sausage is bound with blood rather than a pure blood sausage. It has pork shoulder and pork fat, parsley, onions and lots of ground bay leaves.

I woke up early on a Saturday, drove down to the Davis farmer’s market and picked up some pork blood, as well as a big slab of pork shoulder. I was eager to repay Ron for the wine grapes — not because I wanted to get it over with, but because I enjoy the interplay of favors that my world once revolved around. This is a life bound more closely to other people than is that lived by those who follow the principle of “neither a borrower nor a lender be.”

I also enjoy teaching others some of the more esoteric things I’ve learned in my travels. (Thus this blog.)

Incidentally, when you want to make blood sausage yourself, you will find the blood in Asian markets, usually frozen. Or ask a local butcher to get it for you. It might take a week or so, but you can definitely buy pork blood in the United States. 

When Ron and his wife Kathy arrived, I learned that Ron is a total morcella hound. “Morcella, morcella, morcella,” Kathy said. “When we were in the Azores, we’d go to Michelin-starred restaurants and he’d find the morcella.”

I think Ron was hoping I’d make more than five pounds, as he is a hearty eater. But all my recipes are about five pounds, and blood sausage is so rich non-farmers typically can’t eat too much at a sitting. But Ron was OK with it: I was teaching him to fish at the same time I was giving him some. At any rate, he watched the process intently.

Morcilla is an odd sausage to make. Instead of a solid bind that you want with a normal sausage, you pour in enough blood to make a loose slurry. It looks like the leftovers from a field hospital during the World War I.

A pot of slurry for blood sausage.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

At least the slurry is solid enough that I can use a regular sausage-stuffer to form the links, although you must tie off those links with string; they are too loose to hold if you just twist them like a regular sausage.

Stuffing blood sausage into casings.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Another step you need to take is to poach the raw blood sausage in 170°F water. Not a simmer, and definitely not a boil (the blood will curdle. Ew.), but hot enough to solidify the blood to make a firm sausage.

After the poaching, you can then do what you want. I smoked mine over almond wood at 200°F for a couple hours, but you can then fry them, grill them, drop a few into a soup — whatever.

Close up showing texture of the finished blood sausage.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

They are delicious: Softer than a regular sausage but still meaty, with a taste you can only really describe as “dark.” You know there is blood in there, but you can also pick up the pork and onions and the bay leaves. The fresh parsley brightens the whole affair enough that you don’t feel awkward eating them on a sunny day.

New to making sausage? You can find my detailed tutorial on how to make sausages at home here.

Finished blood sausage recipe on a plate with tomatoes and parsley.
4.79 from 14 votes

Portuguese Blood Sausage

Call it what you will, this is blood sausage. My blood sausage recipe is a hybrid of many, many recipes for Europe’s versions, and is distinctive in that it is not a pure-blood product: I use quite a bit of pork here, and use the blood as a binder and flavoring agent. And yes, I use pork and pork blood.
Course: Cured Meat
Cuisine: Portuguese
Servings: 20 links
Author: Hank Shaw
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1 quart pork blood (probably 1/2 gallon)
  • 3 pounds pork shoulder
  • 1/2 pound pork fat
  • 2 cups chopped onions
  • 1/4 cup duck fat or fresh lard
  • 36 grams kosher salt, about 3 tablespoons
  • 6 grams Instacure No. 1, about 1/4 teaspoon (optional)
  • 10 grams freshly ground black pepper, about a tablespoon
  • 6 grams ground bay leaves, about a tablespoon
  • 1/2 cup minced parsley
  • 3 tablespoons sweet paprika

Instructions 

  • Freeze the pork fat. Cook the chopped onions in the duck fat or lard over medium-low heat until they are caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and cool them. I do this step the day before.
  • Mix both salts, and the pepper, parsley, bay leaves and paprika. Cut the pork and fat into chunks and coat everything with the spice mix.
  • Chill everything: bowls, grinder parts, sausage stuffer parts, and especially the meat, fat and blood. I put everything in the freezer for a few hours. You are looking for temperatures close to freezing.
  • Take the hog casings out and put what you need in a bowl of warm water. Depending on their width, you’ll need 10 to 20 feet worth. Many places sell casings specifically to make 5-pound batches. Be sure to drape the end of each casing over the side of the bowl so you can find it later.
  • Using the coarse die (6.5 mm), grind the meat and fat. If you wish, you can run everything a second time through a fine die. I don't. Make sure the meat and fat are at no warmer than 35°F when you grind. Put the meat and fat into the freezer and clean up.
  • Fill the largest pot you own with water and heat it to steaming, but not boiling. Ideally you want something like 170°F.
  • Meanwhile, attach the paddle to your KitchenAid or other mixer, or, alternately, get a stout wooden spoon. Take the meat and fat mixture out and add the cooked onions. Pour in about a pint of blood. Stir on Level 1 on the mixer or with the wooden spoon. Add some more blood as you go; it’s not an exact science. You want a loose slurry that is quasi-emulsified — a consistency like pancake batter. When it is the consistency you want, put the mix back in the fridge and clean up. Get your sausage-stuffer ready and thread a hog casing onto it.
  • Pour the mix into the sausage stuffer and begin making your sausages. Make the whole coil before you tie them into links. This is a little tricky, and it helps to have a second person help. You need to tie off blood sausage with twine because it is very loose inside and twisted links will fall out. Repeat until you are done with all the sausage. Get the largest bowl you own and fill it 2/3 of the way up with ice and water.
  • If you have some wooden dowels, use them to gently lower the sausages into the pot of hot water. Do one at a time. Let the sausages poach for 15 minutes and then place them in the ice water. When the sausages are cool, remove them gently and hang them to dry out for an hour or so. You can now smoke them, or cook in any way you’d like.

Notes

To make this recipe you will need hog casings (also easily available at a butcher shop, or even at a supermarket that makes it own sausages), and lots of onions, slowly cooked and cooled beforehand. 

Nutrition

Calories: 198kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 732mg | Potassium: 204mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 665IU | Vitamin C: 3.6mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @huntgathercook or tag #hankshaw!

You May Also Like

Cumberland Sausage

Cumberland sausage is a classic English fresh sausage flavored simply with mace, sage and pepper. Normally pork, you can use other meats, too.

Fish Sausage

A fish sausage recipe that isn’t fishy and tastes great grilled or seared. Homemade fish sausage isn’t hard to make and will work with most fish.

Spanish Fuet Sausage

How to make Spanish fuet sausage at home. Fuet is a long, thin salami-style sausage lightly seasoned with garlic, white pepper and wine.

British Game Pie

How to make hand-raised pies with game. This one is a huntsman’s pie, an English classic hand pie made with a hot water crust.

About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




99 Comments

  1. Thank you Hank for the fantastic recipe. Before I undertake it I have a query regarding the blood I have sourced. I got it fresh today from the abbatoir, I asked them to stir it but I am not sure how well that was done. When I decanted it there were some fairly large clots formed but the rest seemed ok. I added 10g/ litre sodium citrate and cooled the blood. By the time I got home it had turned a chocolate brown colour. Can I still strain and use it? Thanks, fantastic website

    1. Thomas: Really? Wow. That is fast. Smell it, and if the blood smells OK, go ahead and use it. But I wouldn’t wait another day.

  2. About the deer blood after adding the red wine vinegar can you freeze it to keep it from going bad until you can get home and use it. I normally spend two weeks hunting before I go home so the 48 hours will be hard for me to do

  3. Is there a safe way to collect deer blood? I always regret just dumping it all out of the body cavity, because I love the taste of blood, but it seems a bit risky trying to collect and use it.

    1. Drew: Not risky at all, but it is cumbersome. If you want to save it, pour it into a container that has a little red wine vinegar in it, about 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the pint of blood. Mix the two well and the blood won’t coagulate. But you need to use it within about 48 hours or it spoils.

  4. Just had some amazing dry cured blood sausage at a Spanish restaurant here in Pittsburgh. Any idea how to approach dry curing morcilla?

  5. How long does the blood last? Can you get it and freeze it before you make the sausages? Do you need to use it immediately?

  6. Would like to know where I can buy some good blood sausage. My Grandmother use to make it all the time. I have bought some in the store and it’s not good. I have had to throw it away because I didn’t like the taste. Any suggestions?

  7. My heritage is Bavarian. My mother made blood sausage. I don’t have her recipe. I’m 85 years old but I do remember hers was the best of anyone. Our relatives all made it. I know she used ground pork and I think pork liver and fresh blood. I remember onions, mustard seeds. I also think she used a little bread and maybe a little cabbage . I don’t know why I think of cabbage..

  8. I want to thank you for this recipie, when i was 21 i was on vacation in puerto rico, and had my first blood sausage, all i remembered was it had no rice, but i still remembered the texture and flavor. Made your recipie to the tee, and it took me back 25 years.. thank you!

    1. Jackie: Once they’ve been poached or otherwise cooked through, they can just be grilled or heated up in a pan.

  9. Use wild game in much of my cooking. Deer or venison, duck, coots, jackrabbit. Do you have any experience with.these animals?

  10. Thanks for the info, I haven’t heard about that or found it in a recipe…so very helpful to know. I also found on another blog where you can blend the blood if it is coagulated and then strain the clogs out. I also read you could freeze the blood. Also saw on cooking show where they had slated the blood initially to prevent coagulation. I am probably getting into the weeds here with the different scenarios, but getting fresh pig blood right out of the animal is not easy!

  11. I found your post very informative and interesting. I make a lot of my own sausages and absolutely love blood pudding or Boudin noir. My question is about the pigs blood you add in the recipe. Do you need to do anything to the blood before you add it in the recipe. I have found fresh blood will coagulate in a large mass after it has a chance to cool a bit. I didn’t use this for making blood pudding as I thought it had spoiled?

    1. David: Yep. About 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar per quart seems to be about right to keep it from coagulating.

  12. I used to make blood sausage (morcilla) with my aunt in puerto rico…great child memories. .yeap I was 7 years old and the holidays are very busy. .I remember coming home in new years eve full of blood over my boots and dry blood on my clothes from working at the ranch all day. .I love those memories as much as I love eating morcilla. ..my aunt used a lot of bacon and fresh Spanish oregano..I like them boiled fresh with lemon juice on it…nice post, It was fun to read..thanks

  13. Hank, I found your post while searching “blood pudding” since I am currently in the middle of making my own sausages. My wife is from the Philippines and is no stranger to blood pudding. Since my meat of choice was of the offal variety both lung and heart meats the idea for blood was evident. I have ground and strained part of the blood from the meats but am left with a dark red mixture of meat. Since the Longanisa recipe is likely a distant memory, I thought id look for some ideas that might take me in another direction. I will likely also blend in pork shoulder for a more familiar bite. Do you suppose that this recipe would qualify as a blood pudding since I have taken some effort to remove blood from the mix?

  14. In the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia we do all blood sausage (pig blood, herbs and some bread added into the pigs intestines) this one iscooked in rapid boiling water. We called it black pudding or boudin (that’s the French creole word for it).

  15. In Hawaii, on the big island, Hilo side. Being of Portuguese decent my father used too make blood sausage all the time. In fact there’s a meat market in Hilo called Kulana Foods that makes blood sausage that’s really good. Thanks for your post,I will try your recipe one of these days. As we live in Reno,Nv and miss the blood sausage? Thanks Hank.

  16. In the 1940s and 50s I lived in Chicago in a Lithuanian neighborhood. We ate barley sausage, and I believe it was called that so that us youngsters wouldn’t be turned off. But it was actually blood sausage of course, and it was delicious. We were pretty poor, and we ate what there was to eat that we could afford. Barley sausage was high on our list of affordable things to eat, and I still remember the wonderful taste. Of course, the blood was combined with barley and other flavoring agents, but I never got to see it made so I have no idea, besides blood and precooked. barley, what else might have been in it.

  17. In Belgium we know it as ‘beuling’ or ‘pens’ and it’s made with the pig’s leftovers, blood and old bread flavoured with salt pepper and foelie. We typically eat it with apple puree (appelmoes) or pickles( picalilly).

  18. I am making it as we speak and wanted to double check method… I am at the stuffing stage… came across your site. Looks awesome, hope mine comes out like this.

  19. Being of Portuguese and Spanish decent, I have been exposed to some WONDERFUL foods. Blood sausage was a regular at many Portuguese meals while growing up. I love it dearly, and now in my life living in an area with not much Portuguese influence I long for this more than you know. I will definitely try this recipe soon. Thank You for this wonderful post!!