Ingredients
Black pudding
- 8Träipen, Luxembourgish black pudding sausages
- or good black pudding
Apple sauce
- 6apples, Bramley or another cooking apple
- 50 gbutter
- 3 tbspsugar, or to taste
- a strip of lemon peel
- a splash of water
Potatoes
- 1 kgwaxy potatoes
- butter
- chopped parsley
To fry
- 2 tbsplard or butter
Optional
- 1onion, sliced and fried
- Mettwurst, the white sausage, alongside
To serve
- at Christmas markets
- with a beer or a dry Riesling
Directions
- Use a cooking apple that collapses, such as Bramley, rather than an eating apple. An eating apple stays in pieces and is too sweet for this. Peel, core and chop the apples and put them in a pan with the butter, a splash of water and the lemon peel.
- Cook them, covered, over a low heat for 15 to 20 minutes until they collapse. Stir occasionally and add a little more water if it threatens to catch.
- Add sugar to taste at the end rather than at the start. It should stay noticeably tart, since its whole job is to cut the fat. Beat it smooth or leave it slightly chunky, as you prefer.
- Boil waxy potatoes whole in their skins until tender, then peel and toss them in butter and parsley. Boiling them whole and unpeeled keeps them from taking on water and going soggy.
- Melt the lard in a heavy pan over a moderate heat. Keep the heat moderate rather than fierce. Fry the sausages whole for 5 minutes a side, turning gently, or slice them thickly and fry the slices. Do not prick them, which lets the filling escape.
- Turn them with a spatula rather than a fork, and turn them as little as possible. Handle them gently throughout, since Träipen is soft and it breaks easily.
- Fry sliced onions in the same pan if you want them, which is common. Put the Träipen on the plate with the buttered potatoes and a generous spoonful of apple sauce. Serve it with a beer or a dry Luxembourgish Riesling, which does the same job as the apple.
Technique
- Luxembourgish Träipen contains cabbage or other vegetable alongside the blood.
- It is sold at Christmas markets fried in large pans.
- Black pudding is already cooked and only needs heating through.
Substitutions
- Any good black pudding or boudin noir.
- Bramley or another sharp cooking apple for the sauce.
Variations
- Served in a bread roll, as at markets.
- With fried onions.
- With Mettwurst alongside.
History
Black pudding eaten with apple sauce at Christmas, made at the winter pig slaughter when the blood had to be used at once.
Frequently asked questions
What is Träipen?
Träipen is a main from Luxembourg: black pudding fried, with applesauce and boiled potatoes. Black pudding eaten with apple sauce at Christmas, made at the winter pig slaughter when the blood had to be used at once.
How long does Träipen take to make?
Träipen takes 15 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Träipen?
Yes, within limits. Any good black pudding or boudin noir. Bramley or another sharp cooking apple for the sauce.
What is the most important thing to get right in Träipen?
Use a cooking apple that collapses, such as Bramley, rather than an eating apple. An eating apple stays in pieces and is too sweet for this. Peel, core and chop the apples and put them in a pan with the butter, a splash of water and the lemon peel.
