Blodpudding

Ingredients

Pudding

• 1 litrepig’s blood, strained
• 400 mldark beer or stock
• 250 grye flour
• 100 gplain flour
• 150 gpork lard or suet, chopped small
• 1large onion, chopped fine and softened in butter
• 3 tbspdark syrup or treacle
• 2 tspsalt
• 1 tspground allspice
• 1 tspdried marjoram
• ½ tspwhite pepper
• ½ tspground ginger

To fry and serve

• butter
• lingonberry jam
• streaky bacon, fried
• raw grated carrot, optional

Directions

1. Strain the blood twice through a fine sieve to catch every thread of fibrin. Any missed will show as a rubbery streak in the finished slice.
2. Whisk the beer or stock into the blood, then sift in the rye and plain flour, whisking hard so there are no lumps.
3. Stir in the softened onion, chopped fat, syrup, salt and spices. The batter should pour like thick cream.
4. Line a large loaf tin with baking paper and pour the batter in to about three-quarters full.
5. Bake in a water bath at 150°C (300°F) for about 90 minutes. The water bath is not optional: direct oven heat sets the outside of a blood batter into a hard skin while the middle is still liquid.
6. It is done when the centre reaches 75°C (167°F) and a skewer comes out clean rather than red.
7. Cool completely in the tin, then chill overnight. It will not slice until it is properly cold, and it firms considerably as it cools.
8. To eat, cut 1 cm slices and fry in butter over medium heat for two to three minutes a side until crisp at the edges.
9. Serve with lingonberry jam and fried bacon. The sweet jam against the iron of the blood is the point of the pairing, not a garnish.

Technique

• Strain twice, bake in a water bath, cool overnight. Those three make the difference.
• Fresh blood on the day it is collected.
• Cook to 75°C (167°F) in the centre, not to a time.

Substitutions

• Bought blodpudding sliced and fried, which is how most Swedish households eat it.
• Beef blood, which is easier to source.
• Barley flour for part of the rye, which is done in the north.

Variations

• Paltbröd, the flatbread version from Norrland.
• The Finnish mustamakkara and Estonian verivorst are the sausage forms of the same batter.

History

A blood sausage or pudding made from pig’s or occasionally other animal blood mixed with flour, milk and often dried fruit such as raisins, then fried in slices and traditionally served with lingonberry preserve and bacon, developed as part of a broader European tradition of using an animal’s blood after slaughter rather than discarding it, a practical necessity when meat itself was too valuable to waste any part of a slaughtered animal. Sweden’s particular addition of dried fruit into the mixture, giving blodpudding a subtle sweetness alongside its savory, iron-rich flavour, distinguishes it somewhat from some other European blood sausage traditions that remain purely savory. It remains a traditional dish especially associated with the colder months and with Swedish home cooking specifically, though less commonly eaten today than in past generations.

Frequently asked questions

What is Blodpudding?

Blodpudding is a charcuterie & cured from Sweden: baked blood pudding sliced and fried, eaten with lingonberry jam. A blood sausage or pudding made from pig’s or occasionally other animal blood mixed with flour, milk and often dried fruit such as raisins, then fried in slices and traditionally served with lingonberry preserve and bacon, developed as part of a broader European tradition of using an animal’s blood after slaughter rather than discarding it, a practical necessity when meat itself was too valuable to waste any part of a slaughtered animal. Sweden’s particular addition of dried fruit into the mixture, giving blodpudding a subtle sweetness alongside its savory, iron-rich flavour, distinguishes it somewhat from some other European blood sausage traditions that remain purely savory. It remains a traditional dish especially associated with the colder months and with Swedish home cooking specifically, though less commonly eaten today than in past generations.

How long does Blodpudding take to make?

Blodpudding takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes makes one 1.5 kg loaf, serving 8. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Blodpudding?

Yes, within limits. Bought blodpudding sliced and fried, which is how most Swedish households eat it. Beef blood, which is easier to source. Barley flour for part of the rye, which is done in the north.

What is the most important thing to get right in Blodpudding?

Bake in a water bath at 150°C (300°F) for about 90 minutes. The water bath is not optional: direct oven heat sets the outside of a blood batter into a hard skin while the middle is still liquid.