Morcela

Ingredients

Sausage

• 1 litrefresh pig’s blood, strained
• 500 gpork back fat, cut in small cubes
• 400 gonions, chopped fine
• 150 mlred wine
• 2 tbspsweet paprika
• 1 tbspground cumin
• 1 tspground cloves
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 2 tspsalt
• 1 tbspblack pepper
• wide natural hog casing, about 2 m

To cook and serve

• 3 litreswater
• broa — Portuguese corn bread
• or dropped into a cozido

Directions

1. Strain the blood through a fine sieve to catch any clots — a clot becomes a hard lump in the finished sausage.
2. Sweat the onion in a little of the fat over low heat for 20 minutes until completely soft and translucent but not coloured, then cool it. Raw onion never cooks through inside a sausage and stays harsh.
3. Mix the cooled onion, cubed fat, wine, paprika, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, salt and pepper into the blood. The warm spices are what distinguish a Portuguese morcela from a Spanish morcilla.
4. Fill the casing no more than three-quarters full and tie into 15 cm lengths. Prick each two or three times.
5. Bring the water to 80°C (176°F) — barely a bubble breaking — and lower the sausages in.
6. Poach for 30 to 40 minutes until a skewer comes out clean rather than bloody. Never let it boil: blood sets hard, the casings split, and the pot empties.
7. Lift out, cool completely, and refrigerate. They will not slice until properly cold.
8. Grill whole over embers until the skin blisters, or slice and fry, and serve with broa. Alternatively drop a whole one into a cozido for the last 20 minutes.

Technique

• Eighty degrees, never a boil. Every disaster with blood sausage is a pot that got away.
• Fresh blood, used the day it is collected. This is why morcela belongs to the matança.
• Three-quarters full at most. An overfilled blood sausage bursts as it sets and expands.

Substitutions

• Cooked rice for a quarter of the onion, which is done in some regions.
• Beef blood, which is easier to source in places.
• Cumin and clove adjusted to taste — Beira versions are heavier on cumin, Alentejo on clove.

Variations

• Morcela de arroz from the Azores includes rice and is softer.
• The sweet Trás-os-Montes version adds sugar and pine nuts.

History

A staple of the winter matança do porco, when nothing of the pig was wasted; Beira and Alentejo versions differ in spicing.

Frequently asked questions

What is Morcela?

Morcela is a charcuterie & cured from Portugal: pork blood sausage, grilled or dropped into cozido. A staple of the winter matança do porco, when nothing of the pig was wasted; Beira and Alentejo versions differ in spicing.

How long does Morcela take to make?

Morcela takes 1 hour of preparation and 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes makes 8 sausages. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Morcela?

Yes, within limits. Cooked rice for a quarter of the onion, which is done in some regions. Beef blood, which is easier to source in places. Cumin and clove adjusted to taste — Beira versions are heavier on cumin, Alentejo on clove.

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

Sweat the onion in a little of the fat over low heat for 20 minutes until completely soft and translucent but not coloured, then cool it. Raw onion never cooks through inside a sausage and stays harsh.