Morcilla dulce

Ingredients

Filling

• 1 litrepig’s blood, strained
• 400 gpork fat, chopped small
• 300 gonions, chopped fine
• 150 graisins
• 150 gwalnuts, roughly chopped
• 100 gsugar
• zest and finely chopped peel of 2 oranges
• 100 gbreadcrumbs
• 2 tspsalt
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• ½ tspground cloves
• ½ tspground nutmeg

Casing and cooking

• natural hog casing, about 2 m
• 3 litreswater, for poaching

To serve

• bread, at the asado
• or grilled over coals

Directions

1. Soak the raisins in warm water for 20 minutes and drain them. Dry raisins pull moisture out of the sausage and go hard as gravel in the poaching pot.
2. Sweat the onion in some of the pork fat over low heat for 20 minutes until completely soft and translucent, then cool.
3. Blanch the orange peel in boiling water for a minute and drain — this takes the bitterness out of the pith without losing the perfume.
4. Mix the strained blood with the cooled onion, chopped fat, raisins, walnuts, sugar, orange zest and peel, breadcrumbs, salt and spices.
5. The sugar and spice are the point. River Plate morcilla dulce is a sweet sausage, closer to a pudding than a savoury one, and it is eaten spread on bread at the asado rather than sliced onto a plate.
6. Fill the casings two-thirds full and tie into 12 cm lengths. Prick each three or four times.
7. Bring the water to 80°C (176°F) — steaming, barely trembling — and poach for 30 to 40 minutes until a skewer comes out clean rather than bloody.
8. Never let it boil. Blood sets hard, the casings split and the pot empties. This is the one rule of every blood sausage there is.
9. Lift them out, cool completely, and refrigerate. They will not hold together warm.
10. To serve, warm them through on the edge of the asado grill for ten minutes, then split them and spread the soft sweet filling straight onto bread.

Technique

• Soak the raisins, blanch the peel.
• Two-thirds full, 80°C (176°F), never a boil.
• Cool completely before it goes near the grill.

Substitutions

• Almonds or pine nuts for the walnuts.
• Beef blood, which is easier to source.
• Baked in a tin as a loaf, if you have no casings.

Variations

• The savoury morcilla salada, spiced rather than sweetened, grilled alongside it at every asado.
• The Argentine morcilla dulce is identical; the two countries argue about who made it first.

History

A River Plate version of Spanish morcilla, sweetened rather than spiced, grilled at the asado and spread on bread.

Frequently asked questions

What is Morcilla dulce?

Morcilla dulce is a charcuterie & cured from Uruguay: sweet blood sausage with orange peel, walnuts and raisins. A River Plate version of Spanish morcilla, sweetened rather than spiced, grilled at the asado and spread on bread.

How long does Morcilla dulce take to make?

Morcilla dulce takes 1 hour of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 10 sausages. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Morcilla dulce?

Yes, within limits. Almonds or pine nuts for the walnuts. Beef blood, which is easier to source. Baked in a tin as a loaf, if you have no casings.

What is the most important thing to get right in Morcilla dulce?

The sugar and spice are the point. River Plate morcilla dulce is a sweet sausage, closer to a pudding than a savoury one, and it is eaten spread on bread at the asado rather than sliced onto a plate.