Black Pudding help

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Black Pudding help

Postby a-harvey » Tue Apr 26, 2005 3:05 pm

I have made some Black Pudding from the mix on the site, does anyone have an idea how long they sould keep in the fridge ? I have them hanging but they seem to be leaching liquid on the outer skin like little droplets. I am not sure if this is the begining of mold and they are going bad.

Its almost as if fat is comming out through the skin.. I have made them about a week ago, so thought they would have kept longer.

Any help would be great as I don't want to poison myself.. they tasted great the next day.

I did mix some cooked rice and extra paprika, and some rasins soaked in wine into some of them, but they have all gone strange and wet on the outside.
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Postby sausagemaker » Tue Apr 26, 2005 7:00 pm

Hi A-harvey

Firstly welcome to the forum


If you made them a week ago & stored them in the fridge I would think they are coming to the end of life, they should really be stored in the freezer if you want more than 3 days life.

Hope this helps

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Black Pudding Help

Postby a-harvey » Wed Apr 27, 2005 8:35 am

Many thanks.. I will put them in the frezer next time... I had most so will only have to throw 3 out.. this morning they have now got white dots so looks like mold...
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Postby cumberland-sausage » Wed Apr 27, 2005 6:55 pm

I've had shop bought black puddings that have ended up a bit past their use by date. They ended up with white specks on the outside. I still ate them to no ill effect and they still tasted ok. (Admittedly they were re-cooked by frying)
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Black Pudding help

Postby a-harvey » Thu Apr 28, 2005 10:17 am

Yes I have also had that but on the shop ones its more like salt comming out. This was very wet and look quite dangerous. I think I took the safe bet by throwing them.
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Postby cumberland-sausage » Thu Apr 28, 2005 5:39 pm

I should have my black pudding mix through tomorrow or saturday hopefully so I'll be having a bash at making them myself for the first time. Have you got any tips plz?
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Black Pudding help

Postby a-harvey » Fri Apr 29, 2005 9:21 am

Having only just made them myself I can give you some advise as the problems I found.

First dont cut to much hog casings as I did.. it doesn't look much when dry but when you soak them you get loads.

I found the mix a bit dry in the quantity stated so I added more water to make it easier to fill with a funnel.. just tie of one end a sensible size and cut it then put the funnel on one end and fill then shake to get the mixture in tie the filled end after pushing down the mix leaving some space and then tie the string on to both ends.

I used 1KG of the mix but that creates loads so I would most likely only use .5KG next time or you will be filling for hours.

Watch the pan is not boliing after you put them in and only put a few in at a time and watch them and keep pricking them as they expand, I used a bamboo skewer. I say this because I put 7 puddings in and all was great, got called to the phone and by the time I came back they had all expolded.. not good.. so watched the rest and they were ok.

I added as previously stated some cooked basmati rice and some rasins soaked in sweet wine for 1 hour and some extra paprika.. they came out great, so try the normal mix and then when you have made a few just add some other stuff as you feel might work to the remaining mix. that way you can try the normal and experiment without wasting to much.

Hope you have fun and please please please watch them when cooking and prick prick prick.. I would hate you to have the 7 exploded puddings, very sad but a good learning experience.

cool them down in cold water and then hang in the fridge, I fried some strait away and were great so not sure if you should wait but still tasted good. Then bung them in the freezer as I didn't and I now have lost a few more.

good luck

Andrew
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Postby aris » Fri Apr 29, 2005 10:08 am

Is it normal to have to prick them? I mean do commercial butchers have to do this?

If I were to make it, i'd put the rings in a bain-marie in the oven and cook very very gently.
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Postby Paul Kribs » Fri Apr 29, 2005 10:50 am

Aris, I recall seeing on the TV black puddings being 'pricked' to release pressure. Can't recall if it was in one of the Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall episodes or an episode of Rick Stein. Don't quote me on it cos it may not have been either of them.

I recall there being a very small seepage of blood from each of the prick holes, but they quickly stop leeching, with negligable loss. I have seen a few black pudding programs and also recall some being simmered in a very large vessel, something like an old 'copper'. Also seen a few where haggis was being cooked in a similar way but can't recall those having to be pricked.. Maybe cos with the haggis all the ingredients were cooked prior to stuffing, and with the black pudding it's not.

Would be interesting to find out the reasoning behind it.
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black Pudding help

Postby a-harvey » Fri Apr 29, 2005 11:40 am

Yes it was from river cottage for ever. and its kind of from this that I got the idea of the rice,paprika and rasins soaked in wine as they do it. however he is using fresh blood and not a pre mix, and was vastly more liquid than from the mix even if you do add more water as I did.
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Postby sausagemaker » Fri Apr 29, 2005 5:13 pm

Hi All

It is not normal to prick the black pudding during cooking, if you are experiencing exploding puddings then you have over stuffed them.
Try under stuffing them so that when the expand they don't explode.
Another way of cooking them is to steam them in a kitchen steamer or place the mix into a loaf tin & bake it.

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Postby Spuddy » Fri Apr 29, 2005 6:05 pm

The way to stop them exploding is to NOT EVER and NEVER (I hope I've made the point there :D ) allow the cooking water to exceed 80C.
The idea is to poach them and not boil them so if you see rapid bubbles rising through your cooking water then it's too hot.
Get a good thermometer and monitor the temperature carefully.
Poaching time at 80C should be around 45 mins for hog casings (the way to work it out is to masure the width of the pudding in mm and add 10%. i.e. if the width of the pudding is 30mm then 30 + 10% = 33 so you would poach them for 33 mins at 80C.
On the subject of pricking, don't do it as you let flavours out and water in. You won't need to prick them at all if you follow the instructions above.
This is how they are done commercially.

Good Luck.
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Postby aris » Fri Apr 29, 2005 6:31 pm

Spuddy,

Is that in addition to under-stuffing them?
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Postby Spuddy » Fri Apr 29, 2005 9:25 pm

No, they should be stuffed to their natural capacity without stressing the casing i.e. not stuffed solid under pressure but likewise not flacid.
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Postby sausagemaker » Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:10 am

Spuddy wrote:No, they should be stuffed to their natural capacity without stressing the casing i.e. not stuffed solid under pressure but likewise not flacid.


Not quite correct as a-harvey had added extra water, rice & raisins you would need to under stuff slightly to allow for expansion.

regards
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Last edited by sausagemaker on Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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