Black Pudding

[Paul Kribs]

grant

I would go straight for the black pudding mix, you won't be dissappointed. Just make up a 1/2 kilo batch and determine if you want to add more ingredients. And it's a large bag of mix, will last for a while.

regards, Paul Kribs

[grant]

Hi Paul,
This is off topic but had to send it to you. I also make my own furniture etc. (very similar to yours.)
If you wanna chat, my email is as follows: grantallen248@msn.com

SORRY ABOUT THAT FOLKS (Last time)

Grant

[Shaun]

I'm (hopefully) getting some mix from fanco too. I think i'll be using a funnel.

Aris
You managed to talk the wife round then. From what I can remember you said she would not allow it in the house. "or have you threatend her with another pigs trotter meal "
You can make the black pudding with or without fat. It is a really tastey mix. But like Paul I added extra pepper for my own taste, but I used crushed black pepper.

[Paul Kribs]

As all my black puddings had got eaten I decided to do some more. Having learnt from the first try not to overfill the casings, I made the mix a little wetter and used my small stuffer. It needed a bit of quick juggling to get the piston in before the mix escaped.

This time I made a full 3 kg batch. I linked them as per a normal sausage link, in 3's and they linked so well that I was very confident. That was a wrong decision. They only just fitted in my largest pot. I kept an eye on them whilst they poached, and not a single bubble broke the surface. All was looking well, the ones on top looked perfect.

Taking the pan to the sink I dribbled the cold water tap into the pot and eventually the water cleared and the puddings had cooled.
On inspection, 13 were perfect, 10 had small splits and 5 had decided to take their coats off.
The worst ones were the ones in contact with the bottom of the pan, even though the heat was under a simmer the direct heat of the pan was too much. In future I will only make a small batch that will fit the pan with plenty of room to spare.

The ones that popped out of their casings will not get wasted, they will go into some Lancashire sausages.

A picture of failure number 2, good ones on left, split on right and 4 completely stripped ones in the centre front (I ate one, still tastey though)

Regards, Paul Kribs

[aris]

I made some at the weekend too.

I made half the recipe. Stuffing them with the 8kg reber was a pain. I managed to stuff some using a fizzy drinks bottle with the bottom cut off and using my fist as a piston, but it was also a pain (but did work).

I put some big chunks of fat in there - but I think I may put less next time.

To cook, I put them in a roasting dish, and covered with hot water (from the tap - not boiled) and put in the oven on 160 degrees for about an hour. I had no problems with splitting or anything like that. I just turned them over half way through as they did tend to float a bit. Next time I may cover with tin foil to keep the moisture in.

The flavour was good - but I stuffed them in ox runners which (as I now know) are totally inedible (think Durex). Once cooled, peeling the casing off seemed to pull off half the black pudding too - it didn't come off cleanly. Is there a trick to that?

I think next time (if wife allows - she said the house stank for days) i'll stuff into hog casings - poach them like I did before, and then cook like regular sausages. I'll also use less fat (if any).

I would also consider cooking the mix in a loaf tin with no casings at all as someone else has mentioned here.

[Paul Kribs]

Aris

I used half the prescribed amount of fat, chopped whilst frozen and then passed through my hand mincer. And yes, the mix does tend to be a little messy, but my little stuffer copes with it quite well. I did leave it for about 45 mins to absorb as much liquid as possible

It would seem the trick to get the casings to come off cleanly is 'let me cook them', it then does it automatically. To be honest I don't know if there is a trick to it.
Looking at it logically, if the casings are well stuffed, the mix will still expand when cooking takes place. With the ox runners being thicker/tougher and harder for the mix to split them, maybe pressure through expansion adheres the mix to the casing. Just a thought. Sounds as though it 'could' be the explanation.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[aris]

I believe the adhesion is due to the protein in the natural casing.

Next time i'll just use an edible casing - problem solved

I'll keep the save the ox runners for the autumn/winter when I will start making some salamis.

[Shaun]

I think I will steam my next batch an see how that goes.
Aris
Durex I wonder if thats how the first ones where invented?

[aris]

poaching in the oven seems to work very well indeed.

As for the Durex - it's well known that animal intestines were used before latex was invented

[Carl]

Hi, Has anyone noticed a change in the Black Pudding Mix? I�ve just got a new batch and it seems different it�s not to be absorbing the water fully. I�m following the instructions to the letter. As you can see when I started this topic I am a fan of the Mix but I�ve had to throw all the puddings from this batch away.

[Paul Kribs]

Carl

I have made 4 batches of puddings from the same batch, so am by no means an expert, and although I was keeping to percentages of mix to water, they all turned out slighly different. I would advise that you add the water to the mix a bit at a time so as to obtain a texture similar to 'skimming plaster'... if that helps. Flour does the same thing. I don't know how to describe it other than when you mound it to about 4 -5 inches it starts to flatten almost immediately but takes 5 or 6 seconds to do so. I have found this gives the best results in my opinion. I would not have thrown the mix if it was too wet, but added a bit more mix and let it stand again, have another cuppa.

Good luck with the next batch.

Regards, Paul Kribs

[Carl]

Thanks Paul I will give your technique a try.