Meats and Sausages
Morcilla Vasca
Morcilla Vasca originates in País Vasco region of Spain where every municipality and village has its own way of making a blood sausage. The basic formula remains the same, what varies is the choice of filler material and selection of spices. In Álava rice is popular, in Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia onions and leeks are preferred. Usually pork blood and fat are applied, but there are areas where morcillas are made with sheep blood and sheep fat (known as buskantzas or mondejus) what gives them much stronger flavor.
| Materials | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Blood | 250 g | 0.55 lb |
| Onions | 250 g | 0.55 lb |
| Pork head meat, pork belly | 150 g | 0.33 lb |
| Filler material (leeks, cooked rice, pumpkin)* | 350 g | 0.77 lb |
Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of materials
| Salt | 6 g | 1 tsp |
| Pepper, black | 3.0 g | 1.5 tsp |
| Cayenne pepper | 2.0 g | 1 tsp |
| Nutmeg | 1.0 g | ½ tsp |
| Pine nuts | 28 g | 1 oz |
| Almonds, crushed | 28 g | 1 oz |
Instructions
- Traditionally pork head meat was added with pork belly. Split pork heads (without eyes and brains) were slowly boiled (often with meat scraps, bones, skins and offal meat) until meat would separate from bones. Then, when still warm, the meat was removed from head and chopped or ground together with pork belly.
- Chop onions finely.
- Mix meats, onions, nuts, salt, spices, filler material and blood together.
- Stuff into large 45-50 mm diameter pork casings.
- Cook at 80° C (176° F) for 45 minutes.
- Store in refrigerator.
Notes
* the choice of material depends on its popularity in particular area.
Pork heads might be hard to obtain so use jowls, shoulder or leg meat.
Pork heads might be hard to obtain so use jowls, shoulder or leg meat.
