6 Recipes That Call For BLOOD As A Main Ingredient

WARNING: In case you couldn’t tell, this article isn’t for the squeamish.

Anyway, let’s talk about blood. In a lot of cultures it’s considered taboo or disgusting to consider it as food, but in others it’s actually a delicacy. It can be used in a lot of different ways, such as in sauces, in soups, in meat, or even just served plain. It may seem gross, but today we’re going to discover the many uses of blood in cuisine. Check out these recipes – maybe you’ll actually like them!

Blood Sausage (AKA Black Pudding)

Yield – Makes about 3 pounds

INGREDIENTS

4 cups fresh pig’s blood
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups steel-cut (pinhead) oatmeal
2 cups finely diced pork fat (or beef suet), finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground allspice

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease 2 glass loaf pans. (Alternative – line metal loaf pans with parchment to keep blood sausage from reacting with metal and creating off-flavor.) Stir 1 teaspoon of salt into blood.
2. Bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil and stir in oats. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes until tender.
3. Pour blood through fine sieve into a bowl to remove lumps. Stir in fat, onion, milk, pepper, allspice and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Add oatmeal and mix to combine. Divide mixture between loaf pans, cover with foil, and bake for 1 hour until firm. Cool completely. Seal in plastic wrap and wither freeze for extended use or store in refrigerator for up to a week.
4. To serve, cut slice about 1/2-inch thick off loaf. Fry in butter or oil until edges slightly crisped and browned.

Blodplättar (Blood Pancakes)

400 ml pork blood
400 ml milk
400 ml rye flour
2 tbsp dark molasses
½ – 1 tsp salt
pinch of white pepper
(pinch of dried marjoram)
1 small onion
butter

If blood is frozen, let thaw overnight in refrigerator. Whisk together blood and milk. Add molasses, salt and pepper (and marjoram). Gradually whisk flour and stir until mixture is smooth.

Cover batter and let rest for at least an hour so that flour will swell. Meanwhile, finely mince the onion and sauté it in butter until softened and translucent. Add onion into batter.

Heat pancake pan until very hot. Generously butter pan and pour a first batch of the batter in the rounds. Fry until bubbles on the batter surface begin to set and flip the pancakes over. Continue frying with the rest of the batter. Serve blood pancakes hot, accompanied by lingonberry jam or sugared lingonberries.

Tiết canh (Vietnamese Duck Blood Soup)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnSfjq7RNxA

This handy video includes the recipe on the left. I’ll put it here too.

Step 1: Boil –

• 800ml water
• 1 whole duck’s entrails
• Boil for 10 minutes
• Continue to boil the stomach for 5 minutes

Step 2: Cut cooked entrails into small pieces, then put into a disk (see video)

Step 3: Prepare soup

• 4 spoons of soup
• 1 spoon of monosodium glutamate (optional)
• 1 spoon of fish sauce
• Mix together

Step 4: Mix 3 spoons of duck blood into soup

Step 5 – fill mix in step 4 into the disk, then wait for 30 minutes. Then put onion, peanut, herb, lemon in as you please.

Dinuguan (Pork Blood Stew)

This video also includes a recipe! Here it is for you to copy.

Ingredients

• 1 kilo of pork belly, cut into bite sized pieces
• 7 cups of pork blood
• 200 ml vinegar
• 1 medium sized onion, sliced
• 2 stalks of lemongrass
• 3 pieces of ginger chili (siling haba)
• Salt
• Pepper

1. In bowl, squeeze blood and 1 lemongrass together, then set aside
2. Sautée onion and pork
3. Season onion and pork with salt and pepper
4. Sautée mixture for 2-3 minutes
5. Add vinegar, chilis, and pork blood to mixture, then mix (stir constantly to avoid lumps)
6. Add remaining lemongrass
7. Cook on medium-low setting for 20-25 minutes
8. Serve with puto or rice

Cabidela (Braised Chicken with Blood Rice)

This recipe can use chicken or rabbit.

Ingredients –

1 cup Jasmine Rice
1 1/2 cup Water
1 – 2 Tbsp distilled White Vinegar
1 cup Pig Blood
1 Tbsp Lard
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cup Onion, diced
2 pieces Chicken Leg Quarter
1 cup White Wine
1 – 3 Tbsp Tessemae’s Hot Sauce / Wing Sauce, to taste
1 bunch Cilantro, garnish

Cook rice (add more water if you like softer rice) 15-20 minutes.
Turn off heat then add blood and vinegar. Mix and set aside.
Sautée onions and garlic in lard until softened. Add chicken, brown well then pour in wine and hot sauce.
Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until juices run clear.
When chicken is done add rice/blood mixture, cook until heated through (5-10 minutes).
Taste for salt, add more hot sauce if needed.
Typically the the chicken is mixed into the blood and rice.

Czarnina (Polish Duck Blood Soup)

• 1 (4 pound) wild duck, whole
• 4 cups duck blood
• 8 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stalk celery, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 sprig chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 whole allspice berries
• 2 whole cloves
• 16 ounces pitted prunes
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 tart apple – peeled, cored and chopped
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

Featured image via Imgur

Sources: One Minute List, Wikipedia

Recipes from Epicurious, Nordic Recipe Archive, Primal Palate, Allrecipes