When you think of pudding, visions of dainty glass pedestal cups filled with a sweet, smooth treat most likely come to mind. However, for the Irish, pudding is in an entirely different food group: meat. White pudding is made from pork fat or beef suet, oatmeal, and onions. It’s closely related brother, black pudding, has the same ingredients but also includes fresh pig’s blood. The two dishes are often served together at breakfast. Since fresh pig’s blood is often hard to come by, we’re sharing a popular recipe for white pudding today.
Irish White Pudding
INGREDIENTS
1 2/3 cup steel-cut oatmeal
1 cup milk
2 cups pork fat, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons white pepper
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon ginger
casings
PREPARATION
Soak the oatmeal in milk for one hour. Use a mincer with a 5mm plate to grind the pork fat and onion. Mix the onion, pork fat, and all of the spices together in a large bowl. Stuff into large pig casings and boil or steam at 170°F for approximately 1 minute per the mm in width of the sausage. For example, if you have a sausage that is 3mm in width, cook for 3 minutes. The temperature should reach 162°F for two minutes before you remove from cooking. Remove from the pan and place in a bowl of cold water. The sausage can now be consumed or you may wish to heat it on a griddle or skillet. To do so, slice the sausage into chunks and fry until brown. Serve immediately.
White pudding may traditionally be served with eggs, black pudding, Irish bacon (which is sometimes called back bacon because it is a leaner cut of meat made from the back of the pig), tomatoes, soda bread, and even beans that are sweetly flavored with molasses and rum.