Black Pudding and Souse
Let's start with the black pudding! This dish is a reasonably well-preserved relic of its British-Irish forerunner, blood pudding. To make it, the British cooked pigs' blood with onions and herds. The blood from the fried pigs was then packed into pig intestine and boiled or baked. The blood of pigs is no longer used in Barbados. Fresh herbs, grated sweet potato, brown sugar, spices, and some coloring or molasses are used to make black pudding. The molasses and coloring darken the mixture, which is why it's called 'black pudding.' Now it's time for the souse. This is created with pork, usually from parts of the hog that would otherwise be discarded: ears, feet (trotters), tongue, and lean meat scraps. All of the beef is simmered in salt water before being sliced into little pieces and pickled with cucumber, scotch bonnet peppers, fresh parsley, and lime juice.
It's one of those dishes that seems complicated yet is excellent in its simplicity. The flavor is brash, tangy, and invigorating! In Barbados, it's a Saturday tradition!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 2 minced shallotts
- dash of clove powder
- 1 pig’s head
- 1 & 1/2 cups water
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup lime juice
- 1 onion, chipped
- 2 cucumbers, chipped
- Red peppers, sliced
- parsley
Instructions
- Thoroughly clean the intestine (turning skins inside out) with soap and water and then with salt water.
- Soak in salt water and lime solution for an hour.
- Grate sweet potatoes in a bowl and add thyme, red pepper, sweet marjoram, margarine, salt to taste, sugar, minced shallots and a dash of clove powder.
- Add water to these ingredients to make mixture of a loose consistency.
- Fill the skins (do not pack tightly) with mixture, tie at each end and cook slowly on a rack over boiling water until potato is cooked and skins are firm.
- Before serving, cut in lengths and fry in oil.
