Morcilla recipe

Charcuterie and beer go hand in hand. That needs no explanation for anyone who has experienced the joy of pairing the two. Both have long and rich histories that tie into virtually every aspect of life from necessity and nourishment to delicacy and extravagance - like curing meat to make it last longer or brewing beer because the water supply is unsafe to pairing a foie gras and sweetbread terrine with truffles with a five year old lambic loaded with muscat grapes.

Blood sausage is not very popular here and in some ways understandably so, although one could easily argue that blood is one of the best parts of a pig and certainly one of the most beautiful - its color is amazingly deep. The flavors are likely much more calm and subdued than one might imagine with a texture that is actually quite pleasant. Not only is blood sausage tasty, but it provides a wonderful pairing to many beers.

I've had the great pleasure to visit northern Argentina several times to visit family and always look forward to the famous "asado argentino" on each trip. That asado typically starts with a couple different sausages, one being morcilla which uses a blood and meat mixture (many blood sausages are made without any form of meat). I've gotten all sorts of recipe tips from the locals of Tucuman and have tried it at home a couple times. Here is my interpretation for anyone interested in making some:


1 pint pork blood
1 pound pork shoulder, cut for grinding
2/3 pound pork fatback, also cut for grinding
1/2 cup cream and 4 tbsp bread crumbs, combined
1 & 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
1/4 - 1/3 cup green onion
1 cup walnuts
1/3 cup dried currants (raisins, figs, cherry, etc. all work great)
2 shots of rum or appropriate fruit liquor
5 - 7 cloves
1/2 - 1 tbsp paprika or other chile powder
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp vinegar (white, apple, malt and wine all work fine)
1 - 3 tsp ground black pepper

- reserve a pinch of the fatback and grind the rest with the shoulder through a medium or fine plate, keep cold
- render the reserved fatback in a saucepot and add both onions until translucent
- add the rum or liquor and then the blood
- after the blood has liquified add the cloves, paprika and brown sugar
- rest for a few minutes and then cool down to roughly room temperature
- mix the blood and ground meat, cream and bread crumb mixture, salt and pepper, walnuts and dried fruit well but quickly
- stuff into hog casings, tie into desired lengths and poach in 165-175F water until brown juices appear when pricked, not blood, about 20 minutes
- cool in ice water for about five minutes, drain and dry

The morcilla is now ready to eat cold or be warmed on the grill. I always serve mine with bread and have found that many different beers work well with it but especially ones with a solid malt backbone - not necessarily sweet but flavorful. The Upright Six falls into this category. Its tartness cuts the fat and bit of sugar in the sausage nicely while the malty and fruity components of the brew go along with the currants and blood.


If you have any questions regarding the recipe don't hesitate to leave a comment or send an email to uprightbrewing@gmail.com