There will be Blood BLOOD USES TIPS FOR USING BLOOD Cooking with blood may sound like something out of a • Blood spoils quickly and easily attracts bacteria. Make horror novel or thriller movie, but culinary use of blood is a sure to buy only fresh blood and use it the same day. tradition that dates back thousands of years. Using blood • Eat any cooked blood dishes immediately or freeze by started as a frugal measure to not wasting any part of the the second day. slaughter, but blood also has an exceptionally rich source • If the butcher does not add an anti-coagulant in the of iron, a rich source of protein, a good source of niacin and shop, then add red wine vinegar in a ratio of 1 cup of copper and a source of vitamin B. to every 6 cups of blood. This keeps the blood from Although eating blood can be unsettling to some, many thickening. cultures have a long history of dining on blood dishes. While • Freezing fresh blood mixed with vinegar is a safe way to blood dishes are relatively common elsewhere, they’re prolong freshness. Freezing coagulated blood breaks down not common in American cuisine and some cultures have the bonds; the blood separates and spoils when thawed. religious taboos about ingesting blood. But, if you’re an ad- • Pig’s blood is the most common and easiest to obtain, venture chef in the kitchen, it might be time to broaden your but duck or deer’s blood can have a unique flavor be- culinary boundaries. cause of the different amount of iron and other nutrients they contain. BUYING BLOOD Today in the United States, blood of any type can be hard TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT to come by if you don’t know where to look. While many Some cultures consume blood as food, often in combina- butchers do not sell raw blood wholesale, you may be able tion with meat. This may be in the form of blood sausage, as to ask around and find a shop that sells it to order or you a thickener for sauces, a cured salted form for times of food may be able to find an Asian market that regularly carries scarcity, or in a blood soup. Blood can also be used as a fresh blood. solid ingredient, either by allowing it to congeal before use, Before purchasing any type of animal blood, ask ques- or by cooking it to accelerate the process. tions about where it comes from and how the animal was Blood dishes remain popular around the globe, and those raised. This is essential to ensuring that the animal was who eat blood dishes describe them as “dense with flavor,” healthy. Blood-borne illnesses and diseases can some- “rich,” and “painfully good.” If you’re ready to add to your times be a problem that even proper cooking procedures culinary repertoire, try preparing blood sausage by mixing cannot get rid of. blood with your own personal blend of fillers (meats, cereals, lard) and seasonings. Experiment until you find the perfect combination. You can use chicken blood as a thickener and flavor enhancer for coq au vin. Or, around the holidays, whip up some Scandinavian blood pancakes with dark syrup and lingonberries, although you might have a hard time finding a market the sells reindeer blood, the preferred ingredient. SOURCES Nabozny, Kellyn http://www.chef2chef.net/articles/in-the-pantry/cooking-with-blood.html Adams, Ryan | Offal of the Week: Blood http://www.eatmedaily.com/2009/04/blood-thicker-and-tastier-than-water- offal-of-the-week/ Czapp, Katherine | Cooking with Blood: Boudin Noir and Czarnina. http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/505-cooking-with-blood.html Yields 18 bangers, approximately 5-6 inches in size Boudin Noir is a delicacy that reaches back more than 2,000 years to a time tested technique of transforming blood into food. Blood is a viable and renewable animal resource, and despite being a historical dish, Boudin Noir has become a modern symbol of today’s “waste not, want not” mantra of cooking. You may be tempted to substitute cow’s blood as it is more readily available than that of pig, but resist this enticement as it leads to a more neutral, insipid flavor that doesn’t justify the time, love and tenderness that go into this project. Quatre Épices is a classic spice blend that finds its way into many recipes for terrines, sausages, and stews, so take the time to make a batch to have on the shelf. You’ll notice that my recipe for quatre épices, or “four spices,” appears to have a few too many ingredients but it will taste that much better (I’ll just blame the misnomer on my lack of skill with foreign languages). Boudin Noir - Combine the panko and double cream in a mixing bowl and set 100g panko bread crumbs aside. 200g double (heavy) cream - Place the onion and garlic in a sauté pan with half (60g) of the 700g finely chopped onion duck fat. Slowly, over low heat, cook them until very soft and trans- 12g minced garlic lucent. Set aside to cool in refrigerator. 120g duck fat - Separately, add the other half of the duck fat (60g) to a sauté pan 280g green apple, peeled and fine diced and place on high heat. Add the diced green apple and cook over ½ cup dark rum high heat until golden and soft (about 3 minutes). Deglaze the pan 300g lean pork scraps, ground with the dark rum, cook out until dry, and set aside until cool in 500g pork fatback, skin removed and fine diced refrigerator. 2 ½ tbs salt 2 tsp ground black pepper - In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients except the blood. ½ tsp ground nutmeg - Add the cooked apple, the cooked onion/garlic, the ground meat, ½ tsp “PUBLIC Blend Quatre Épices” (recipe below) the fatback, the panko/cream mix, and all the spices. Add the blood 2¼ tsp dry porcini powder and stir to combine, mixing thoroughly. Refrigerate for 10 minutes 1 ¼ tsp mild curry spice to thicken slightly. 920g pigs blood - Stretch the hog casing over the sausage funnel and tie a knot in Salted hog casing, soaked overnight in cold water the end. Pour the sausage mix into a disposable piping bag. Place Hot brown chicken stock the piping bag into the sausage funnel and cut the tip off, squeez- ing the mix into the casing, making sure there are no air bubbles “PUBLIC Blend Quatre Épices” in the sausage or twists in the casing. Empty the contents of the 4g black pepper piping bag into the hog casing. Do not tie the other end of the cas- 2g ground cinnamon ing until you have twisted the sausage into links; this will allow air 4g clove to escape and allow you to better regulate the compression of the 5g ground ginger final sausages. Twist into sausages, alternating direction of twists 4 blades star anise to make 18 firm sausages. You must work quickly as the casing is 2 green cardamom pods (just the seeds inside) porous and blood can slowly leak from within. - Pick up the circle of sausages and place them in a pot lined with Combine all of the ingredients in a spice grinder and a towel, cover with a drop top, and pour the hot brown chicken process to a fine powder stock over top. Poach with a drop cover over low heat (liquid tem- perature around 200F) for about 25 minutes, or until the color has Special Equipment changed to a dull brownish black and the sausages are firm (look- Disposable pastry piping bags ing for an internal temperature of 165F). Do not allow the liquid to Towl-lined pot boil. Remove the pot from the heat and allow the boudin to cool Drop top that fit into the pot in the cooking liquid. When the saugages are sufficiently cool re- Sausage funnel move from the liquid and refrigerate until ready to serve. - To serve-cook slowly (lightly pricked and 10 minutes in the oven) in duck fat until skin is crispy. Cool for 2 minutes before serving. .