Caribbean Recipes Of The Week – Trinidad Black Pudding

By Minna LaFortune

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Oct. 28, 2016: I am not sure how many Caribbean nationals or Caribbean-Americans celebrate Halloween, which is celebrated in a number of countries including the US around world at this time of year.

I do think we the older generation has in massive numbers not celebrated Halloween but our children do. So if you are one of the Adventurous Fun loving individuals who love Halloween and doing the various activities – trick or treating, attending Halloween costume parties, decorating, carving pumpkins into Jack-O’- Lanterns, lighting Bon fires, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories and watching horror films or hosting your own Halloween party, I invite you to try and give your Halloween Party a Caribbean twist.

To make your party interesting with a Caribbean twist I would suggest you serve the following:

Jerk Chicken Neck

Chicken Foot Soup

Black Rice

Steam Fish Head

Stew Goat Head

Blood Pudding

Dessert

Flan

Rum Punch

Today I will share with you a Trinidadian recipe for Blood Pudding.

Trinidad Black Pudding

INGREDIENTS

8 cups pig’s blood

3lbs pig’s liver

1 lb pig’s fat

Pig’s intestines (about 24 feet)

3 /4 cups of the following seasonings – chive, celery, pimento, onions, fine leaf thyme, Spanish thyme, chadon beni)

1 tbsp ground all-spice

1 tbsp clove powder

12 hot peppers

6 tbsp salt or more to taste

6 hops bread, cut into small cubes

7 limes

Banana leaves

Water

METHOD

Mix blood with salt to prevent clotting. Cover and set aside.

Mince liver and fat and set aside.

Wash the intestines with lots of lime and then turn inside out.

Then add minced hot pepper to the blood along with the minced liver and fat. Mix.

Add bread to mixture at this step.

Tie one end of the cleaned intestine with a string.

Take an intestine, place a funnel at the open end and pour a cupful of the blood mixture.

Push the mixture in and continue until filled.

Tie and place carefully into a bowl.

Over a very low fire, place intestines carefully to boil in a pot that has been lined with banana leaves to prevent the pudding from bursting.

The black pudding takes about 3 hours to gently cook.

When it is just about ready, test using a wooden skewer stick.

Note: The skewer should come out clean with no blood seeping through.

When finished remove from water and set aside to cool.

Bon appetite.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Minna LaFortune is a trained Caribbean caterer and also president, Society for the Advancement of the Caribbean Diaspora (SACD). Check out her food group on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/bestfoodscaribbean/