Lancashire oat-and-pork blood sausage from Bury, Greater Manchester. Heavy on oat groats, lighter on barley than Stornoway styles; served sliced as a breakfast staple.

Bury Black Pudding has been made in the Lancashire market town since the 19th century, with Cumberland wrestler Joshua Thompson producing it from his East Street cellar from 1865. His descendant Harry Reddish opened the first Bury Market stall in 1929, and the Chadwick family took over the stall in 1972, still operating today on a recipe dating to 1865. The sausage is now sold across UK supermarkets but the unboiled, sliced-from-the-pan version at Bury Market remains the canonical one. The Lancashire breakfast plate without it is incomplete.

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Make it at home

Serves 13 hrAdvanced

Ingredients

  • 500ml fresh pig's blood (from a butcher you trust; must be very fresh)
  • 200g pork back fat, finely diced
  • 300g pinhead oatmeal, soaked overnight in cold water and drained
  • 150g pearl barley, cooked separately until tender and drained
  • 1 large onion, finely diced
  • 30g butter for softening the onion
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • Natural sausage casings (wide diameter), soaked in warm water

Method

  1. Soften the onion in butter over low heat for 12 minutes until translucent and just beginning to colour. Cool.
  2. Combine the pork back fat, soaked oatmeal, cooked barley, cooled onion, salt, pepper, allspice and thyme in a large bowl.
  3. Whisk the fresh pig's blood through a sieve to remove any clots. Pour into the bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands until uniform.
  4. Stuff loosely into the wide casings using a sausage stuffer, tying off in 25cm lengths. Do not overstuff; the filling expands during cooking.
  5. Bring a wide pot of water to 75C (never boil). Slide the puddings in and poach gently for 2 hours, never letting the water rise above 80C.
  6. Lift the puddings out, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.
  7. To serve: slice into 1cm rounds and fry in a dry pan over medium heat for 2 minutes per side until the cut faces crisp slightly.

Editor tip. Fresh blood from a Halal or specialist butcher is essential; supermarket blood will not work. Hold the poach below 80C or the casing will split.

Common allergens: Gluten.