Baked Dumplings with Black Pudding
Black Pudding Potato Cakes recently posted by Mr. Three-Cookies (from Three Cookies blog) inspired me to try something new with my beloved black pudding. Looking through the content of my freezer I found a piece of black pudding (I always keep some in case of an urgent craving) and I also realised I still had wonton skins, leftover from my Baked Wonton Chips. Black pudding dumplings seemed an obvious solution.
I wanted to obtain a crunchy result, but since black pudding is already quite rich, instead of frying, I baked them in the oven (they were slightly tougher than deep-fried dumplings, but crunchy and excellent). I love my black pudding hot, so after removing the casing I mixed it with gochujang (Korean chili paste). In case you have never tested this mixture, black pudding and gochujang go perfectly together (I have been enjoying this combination for years). We had these dumplings with green salad for lunch, but they would make a perfect bowl of snacks for a party too. I was very happy with this improvised dish and strongly recommend these dumplings to all my fellow fans of black pudding. Thank you, Mr. Three-Cookies, for the inspiration!
TIPS: Many people are put off black pudding because their first experience involves a supermarket cheap product. It is not easy to make a good, well seasoned black pudding, so if you have never tasted it, I strongly advise getting it from a really good butcher. It’s also wise to ask a black pudding fan for recommendation because in some countries certain good quality brands can also sell good black pudding.
Black pudding or blood sausage exist all around the world, but they are slightly different in every country or even region. British, Polish or Hungarian are quite solid because they contain rice, buckwheat, barley or oatmeal as fillers. In most regions French boudin noir is quite soft and smooth (onions and breadcrumbs and/or cream are fillers, but the texture remains custardy). Personally I prefer the denser black puddings, so when I have only the French one, I mix it with cooked buckwheat or barley to fill the dumplings. If you prefer the delicate, smooth texture, you don’t need to add anything, of course.
You don’t have to add any hot spices if your black pudding is already hot or if you don’t like hot dishes. You can add any herbs or spices of your choice too.
Accidentally these dumplings tasted great with my recently posted Pineapple and Chili Jelly (any sweet & hot jelly or sauce is in my opinion perfect with black pudding).
Preparation: 20 minutes
Ingredients (serves two):
14 – 16 dumpling skins (I used wonton wrappers/skins)
200 g (7 oz) black pudding or, if you have soft, smooth French type of black pudding and wish to make the filling denser: 100 g black pudding + 6 – 7 slightly heaped tablespoons cooked buckwheat, rice or oatmeal…
2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili paste) or 1 tablespoon powdered chili (neither is obligatory, of course)
oil (I have used chili oil)
Remove the black pudding’s casing. Put the filling in a bowl and combine with gochujang or chili and additional filler if you wish.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Prepare a small bowl or glass with cold water.
Put several dumpling skins on a chopping board (or any other clean surface).
Brush their edges with water (about 1 cm thick).
Place a well-heaped teaspoon of the black pudding filling in the middle.
Close the dumplings, pinching the edges and forming triangles or half-circles if you have round dumpling skins.
Repeat with the remaining wonton skins.
Place the dumplings on a sheet of baking paper.
Brush them with oil at least on the upper side (you can do it on both sides).
Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until they are golden. (Every oven i different, so watch your oven frequently after the first 5 minutes because they burn easily and quickly!).
Nice one Sissi, sounds brilliant. Very creative. Almost a black pudding pie.
I’ve never tried the French boudin noir but I would say the Swedish blodpudding is hard, it has fillers in it.
Thanks for the mention
Thanks a lot, Mr. Three-Cookies. This experiment was really a big success. Your cakes made me crave black pudding too much… Thank you for the correction (I was waiting for your comment concerning this Swedish part). I have just modified the post (from what I saw on internet Swedish black pudding looked very soft.. but it’s difficult to guess by photo only). French black pudding, when you remove the casing, is as soft as a custard, so for example you cannot slice it and fry it, like I love to do with Polish or British black pudding. The caisong is also very thin and soft so it doesn’t become crunchy when fried… I think only in Bordeaux region they make it with rice, but I have never seen such a version anywhere else.
I don’t know why but craving for black pudding seems to be stronger than other foods! Like when you see/read about it ,you really want to have it. I wonder why considering there isn’t too much flavour, its mild. I had black pudding yesterday!
I think it must be the iron… Black pudding contains lots of iron and maybe we somehow feel we lack it or simply need it.
Polish and British black pudding has a strong flavour in my opinion (especially the Polish!-. Lots of herbs, spices and also the grains which fill it add some taste. Apart from this I crave even the mild French black pudding, even though it’s not my favourite.
Wow, excellent idea, mouth watering. I like Blutwurst, boudin noir, black pudding very much. From soft varieties (Pfälzer Blutwurst – it is a boudin noir) to the firmer (Rotwurst) to very firm black smoked (Kaminwurzen and the ones with chilie pepper are extremely delicious) – each are good in their own way, depends on the butcher of course.
Thank you so much, Kiki. Now let me see when I have the next flight to Germany… Frankly I knew that Germany had lots of different delicious sausages but so many kinds of blood sausages??? I would be in a paradise if I could test each of the ones you mention. I put them on my “must taste” list for my future trip to Germany.
Sissi, I had forgotten about black pudding, so at first glance, I literally thought you meant chocolate pudding in the most American way, hahah! Even though I am not adventurous when it comes to eating blood (tried them back at Taiwan, not my cup of tea), though I think there’s definitely room for creativity when it comes to making some sweet dumplings?
Haha! I have just imagined serving you these and you thinking that they are sweet… You would have a big surprise!
Frankly I have seen the Thai set blood (it’s sold here in fridges in my Asian shop) and I assure you that as someone who could have black pudding every day, I am not even tempted by it. Black pudding is just blood sausage with spices and herbs and if you didn’t know there is blood, you would never think it’s weird. I was raised eating black pudding and I cannot even imagine being disgusted be it (although as many children I was disgusted by liver, spinach and beetroots!). Black pudding was just another sausage type! Anyway, I hope you can taste a bit one day just to see if you like it.
Apart from this, of course these could be made sweet with chocolate!
Ah Sissi, I love your carnivorous ways… you make me reminisce about my Dad who loved blood pudding… I am not nearly as adventurous with meat and meat products but adore your inventiveness and approach to whole foods. The fact that you transform this ingredient into a dumpling is exquisite. I wish my parents could be sitting at your table to enjoy your creativity and gorgeous food!
Thank you so much, Kelly. So many compliments again… You are so sweet! I am a very proud but moderate carnivore: I mostly eat chicken (90% of my meat) and the rest meat is mostly pork and of course I love black pudding but even though it’s full of iron (French doctors advise it when people lack iron) it’s quite fatty, so I don’t have it very often. I almost never eat beef though… (You will laugh again but my favourite beef dish is steak tartare, well seasoned and with an egg yolk).
Aren’t your parents from Québec? I have been dreaming of going to Québec for quite a long time.. even more when someone told me that food is excellent (I once saw a program about a famous foie gras restaurant in Montréal and the food looked exquisite and portions were heavenly big!).
Anyway, it’s a pleasure to know there are blood pudding fans in Canada too!
My Dad was of Irish descent (anglo) and my mom is French Canadian (indeed from Montreal!). My parents loved to eat blood pudding for breakfast on the weekend… full of iron indeed (it’s blood afterall ;0) I didn’t know about the fat though… I suppose there is some suet in the filling. My lack of adventure on the meat side is not related to health concerns… it’s mostly due to some squeamishness and personal preference. If you get a chance to visit Quebec, I highly recommend both Montreal and Quebec City… you would love the food and ambiance Sissi… (and the shopping too! ;-)). Have a great weekend!
Have you mentioned “shopping”??? Wow! My perfect holidays consist of shopping, eating good food, drinking good drinks/wines and walking around the city (Tokyo was perfect in all these points). I really wish I could go to Canada one day and if I do it will definitely be Québec (although not in the winter! your recent report on -30°C has scared me off). I will ask you for advice when I will have bought the ticket. As for the fat, I think it depends on the country. Polish and British black pudding hasn’t lost of fat, but the French one is quite fatty indeed.
You’re much too adventurous for me with your black pudding, and combining it with a wonton. Sounds like an appetizer that would be on the menu at a very fancy restaurant. That I couldn’t afford to go to on my current budget. 🙂
I bought a small piece of hurka a couple of weeks ago and found it to be SO rich I couldn’t eat it. The duck liver sausage I bought at the same time was ever MORE rich. I don’t know what I was thinking of … oh yeah, I hadn’t eaten anything when I went shopping so I bought everything I saw. 🙂
Have you ever had schinken? What kind and which do you like best? I’m going to have to post another picspam of my last trip to the city market.
Thank you so much, A_Boleyn. I am very flattered again by your comment. I rather considered it as a funny, homely snack 😉
Wherever I travel I try to taste black pudding or sausage (in Europe most countries produce these). To be frank hurka is the only thing I didn’t like about Hungarian food. I only tasted it once in Budapest and found it horribly fatty too (I haven’t finished even half of it). My Hungarian friend told me it’s difficult to find a good quality hurka and even more the one which is not very fatty. In France or Poland even the supermarket blood puddings are 100 x better than the “artisan” one I bought in Budapest… Maybe I was unlucky? Do try tasting a Polish black pudding. Even supermarket ones are delicious and not very fatty (French ones have much more fat and calories), so if there is a Polish shop or butcher somewhere… (I know Poles emigrated a lot to Canada too). It really is not fatty, very well seasoned and, well, addictive.
I have no idea what shinken is. I have always thought it meant “ham” in German…
You’re right, schinken is the German version of Italian prosciutto or the Spanish serrano ham. I thought you would have run across it in your local delis. There are different versions: Westphalian schinken, Lachsschinken, schinken mager, schinkenspeck etc. It’s SO good and a little goes a long way. 🙂
https://www.bavariasausage.com/shop/index.php?storecategory_id=29&storesubcategory_id=6
Oh, I see what you mean. In the meantime I checked and it means simply “ham” in German, so as well cooked ham as dried ham. I have observed that in Northern America people have the habit of calling “prosciutto” only dried Italian ham, while in Italian it simply means “ham” and “prosciutto cotto” is cooked ham, while “prosciutto crudo” (raw) is the dried version you call “prosciutto” in Northern America (for example the one from Parma). In France and in French-speaking Switzerland people translate the Italian names into French, so I was surprised to see this.
I think it must be the same for the German dried ham then… because shinken means just ham… By the way, “szynka” pronounced “shinka” means ham in Polish too! Here in French-speaking part of Switzerland people prefer rather Spanish and Italian dried ham (also wines etc. because there are many people of both origins and nationalities), but maybe in the German-speaking part German dried ham is sold… I have never seen it anywhere (and believe me I would notice such a delight!). One more item on the list of my “tasting” list for Germany!!! Thank you for the ideas!
Have a great time in Germany and try all those great meat treats. That web site is very informative. I like debreziner (kranska) sausages as well. It makes shopping at my city market SO hard but you get a great variety at the different vendors all under one roof. 🙂
Another great resource at this site.
http://finestsausageandmeat.com/
Thanks a lot! I will when I finally go there… It’s not far but somehow I have never managed to visit Germany. Thank you for the link.
Really now, Germany is not that far away. By train 4 hours and there are even special prices for train tickets, for example 39 € from Geneve to Freiburg (Freiburg is so nice and beautiful). As for München, there are flights, a little bit more expensive: about 139 €, crowded with tourists…. This Schinken-Shop doesn’t show all varieties of Schinken (laugh), come and look how many different kinds of sausages and hams there are . Most of the time we buy country ham, air dried by our local butcher – nearly the same as Serrano but I like cured, cooked and smoked ham too (depends on the piece of meat and spices). I am not that much into raw smoked ham (Schwarzwälder Schinken).
Thank you so much, Kiki. Perfect idea! I have just discussed it with my husband, checked on the map (Freiburg is not very far from wine growing regions, my absolute priority being wines discoveries (food of course too, but this I suppose is easily available in whole Germany) and it sounds like a great idea! Actually we could even make a one-day or two days trip. You have made me dream of travelling…
Ah don’t know if you’ve seen my latest instagram feed or facebook page, but I was recently just photographing a spiced blood cake recipe made by a very cool young chef here in london called james lowe, for the cookbook. he’s contributign a recipe, and it’s pretty much black pudding, but with some asian influences like bits of spam/lard inside. was wonderful, and we did it with fermented pear. I actually haven’t been that big a fan of eatign blood until recently, and now I seem to be slightly obsessed! love your take and would love to try this soon as I can! p.s. happy cny!
Thank you so much, Shuhan. Unfortunately I haven’t seen your blood cake! It sounds fabulous and fermented pear is very intriguing. It reminds me of something I made once with blood… I think I will post it one day. I’m going to check your facebook page! Happy Chinese New Year!
What a perfect addition to a green salad! I love the spicy filling and the contrasting crisp shell. Just wonderful!
Thank you so much, Liz.
I have worn out my poor mouse [which is due for superannuation anyways 🙂 !] marrying these two concepts and deciding ‘yes, me too, please!’ Black pudding which I have adored since childhood and wonton wrappers? AND chilli paste! This I simply have to try!! Now, I am used to the denser black pudding coming from NE Europe myself – could have it every day were it not for [that fat! shush!!]. What great fusion cooking 🙂 !
Thank you so much, Eha. I also grew up on the denser black pudding and this is the one I prefer, but unfortunately here I can get only the French-style (I will not mention the Swiss black pudding…), so I combine it with grains and voilà! It brings back childhood memories…
Sissi, I agree to earlier comments that you are a daring, always inspiring cook. Concerning today’s recipe, are you aware that it is kind of retro? You know, a lot of French (and I guess other) chefs experimented with “bonbons” and “croustillants” of any kind back in the 1990s (and quite often they used foie gras as the basic filling which made an even heavier calorie bomb than your boudin noir stuffing).
But to be honest, I’ve never been sure about the culinary benefit. To me, it’s too much somehow, guess you know what I mean, the kind of taste explosion that kills all elegance.
It’s a very good idea though to fight the fat with lots of chili, that’s just a trick, but a good one. Would ginger work, too?
Oh… so you mean my recipe is a kind of passé? 🙁 Just joking! I have been experimenting a lot with black pudding, but I know every time I prepare something new, it has always already been made by someone else… Frankly, I experiment with French black pudding because it’s not my favourite, but the best I can get here. I mix it with hot seasonings, grains and other things (too bland and too soft for me). My favourite are Polish and British black puddings, which are more or less half as fat and much tastier (on the other hand I have never tasted the German and I have heard lots of good things about it).
I have tasted the “foie gras bonbons” in filo pastry for example, I even have the recipe in a foie gras recipe book, but I have never been impressed. I like foie gras either in terrine or pan fried and this is also the only way I do it. I absolutely abhor crème de foi gras brûlée. Certain fancy experiments are really bad.
These dumplings would be too weird if I hadn’t mixed the black pudding with buckwheat. Too fatty and I wouldn’t like the texture.
Sissi, those dumplings are very impressive! Quite a work too. Well done!
Thanks a lot, Marina.
I had the most delicious black pudding in Meyreuil in Provence, France. What a clever idea to bake instead of frying the dumplings; I bet these would be delicious steamed and then crisped in a little butter too. I’m afraid JT would not enjoy black pudding and it’s far too rich for me to be having on my own, but I do try to order it in restaurants from time to time; we have a really big trend in Toronto for meat themed restaurants.
Thank you so much, Eva. I must say I was also happy with the result. They were slightly harder than fried dumplings, but the saved amount of fat was worth it (and of course the French black pudding is already very fatty…). It’s such a pity you cannot buy Polish or British black pudding. They are usually much lighter and contain less fat. I still remember how shocked I was to see the kcal and fat content of French black pudding.
I haven’t try black pudding yet but I know I’ll love the flavor because there’s a Chinese treat also made with blood (like a savory blood cake) and I love those rich flavor. How lovely you turn the blood pudding into these beautiful wonton! 🙂
Thank you so much, Amy. It’s such a pleasure to know you are one more potential black pudding fan!
Well sure – I’ll just pull some blood sausage from my freezer tonight. I mean, doesn’t every one have black pudding in their freezer. 🙂 Sounds like you keep blood sausage like I keep Mexican chorizo and andouille. I ALWAYS have it! My mother use to make blood sausage but I was never a fan of it, but she was not near as creative as you. I think I could easily handle small bites like this enhanced with chilli paste and then that wonderful pineapple jelly of yours!!!! Great job Sissi!!
Thank you so much, MJ. I’m glad you like this idea to play with black pudding. I’m sure you would like it. The thing I dislike about some black puddings (even those which have a good quality) is the blandness, this is why I always spice the French one up.
Does it seem so weird??? You know, in France black pudding is sold even in the smallest supermarkets… I have to freeze it because, as I have mentioned, it’s difficult to get a really good one. The nearest good butcher (my butcher) is 1 hour from my house, so this way I can have it whenever I crave it. As Mr. Three-Cookies said, if you crave black pudding, you must have it NOW! It’s extremely strong (maybe due to the iron content?).
Interesting that you can find it pretty much everywhere. I’ve never seen it in New Mexico. Louisiana was another story. You could find it in a lot of groceries, especially those in south Louisiana. I think you nailed it when you said it was so strong! That’s probably why I have always had an aversion to it. But like I said, in these small packages, I might learn to love it. And NO – it’s not weird! You should see what I keep in my freezer! 🙂
I think it depends on how many people eat it. France is not at the top here. In Poland you can always find many more black pudding types and/or brands and I suppose it’s the same (or better!) in Germany. I was just saying that the French black pudding is not strong at all (and hence not my favourite). British and Polish are not strong either, but they are very flavoursome: lots of spices and herbs. I would always say that “normal” sausages are much much stronger in taste!
I remember your love for blood pudding! How creative for you to stuff into the wontons! It will be a fun surprise waiting when you bite into this. 😉 I hope to eat black pudding one day!
Thanks a lot you, Nami. I hope you will taste it too (but make sure it’s a good one!).
What a novel idea for a dumpling! I really like black pudding so much… I heard of it many times and, tainted by my mother’s “prejudice” (she’s a vegetarian and probably made one or two comments over the years about how the whole thing sounds vile) declared when I was young that it was disgusting and didn’t try it until I was about 20. I had it the first time as part of an all-day breakfast plate which the cook (I’d say “chef”, but that would be implying that he could actually do more than just throw things in a deep-fryer) at the pub I worked out gave me for lunch during an all day shift once. I pushed it around the plate a bit before nibbling a corner and I was immediately in love with it, but I agree – English ones with their bulky filler are really good, compared to the smooth French boudin noir (custard consistency… yuck!). That’s a great idea to mix it with cooked buckwheat or barley… I’ll be sure to try it next time myself!
Hi Charles! I am so glad to see you (I was convinced you were already on holidays and somehow have almost missed your wonderful apples… sorry).Thank you for the compliments. Oh, I can imagine black pudding being a nightmare of vegetarians, but you know I have a friend who eat meat maybe once every two weeks (and only chicken), but when she goes to Poland she eats… black pudding! I suppose it depends though why someone is a vegetarian. If the animals’ suffering is the main reason then there is no way the person would eat any meat. (Now that I think my another vegetarian friend eats chicken from time to time…). Nowadays, with ecology and all the “not wasting” movements, black pudding should be more advertised! Even blood is not wasted!
I have got used to the French black pudding (better than Swiss one certainly), but whenever I can, I put lots of hot spices (gochujang being my favourite) or I mix it with buckwheat to make it closer to one of the kinds of Polish black pudding… I also make dishes with it rather than having it alone (because of this horrible consistency). Do you remember the tart with black pudding I posted last year I think? This one is really fantastic with French black pudding. What I really miss is crisp, fried slices of black pudding. There is no way one could do it with the French one…
These crunchy dumplings were really a good experiment!