The Hackney Butchers Association

I came across this nice use for Boudin Noir sausage.  You can obviously use any blood sausage/black pudding. RECIPE BELOW:

I pan-fried slices of the sausage & apples in some olive-oil, (it should have been butter!) The flavour was great.  The texture is unusual, but I could definitely get used to it. I've got another half a sausage to munch tomorrow.  I've got a couple of ideas brewing...  Broken up, it would add loads of flavour to a ragu.

More fun with sausages... I've just got my hands on this lovely looking Boudin Noir.  It's a French blood sausage.  I'm planning on having it for breakfast/brunch tomorrow to get over the hangover I'm working on tonight. Apparently the french eat 15000tons of it a year!  It's pre-par-boiled so can be eaten straight from the packet.  It's very similar to black pudding though often has breadcrumbs & brandy or calvados added. Traditionally it's eaten on a bed of onions & pork fat. I'm going to fry up slices of mine with apples & pears in a little butter and some toasted bread.  Bloomin' delicious!  I've not tried one like this before and will post the results... ...some time later... I never took photos of the sausage & fried fruit.  Doh. I did have a go at this though..  Leek Mash with Boudin Noir

They are natural casings used for all traditional sausages, salamis etc.  They come from the intestines of cattle. Pig & sheep casings can also used. There are now meat-free alternatives on the market for veggie sausages, I don't know how they compare. Ox Runners are the smallest, for making peperoni style salamis. Ox Middles are the next size up, 5-10cm when filled, they dry down to about 3-4cm diameter. Ox Bung are the big boys, they are for large salamis and haggis. The mail order company, "The Natural Casing Company" has stopped trading. Instead, I discovered mail order can be got from Weschenfelder .  They despatch within 48hours for all your urgent butcher needs! They have stuffing machines too. Another UK mail order company is http://www.sausage-casings.co.uk For USA I found http://www.sausagemaker.com I live not far from Smithfields so I'll try there first. The main recommended casing for salamis are Ox casings.  These are the ones I...

 I came across this old article from TimeOut London. This has to be tried, definitely my cup of tea...  Ah the possibilities! It will probably horrify my wife... Oh well,for better or worse eh? CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE I just found pretty much the same & a whole lot more on the brilliant River Cottage website.   There's a recipe for Chorizo that only takes 1 week of hanging before you can use it.  Wow.  That I have to try!

No, really. Brought back from Sweden by my wife as a present. They will make an afternoon snack. Wild Man! They look a bit like peperami, so I might need a beer or two to wash them down. A bit later.... I tried them. They are like smokey peperami. They are not bad actually if you like skanky meat sometimes. I know I do.