Morcela Portuguese Blood Sausage

Name: Morcela portugiesische Blutwurst
Total time: 3 h
Ingredients: 600 ml Schweineblut frisch; 20 g Salz; 4 g Zimt gemahlen; 2 g Gewürznelken gemahlen; 8 g Frische Minze fein gehackt; 200 g Gekochter Reis oder eingeweichtes Brot; 80 g Zwiebel fein gewürfelt und angeschwitzt

Curing MixPorkHot SmokingHard3-4 hrs75-78 °C90-110 °COak + Cherry

Morcela is the traditional Portuguese blood sausage, which differs significantly from other European blood sausages through its seasoning with cinnamon, cloves and fresh mint. It is a central product of the Portuguese Matança (home slaughter) and is typically smoked and then served fried or grilled. The combination of sweet spices and fresh herbs gives it a unique aromatic profile.

Ingredients(for 1 kg)

Fresh pork blood600 ml

Salt20 g

Ground cinnamon4 g

Ground cloves2 g

Fresh mint finely chopped8 g

Cooked rice or soaked bread200 g

Onion finely diced and sautéed80 g

Instructions

Preparing the blood mixture

20 min

Stir the fresh blood with salt and vinegar. Work in all spices, the sautéed onions, mint and cooked rice or bread and mix well until a homogeneous mixture is formed.

Stuffing and Poaching

30-40 min

Fill the blood mixture into pork casings (36-40 mm) and twist into sausages of 15-20 cm. Immediately poach in 75-80 °C hot water for 15-20 minutes until firm. Remove and drain.

Smoking

3-4 hours

Preheat the smoker to 90-110 °C and use oak and cherry wood chips. Hang the poached Morcelas and smoke for 3-4 hours until a deep mahogany brown color and an internal temperature of 75-78 °C is reached.

Pro Tip

Briefly poach the sausages in hot water (75-80 °C) before smoking until they are firm. This prevents the casing from bursting during smoking and the sausage retains its shape.

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