Slátur (slaughter), traditional Icelandic food, is prepared every September to October during the peak of the sheep slaughtering season. There are two main types of slátur, blóðmör or blood pudding and lifrapylsa or liver pudding. The first is similar to British black pudding and the latter similar to haggis, though both without the spices and much smoother in texture. We both like the Scottish versions of slátur and Óli likes some Icelandic versions so we thought we´d have a go.. the plan was to make 4 things .. Scottish black pudding and haggis and Icelandic blóðmör and lifrapylsa. We only go as far as part 1, Scottish black pudding..Ingredients: sheep's blood, sheep's fat (chopped), chopped onions, oatmeal, herbs and spices (nutmeg, cayenne pepper, thyme, pepper, salt), full fat milk, sausage skins, strong stomach (your own)
Method: Step one, ask your friendly chef-turned-meat-factory-worker friend for some plastic sausage skins. Then, take a trip to your local supermarket where they have an angelic and helpful slátur adviser to guide you through your options. Leave the sheep´s heads alone and head for the bottles of fresh (or frozen) blood and chopped sheep fat. Try not to think too hard about what you are buying. Grab one carton of full cream milk and some onions. Take your goodies home. Dig out the precious bag of Alford oatmeal and raid the cupboards for lots of spices. Put on the biggest apron you have. Chop that fat some more and your onions too. Pour the thick gooey blood into a big, hopefully but ultimately of course not splash-proof, bowl. Stir. Keep thinking about spring flowers or other non-morbid topics. Add fat, chopped onions, oatmeal, milk and spices. Put aside camera which is getting cover in splashes of yuck. Construct a sausage filling contraption from the largest funnel you have. Fill sausages and spill goo all over yourself and the floor. Sit on floor tying string at regular intervals along probably the world longest bag of bloody goo. Place wobbly, smelly sausage cases in oven with some water. Poach for 3 hours. Put in freezer to hide because experience was so messy and smelly and yucky. Take one sample black pudding out of freezer some weeks later when feeling brave and dreaming of the famous full Scottish breakfast. Slice black pudding, look disappointed at distribution of onions and oatmeal, fry and discard. Enjoy untainted bacon, eggs and beans.
Lesson learnt: For a good recipe, try elsewhere. Resolve to buy local specialities at Melabuðin and import Stornoway black pudding in future.
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