Common
Black Puddings
Before
your hog is killed provide yourself with a quantity of oatmeal
grits, proportioned to the number of puddings you intend to
make; and, having boiled your grits for half an hour, put them
into a clean pan or tub.
When
the hog is killed, save a quantity of the blood, which you must
keep stirring till it is quite cold that it may not congeal,
then pour the blood to the grits, and stir them together till
they are well mixed.
Season
with salt, cloves, mace and nutmeg, of the three last an equal
quantity. Dry it, beat it well, and mix in.
Take
a little winter savoury, sweet marjoram and thyme, penny-royal
stripped of the stalks and chopped very fine; just enough to
season them, and to give them a flavour, but no more.
The
next day, take a leaf of the hog and cut it into dice, scrape
and wash the guts very clean, then tie one end, and begin to
fill them.
Mix
in the fat as you fill them, be sure to put in a good deal of
fat, fill the skin three parts full, tie the other end, and
make the puddings what length you please.
Prick
them with a pin, and put them into a kettle of boiling water.
Boil them very softly an hour; then take them out, and lay them
on clean straw to dry.
[A
caution from the Garden History Crew: penny-royal has been known
to cause miscarriage and it might be best not to toss this one
in.]
from
The
Farmer's Wife
or, the Complete Country Housewife
London, c. 1780
