Cinder & Sorrel
The larder
offal

Black Pudding

Breakfast's darkest, most delicious secret.

Blood, oats, fat, spice, and a sausage skin. The best Scottish black puddings (Stornoway PGI) are cook-book heirlooms; the worst supermarket ones are compressed sadness. Buy well and you have a Sunday breakfast fixed.

In season: springsummerautumnwinter
Photograph on its way

Where to find it

A butcher who tells you where they got it. Stornoway is the benchmark.

Pairs with

ScallopsAppleEgg yolksSourdoughMustardBacon

How to pick it

  • Coarsely-textured slices with visible oats
  • Deep matte colour, never shiny
  • Firm and dry, not weeping

How to treat it

  • Slice 1cm thick, dry-fry in a hot pan
  • Crisp on both sides — never simmered
  • Pair with fatty fish (scallops love it) or the classic full breakfast
Watch out
  • – Reheating destroys texture — cook once, eat
  • – Very rich — a small slice is plenty
  • – Contains gluten (the oats)
Cook it: recipes with black pudding
main · autumn

Pork Belly, Black Pudding & Quince — A Buckinghamshire Autumn Plate