Black Pudding in the USA?

I had the opposite problem when I lived in the UK. I was craving a Pennsylvania product called scrapple, which was totally unavailable there. However, I discovered that black pudding tasted quite similar.

If you're in Pennsylvania or one of the surrounding states, scrapple can be bought in the grocery store. If not, it can be ordered here:

http://www.kunzler.com/

Slice it and fry it in oil or fat until crisp.

1lt (1¾ pints) Blood (Pig, Lamb or Goose)

340g (12oz) Shredded Suet

300ml (½ pint) Milk

50g (2oz) Oatmeal

3 Medium Onions, chopped

1 tbsp Salt

½ tsp Mixed Herbs

½ tsp Cayenne Pepper

Pinch Nutmeg

Pre-heat oven to 160°C: 300°F: Gas 2.

Mix all of the ingredients together thoroughly, making sure that the seasonings are evenly distributed.

Next fill the large sausage cases, see: Sausage Making Basics for advice on doing so.

Place into an ovenproof dish with a cover, standing in a larger dish half filled with water.

Bake for 1½ hours.

Allow to cool.

OR TRY...

Black Pudding

Yield: 8 Servings

1 lb Pig's liver

1 1/2 lb Unrendered lard, chopped

120 fl Pig's blood

2 lb Breadcrumbs

4 oz Oatmeal

1 Medium onion, chopped

1 ts Salt

1/2 ts Allspice

1 Beef casings

Servings: 8

(Always served with an Irish "fry". The preparation of this pudding may be

impracticalthese days due to the difficulty of procuring fresh pig's blood

and casings.) . Stew liver in boiling salted water until tender. Remove

liver, and mince. Reserve cooking liquor. Mix all ingredients in large

bowl. Stir thoroughly until blended. Fill casings with mixture. Tie off in

one-foot loops. Steam for 4-5 hours. Leave until cold. Cut into 1/2 inch

slices as required and fry in hot fat on both sides until crisped.

You'll be able to find similar products in various areas of the US. In Dutch immigrant areas it'll be called Bloedworst, in German areas Blutwurst, in Creole or Cajun areas you'll need to ask for Boudin Noir and in Hispanic areas you could try Morcilla. Also anything generally labelled as Blood sausage will be equivalent.

Unfortunately all these variants will be slightly differently spiced to UK Black Pudding and may not be suitable for what you are cooking ( for example Morcilla is heavily spiced with paprika ).