Surprisingly, this sweet treat, and not the classic savory black pudding, is the very first blood-based dish I made, and it remains a favorite of mine. It is surprisingly complex and flavorful with a strong cinnamon hit.
The combination of apple and blood is nothing surprising, as blood sausage (boudin noir) is traditionally served with pan fried apples in France.
This particular recipe came from a poster on french-language forum (see link below) who presented it as their grandmother’s recipe. I experimented over the years and I am sharing both my take on the original and my “2.0 version”.
In both cases, it’s a very simple, cheap and easy recipe, that tastes absolutely wonderful. It can seem a little unappealing at first, but don’t let its looks discourage you, once you try a piece, you’ll want to have the whole plate.
This is the recipe (slightly ajusted) that the original poster shared for traditional pig’s blood apple fritters :
Ingredients (for 4)
- 4 apples (Goldens or Granny Smith), peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 dL (3.4 oz) of fresh pig’s blood
- 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp crème fraîche 35%, or full fat cream
- 50 gr (1/2 stick) butter (For frying)
- Salt, ground nutmeg and a mix of brown sugar and cinnamon to coat the fritters.
Method:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg and set aside.
- Stir and strain the fresh blood to make sure you do not have any clots.
- In a small bowl whisk the cream and blood together, add into dry ingredients and mix until you obtain a smooth batter.
- Toss the apple chunks with the cinnamon & sugar and dump the mixture into the batter.
- Melt butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat, place each generously battered piece of apple in the pan and fry over low heat until all the pieces turn a crispy brown/black and the apples inside feel tender.
Remove from the pan and drain briefly on paper towels. Toss with cinnamon sugar while still warm and serve immediately.
Notes :
I tried this recipe again recently with some differences and I’ve found it to be a lot more successful than the original. The fritters are puffier, hold much better in the pan, and retain a crispiness the original lacks a little bit. This is thanks to a thicker batter and the addition of baking powder and a little baking soda.
I recommend to coat the apple bits generously.
Ratios for the recipe 2.0’s batter : (for 4 apples)
- 1 dl (3.4 oz) of fresh pig’s blood
- 180 gr (1 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp crème fraîche 35%, or full fat cream
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
The batter should be smooth but relatively thick :
(in this particular instance, I decided to give the dried pig’s blood a try instead of the fresh blood. Note the brown color. Fresh blood whenever available, is always preferable, the difference is just massive, but these came out surprisingly well.)
The addition of vanilla sugar to the brown sugar and cinnamon mix really improves the recipe. If you cannot find it, adding a little vanilla essence to the batter might do the trick.
The fritters are done when the apples inside are nice and tender.
If you have any leftover batter, do not throw it away. Cook it like a pancake and enjoy it with a little jam (or on its own!), it’s lovely.
I generally use salted butter (from Normandy) for anything that requires being fried in a pan, and I firmly believe you should do the same.
Enjoy!
THE RED CELLAR 