And what's the right way to start any day? Why, with a delicious breakfast of course! This St. Patrick's Day, why not start the day with a traditional full Irish Breakfast. Gemma Stafford, who runs the website BiggerBolderBaking.com (and wrote a cookbook bearing the same name) stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about what's in a real first meal from the Emerald Isle. She says it includes pork sausages, bacon, Black and White Pudding (made from the sausages, recipe below) beans, a fried egg and potato farro. It's a bracing, filling and soaking breakfast for any St. Patrick's Day activity you might indulge in.
- 4 cups fresh pig's blood
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cups steel-cut (pinhead) oatmeal
- 2 cups finely diced pork fat (or beef suet), finely chopped
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 Preheat the oven to 325°F and grease 2 glass loaf pans. (If you don't have glass loaf pans, line metal loaf pans with parchment to keep the blood sausage from reacting with the metal and creating an off-flavor.) Stir 1 teaspoon of salt into the blood.
- 2 Bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil and stir in the oats. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, until just tender, not mushy.
- 3 Pour the blood through a fine sieve into a large bowl to remove any lumps. Stir in the fat, onion, milk, pepper, allspice and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Add the oatmeal and mix to combine. Divide the mixture between the loaf pans, cover with foil, and bake for 1 hour, until firm. Cool completely. Seal in plastic wrap and wither freeze for extended use or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- 4 To serve, cut a slice about 1/2-inch thick off the loaf. Fry in butter or oil until the edges are slightly crisped and browned.
