Buzkantzak (Basque Blood Sausages)

This Basque recipe comes from Traditional Basque Cooking - History and Preparation, By José María Busca Isusi (1987), which is available here, from Amazon):

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José María Busca Isusi wrote: As there are now few houses which slaughter a whole lamb (bildots), I have changed to familiar and common measurements the old recipes that depended on approximations according to the size of the animal. In the first place, it must be assured that the animal is young and grain-fed. The two-year-old castrated male, considerably fattened, is ideal. Besides having fat and blood of first quality, it also provides us with high-quality meat for other preparations. The young sterile lambs are also excellent. Here is an excellent old recipe.

13 pounds (6 kg) onions, not sweet
18 large leeks, white part only
4.5 lbs (2kg) fat from the kidney and peritoneum, or lard
2.5 quarts (2.5 kg) uncoagulated blood
6 hot red peppers, very finely chopped
1 ounce (1 papeleta) dried, ground clove
1 ounce (1 papeleta) dried, ground anise
3 ounce (3 papeletas) ground black pepper
3 ounce (3 papeletas) dried, ground oregano
1 ounce (1 papeleta) ground cinnamon
Salt to taste

Note: Papeleta refers to the usual minimum quantity of each spice that is sold commercially in the Basque Country. Wrapped in small paper, it is equivalent to about 1 ounce (30 g).

Chop the onions and leeks very finely and cook slowly for about 10 hours in lard or a little fat from the animal. As the mixture begins heating, the onions and leeks will release the natural vegetable juices in which they will continue cooking. If the temperature is raised significantly, the abundant sugars in the onion can carmelise and even burn, something which should be avoided at all costs. After this cooking, the mixture should be like a thick purée of a creamy brown colour.

Chop the remaining fat very finely and place in a separate container. Mix in the blood, completely integrating the two ingredients. Then mix in the purée of onions and leeks. It is advantageous to combine these mixtures in a clay receptacle surrounded by lukewarm water; otherwise, the fat remains hardened and mixes badly.

Add the chopped peppers and spices and mix again to distribute uniformly. Stuff this mixture into cleansed intestines and stomach (or sausage casings) and scald until the mixture is well coagulated.

Prepare a broth with leeks and a little fresh fat and cook the sausages for 30 minutes at a slow boil (with the broth left from the cooking of the sausages, it is the custom to prepare soup accompanied by slices of bread.

Buzkantzak (also called odolkiak) can be simply boiled before being eaten. They can be baked or fried and are also excellent when cooked in cabbage or with beans.

Because these sausages are very fatty and strong tasting, they should not be eaten accompanied by water or weak wines. In the Rioja region - as much in Alava as in Castilla and Navarra - there are red wines that go wonderfully well with these blood sausages.

Tas. Wow. awesome research on lamb sausage ! The Basques have many festivals in tiny shepherds villages ! The Basque People know how to utilize their lands And the Sea.

Note - The quantity of lamb required is missing.

Tas,