Grilled mussels with black pudding and cheesy breadcrumb topping, crispy and super flavoursome. Mussels and black pudding are a very well-matched pair.
All about blood
Black pudding, haggis, boudin noir, blutwurst, morcilla, blodpudding, kaszanka and pig blood curd – are you a fan of blood sausages? I certainly am, not least for the nose to tail principle, the ‘waste not want not’ frugality and the respect to the animal we butcher and eat, like the Native North Americans.
Blood sausage is made from blood mixed with fillers, more often than not cereal of some kind, less often chopped up offal, encased into a length of gut.
It’s the Game of Thrones of the meat world, everything about it offensive to the lily-livered carnivores who happily bite into battery chicken but huff about Bambies when offered sustainable and more humane venison.
Black pudding is gorgeous
Luckily for the pudding and the nose to tail concept, most people don’t think about what black pudding really is when they tuck into their full English. Arguably it has a higher meat content than an average English sausage, the latter containing mainly breadcrumbs and sage.
But pudding is also well suited to a main course, perhaps not as a main hero but in a strong supporting role. I always cheer when I spot it on a menu though it tends to be paired with pork which I don’t usually go for when eating out. Pork is boring.
Mussels and black pudding are a match made in heaven. The bivalves are delicate and tender, the pudding is gutsy and macho: a very old fashioned binary, gender specific identity of both partners.
This recipe will be perfect to make a smart starter for a dinner party, but make sure your guests are happy eating either element: this dish consists of the two foodstuffs the Weather Man staunchly refuses to try!
How to clean mussels
Undeniably, cleaning mussels is not a pleasant chore. I believe the lowest of the kitchen brigade, commis or porters are usually lumbered with that thankless task in restaurants.
But at home we’re not required to clean 50 kilos of the molluscs so it should be considerably less daunting. And mussels are cheap enough to justify a bit of work involved in preparation.
First of all, dump the mussels brutally into the sink from the bag. The ones that were half-intending to open will be jolted into closing shut, while the ones that refuse to close, even rapped against the sink, should go.
Debearding, and what about barnacles?
The rope-like tufts sticking out of the shells are called beards and they need to be either trimmed with sharp kitchen scissors or pulled off with the help of a small knife.
The same knife can be used to scrape off barnacles which, though harmless, might be unsightly on a plate.
How to cook mussels
This must be the simplest cooking operation: you just put the mussels into a large pan, cover with a lid and heat up until they all open. Obviously, discard the ones that won’t.
How to prepare the black pudding topping
Black pudding slices, fresh or dried breadcrumbs, grated hard cheese and some chopped herbs – that’s a beautiful flavour combination.
You can mix it in a food processor or a blender, but if you chop the pudding quite finely you can just blend it all in a bowl with a spoon.
Grilled mussels in five minutes
Use a large tray that will fit into your oven grill and arrange the mussels in their half-shells in it, pretty close together so the topping is easier to place over them. Spoon it over the shells and slip the tray under the grill.
The mussels are already cooked of course so it’s just the case of cooking the black pudding and crispening the cheese and breadcrumbs. It should take not much longer than five minutes, depending how crispy you like it.
And it’s a wonderful starter or a lunch dish, served with bread on the side and a green salad.
More mussel recipes
Curried mussels spiced with chilli powder, cumin and turmeric, vibrant in colour with saffron, cooked in light creamy sauce. Option to substitute curry powder for my spice mix.
Mussels in white wine and cream sauce, or moules mariniere, the simplest and best recipe for mussels. Clean the mussels and debeard them, then they only need to steam in the white wine sauce.
More seafood recipes
Scallop, aubergine and asparagus stir fry, with frozen queen scallops and 'fish fragrant', yu xiang inspired sauce. This is just the dish to use less expensive, frozen and thawed scallops.
Prawn Creole for two served with plain rice is my signature special main dish these days. Easy sauce base and roux, and homemade Creole seasoning recipe included.
Crab salad with spring onions and radishes, served in lettuce leaf boats garnished with avocado slices. That's an elegant starter or a tasty sandwich filling.