Chef Isabel
Androlla Gallega con Cachelos y Grelos
Androlla is Galician winter food from the eastern mountains: smoked pork rib and skin, cured with pimentón, boiled slowly until tender, then served with cachelos and greens.
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Morcilla de Burgos
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Morcilla de Burgos belongs to Castile and Leon: blood sausage bound with rice and horcal onion, sliced thick and fried hot so the rice browns at the edge and the middle stays tender.
Appetizers & Snacks
Spanish
Comfort Food
Weeknight
Budget Friendly
5 min
Active Time
10 min cook•15 min total
Yield4 servings
Morcilla de Burgos is Castilian, from Burgos, and the rice is what gives it its name at the table. Not every morcilla is this one. This one is pig's blood, rice, onion, lard, and spice, cooked in a casing, then sliced into thick coins and fried until the rice at the edge goes brown and crisp.
The method that decides it is the pan. Hot oil, thick slices, and no fussing. If the pan is timid, the morcilla slumps and leaks before it browns. If the oil is properly hot, the casing tightens, the rice toasts, and the center stays soft. Leave each slice alone until it has a crust, then turn it once.
If you can't find Morcilla de Burgos, look first for morcilla de arroz, rice blood sausage, from another Castilian or northern Spanish maker. It will get you close, though it may have less onion sweetness. Black pudding is a last resort; it feeds you, yes, but oats and barley make a different sausage. Slice it thicker and fry it gently. No hace falta haber pisado Espana, but the rice matters here.
Serve it hot, with bread and perhaps roasted red peppers if you have them. That's enough. Pésalo, no lo adivines, when you're portioning, and don't crowd the pan. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Morcilla de Burgos belongs to the province of Burgos in Castile and Leon, where the household pig slaughter, the matanza, filled the winter larder with cured pork, sausages, and blood puddings. Its mark is rice and horcal onion, a local onion prized for sweetness and high water content, which keeps the filling soft rather than dry. The dish is eaten simply, fried, roasted, or tucked into stews, but the sliced and fried coin is the way many Burgos tables know it best.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Morcilla de Burgos
Quantity
400g
cut into 2cm thick coins
olive oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons
roasted red peppers (optional)
Quantity
200g
drained and cut into strips
rustic bread
Quantity
150g
sliced
flaky salt (optional)
Quantity
only if needed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Morcilla de Burgoscut into 2cm thick coins | 400g |
| olive oil | 2 tablespoons |
| roasted red peppers (optional)drained and cut into strips | 200g |
| rustic breadsliced | 150g |
| flaky salt (optional) | only if needed |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy frying pan, 24 to 28cm
- •Sharp knife
- •Thin spatula
Instructions
- 1
Slice Thick
Cut the morcilla into 2cm thick coins with a sharp knife. Keep the casing on; it helps each slice hold together in the pan. If the sausage is very soft, chill it for 20 minutes first so the cuts come clean.
- 2
Heat The Pan
Set a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil shines and moves easily across the pan, it is ready. The pan must be hot before the morcilla goes in, because browning first is what keeps the rice sausage from collapsing.
- 3
Fry Without Crowding
Lay the morcilla coins in one layer, leaving space between them. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes without moving them, until the underside is dark brown at the edges and the rice has toasted. Turn each slice once with a thin spatula and fry the second side for another 2 minutes.
If the pan spits, lower the heat a little. If the slices pale and leak, raise it. You want confident browning, not a slow stew in its own fat. - 4
Warm The Peppers
If serving roasted peppers, add them to the side of the pan for the final minute, just to gloss them in the oil. Do not bury the morcilla under them; the crust you made is the point.
- 5
Serve Hot
Move the morcilla to a warm plate and serve at once with the peppers and sliced bread. Taste before salting; most morcilla is seasoned already. The outside should be browned and a little crisp, the center soft, dark, and rich.
Chef Tips
- •Buy Morcilla de Burgos if you can, or another morcilla de arroz, rice blood sausage. A morcilla with onion and rice gives the right soft center and toasted edge.
- •Do not slice it thin. Thin slices burst and dry before the rice browns. Two centimeters is not decoration; it is the difference between a crisp edge and a broken sausage.
- •Serve it straight from the pan. Morcilla waits badly, because the crust softens as it sits. Bread is not optional in my house; you need it for the dark oil left on the plate.
Advance Preparation
- •Slice the morcilla up to 2 hours ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator, then fry it cold from the fridge so it holds its shape.
- •Roasted peppers can be drained and cut earlier in the day. Warm them only at the end so they do not wet the morcilla crust.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 185g)
Calories
510 calories
Total Fat
36 g
Saturated Fat
10 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
23 g
Cholesterol
80 mg
Sodium
1170 mg
Total Carbohydrates
31 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
17 g
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