An American home cook who recently sampled his first full English breakfast has left viewers gobsmacked after crafting a beloved British staple completely from scratch. Jeffrey Troutman is a cook “on a mission” to learn more about British cuisine, tackling “one recipe at a time” while documenting his culinary adventures on his YouTube channel, DetailDisoriented.
In a recent episode (January 1), Jeffrey set his sights on the legendary hangover cure and resolved to prepare one himself, earning praise from impressed viewers in the comments section. Consulting his recipe book, the curious cook discovered that the “composition” of the full English is a “contentious issue”, with ingredients varying depending on which corner of Britain you find yourself in.
Choosing to keep things “fairly basic” for his inaugural attempt, Jeffrey selected Irish sausages, bacon, Canadian heirloom tomatoes, baby bella mushrooms, eggs, and Heinz beans.
However, one essential component appeared to be absent: black pudding. Jeffrey disclosed that his cookbook contained a recipe for this particular delicacy, so he would courageously prepare it himself, leaving commenters astounded.
Upon reading his recipe, Jeffrey discovered that these “earthy, well-spiced blood puddings” are typically crafted from oats combined with the blood and fat of animals, usually pigs though occasionally cattle.
He then commenced assembling his ingredients in a mixing bowl: 600g of pork or beef fat, 250g of crushed oats, 225g of diced onions, 12g of salt, 12g of pepper, and most importantly, 250g of fresh pig’s blood.
Jeffrey revealed that he purchased the blood from a Vietnamese supermarket, but upon adding it to his bowl, he noticed it had a “gelatinous” texture, prompting him to reach for an electric whisk to complete the task.
In a gory detail, he pointed out that he’d shot drops of blood onto his recipe book, but, satisfied that he’d got the mixture as “good as I’m going to get it”, Jeffrey added it to a loaf pan he was using as his terrine mould.
He positioned the black pudding in a roasting tray, wrapped it with foil, poured boiling water into the larger pan, and sealed the top of the roasting tray with foil.
Jeffrey clarified that once removed from the oven, the black pudding would be chilled overnight before use. Moving to the next day, Jeffrey put together his breakfast, which also featured toast and PG Tips tea.
As he tried his black pudding, Jeffrey remarked: “It’s tasty. It’s very rich; (it) doesn’t taste iron-y at all. It doesn’t have that metallic thing that I was worried about. Sort of a toasted, oat-y, onion-y flavour. Almost like a meat loaf, an American meat loaf, but I definitely like it.”
Sharing his assessment of the entire breakfast, Jeffrey awarded it 9 out of 10, calling it an “amazing idea” and a “big, hearty breakfast”, though he rated the black pudding itself 7 out of 10.
His culinary prowess caught the eye of viewers, with one declaring: “Home-made black pudding – that’s real dedication to the cause. Sterling work. Give that man a medal.”
Another chimed in: “Every Brit just a little bit in awe of you making your own Black Pudding.”
A third person enthused: “Making your own black pudding from scratch is a hell of a thing to do! Well done, that looked like a properly good breakfast.”
