Morcilla (pronounced mor•see•ya) is sausage using a pig’s intestine and filled with pig’s blood that is cooked or dried and mixed with a filler (rice, beef [or pork meat], onions, cilantro, chiles, garlic) until it is thick enough to solidify when cooled. Variants of the morcilla are found in all corners of the world, using sheep, duck, or goat blood instead, varying by country. Early version of the blood sausage can be traced to cave paintings at Narbone, Bordeaux and Rheims, France. The first known written mention of morcilla was as early as 800 BC when it appeared in Homer’s classic, The Odyssey. In book twenty, Homer wrote, “As when a man besides a great fire has filled a sausage with fat and blood and turns it this way and that and is very eager to get it quickly roasted…”
As former colonies of Spain, Puerto Rico, Cuba and other parts of the Caribbean base their version on the ‘morcilla de Burgos’. After the Spanish-American War, and the subsequent invasion of Puerto Rico by the United States, many Spanish, indigenous Taino, and African-inspired dishes became popular across the Eastern seaboard.
With its ripe black fruits, easy to drink, yet intense finish, we experience a bold synergy with Story Hill Merlot and the primordial morcilla dish. ¡Buen provecho!
