A pale Irish breakfast sausage of pork, oatmeal, fat and spices, made like black pudding but without any blood. Sliced and fried to a crisp edge for the morning fry.
White pudding has anchored the Irish breakfast for centuries as the gentler sibling of black pudding — same oatmeal, pork and spice, but no blood, giving it an oatmeal-beige color and a milder, nuttier taste. In a thrifty farmhouse tradition it stretched precious pork through cheap oats and was packed into casings after the autumn pig-killing. Clonakilty in County Cork built a national reputation on its puddings.
Crisp at the fried edge and soft within, it's savory and peppery with the gentle, toasty chew of oatmeal rather than the iron tang of black pudding. The pork fat keeps it rich and almost creamy on the tongue. It's mild, comforting, and made for sopping up a fried egg.
Pre-cooking the oats lets them absorb fat and stock so the pudding stays moist and binds without blood as a coagulant. Gentle poaching sets the proteins evenly without bursting the casing, and frying later crisps the cut faces.
Variations
Clonakilty-style, Sligo white pudding, with or without onion, made in a loaf vs traditional casings, served sliced in a full Irish or crumbled into stuffings
On the Palate
Where White Pudding Irish sits in the Irish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
8 steps · 30 min
- 115 min
Simmer oatmeal or pinhead oats in stock or milk until softened, then cool.
Watch outCook the oats in stock until softened and swollen — they absorb the fat and bind the pudding without blood, so undercooked oats leave it crumbly.
- 210 min
Mince or finely chop pork and pork fat and combine with the oats.
- 33 min
Season generously with white pepper, salt, mace and a little allspice.
- 44 min
Mix in finely diced onion until the mixture is well bound.
- 58 min
Pack the mixture into casings and tie into links, or press into a loaf tin.
- 620 min
Poach the puddings gently in barely simmering water until set, about 20 minutes.
Watch outPoach in barely simmering water, never a rolling boil — gentle heat sets the proteins evenly, but a hard boil bursts the casing.
- 730 min
Cool completely, then slice into thick rounds.
- 88 min
Fry the slices in butter or dripping until crisp and golden on both sides.
Watch outFry the slices until crisp and golden on both sides — the crust on the cut faces is the payoff after all that gentle poaching.
