Pan-Fried Clonakilty Black Pudding Recipe with Bramley Apple Sauce
There are few ingredients more deeply woven into the fabric of Irish food culture than black pudding, and nowhere produces it quite like Clonakilty. This small market town on the Wild Atlantic Way in West Cork has been home to Clonakilty Black Pudding since 1880, when Johanna O’Brien, a farmer’s wife from nearby Sam’s Cross, began supplying her black pudding to Phillip Harrington’s butcher shop in the town. The recipe — a closely guarded secret to this day — was handed down through the Harrington family for a century before butcher Edward Twomey bought the shop in 1976 and inherited it. It uses a blend of oatmeal, beef suet, onions, and fresh blood, seasoned with a distinctive spice mix that gives Clonakilty pudding its unmistakable deep, earthy warmth. It remains one of Ireland’s most celebrated and exported artisan food products.
Black pudding has long been a cornerstone of the full Irish breakfast, but in West Cork it has always been treated with a certain extra reverence. Locals will tell you there is simply no substitute, and visitors who pick up a ring from a butcher’s counter in Clonakilty itself often describe it as a revelation — softer, more crumbly, and more richly spiced than anything they have tried before. It is the kind of food that tells you exactly where you are in the world.
Pairing it with a sharp Bramley apple sauce is a thoroughly traditional idea, rooted in the old instinct of Irish cooks to balance rich, iron-heavy pudding with the bright acidity of autumn apples. Bramley apples grow well across Ireland, and their tartness cuts through the fat of the pudding beautifully. This simple dish — pan-fried slices of pudding alongside a quick, no-fuss apple sauce — works as a generous starter, a light lunch, or a memorable weekend breakfast. It asks very little of you and gives a great deal back.
Ingredients
- 400g (14oz) Clonakilty Black Pudding, cut into slices roughly 1.5cm (½ inch) thick
- 1 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- A small knob of butter (approximately 15g / ½oz) for the pan
- 2 large Bramley apples (approximately 600g / 1lb 5oz total), peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp caster sugar, or to taste
- 2 tbsp water
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional but recommended)
- A squeeze of lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper, to season
- Crusty soda bread or sourdough, to serve
Method
- Begin with the apple sauce, as it can sit happily while you cook the pudding. Place the chopped Bramley apples in a small saucepan with the water, caster sugar, and cinnamon if using. Set over a medium-low heat and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 10–12 minutes until the apples have completely broken down into a soft, fluffy purée. Taste and adjust the sugar — Bramleys vary in sharpness, so you may want a little more or less. Stir in a squeeze of lemon juice to keep the flavour bright. Remove from the heat and set aside. The sauce can be served warm or at room temperature.
- Take the black pudding slices out of the fridge about 10 minutes before cooking so they are not fridge-cold when they hit the pan. This helps them cook evenly without the outside hardening before the centre warms through.
- Heat a large, heavy-based frying pan — cast iron is ideal — over a medium heat. Add the oil and allow it to come up to temperature. Add the knob of butter and swirl to combine; it should foam gently but not brown immediately.
- Lay the pudding slices into the pan in a single layer, leaving a little space between each one. Do not crowd the pan; cook in two batches if necessary. Fry for 3–4 minutes on the first side without moving them, so they develop a good crust that is firm and slightly caramelised at the edges.
- Turn each slice carefully using a spatula — black pudding is crumbly and benefits from a confident, gentle flip rather than repeated prodding. Fry for a further 2–3 minutes on the second side until cooked through and hot in the centre. Season with a little freshly ground black pepper.
- Remove the pudding slices from the pan and rest briefly on a warm plate for a minute. Serve immediately alongside a generous spoonful of the warm Bramley apple sauce and thick slices of soda bread or sourdough to mop up the juices.
Tips
- Clonakilty Black Pudding is available in many Irish supermarkets and good butchers across Ireland; it is also widely available online and in Irish food shops in the UK.
- Do not slice the pudding too thinly — anything under 1cm risks crumbling and drying out in the pan. A generous slice holds its shape and gives you that lovely contrast of crust and soft centre.
- The apple sauce keeps well in the fridge for up to three days and works equally well alongside pork chops or stirred through porridge.
- If you prefer a smoother sauce, pass it through a sieve or give it a brief blend; for a more rustic texture, simply mash it lightly with a fork.
- A dry West Cork cider alongside this dish is entirely in the spirit of the place and the season.
There is something quietly wonderful about a dish this honest — two ingredients, centuries of tradition between them, and a result that feels far greater than the sum of its parts. Whether you are eating it in a farmhouse kitchen in West Cork with rain against the window, or recreating a little of that magic at home, Clonakilty Black Pudding with Bramley apple sauce is the kind of food that reminds you why simple things, done properly, are so often the best things of all.
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