Sausages are an everyday favorite that go back thousands of years, with almost every nation in the world inventing their own varieties over the centuries. One broader category of sausage is blood sausage, and while England and France's black puddings are somewhat well-known, Spain’s morcilla is also delicious and truly unique.

Morcilla is made with seasonings, onions, often ground pork, and most notably, pig’s blood, which gives it a dark purple hue. This sausage has a dense texture and rich flavor that varies by region: morcilla is very spicy in Valencia, it's smoked in Asturias, and links from central Spain contain no fillers, making for a creamier texture.

To make a very basic morcilla, several cups of fresh blood harvested after butchering a pig are combined with white rice, spices, and garlic, then funneled into casings made from pig intestine. The sausage is simmered, cured, then fried and served with bread and potatoes, added to stews, or made into stuffing for seafood like squid.