“Bleeding Hearts” (Halloween)

Want something really creepy and scary for your Halloween party? Seen all the meat heads and feet loafs and want something completely new? Then look no further! These “bleeding hearts” will surely provide entertainment to your guests not to mention that they taste great as well! Feel free to season these scary-looking sausages with your favorite spices.

Read below how my innocent idea turned into creepy Halloween food!

 

 

 

“Bleeding Hearts” 14 oz = 400 g ground, fatty grass-fed pork OR turkey 2 teaspoons organic barbecue seasoning (salt-free blend) 2 teaspoons organic gluten-free soy sauce 1/3 cup = 80 ml finely grated organic beetroot 1/3 cup = 80 ml full-fat sour cream without food additives   Directions Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until well mixed. Don’t mix too long as the sausages might become too dry. Press the dough into heart-shaped silicone molds. Bake in the preheated oven for 25–30 minutes, or until done. Don’t bake too long, as the sausages become too dry and there is no “blood” anymore floating in the center. Serve hot.

 

 

Nutrition information	Protein	Fat	Net carbs	kcal
In total:	84.4 g	42.5 g	10.8 g	763 kcal
Per sausage if 2 sausages in total:	42.2 g	21.2 g	5.4 g	382 kcal
Per sausage if 4 sausages in total:	21.1 g	10.6 g	2.7 g	191 kcal
Per sausage if 6 sausages in total:	14.1 g	7.1 g	1.8 g	127 kcal
Per sausage if 8 sausages in total:	10.6 g	5.3 g	1.4 g	95 kcal
Per sausage if 12 sausages in total:	7.0 g	3.5 g	0.9 g	64 kcal
Per sausage if 16 sausages in total:	5.3 g	2.7 g	0.7 g	48 kcal
Per sausage if 20 sausages in total:	4.2 g	2.1 g	0.5 g	38 kcal

(Minced pork used in the calculations.)
 

 

 

Tips for making the “Bleeding Hearts”

Without further ado, here is a short video how to prepare these ghoulish goodies:

 

 

 

My “Bleeding Hearts” experiments

Actually, the first experiment I ever made with these hearts couldn’t have been more innocent. It had nothing to do with Halloween or being creepy-looking — at least on purpose. It all started last spring when I wanted to develop lovely, pink breakfast sausages for Mother’s Day. I had a basic breakfast sausage recipe, which I wanted to use as base for a lovely dish. I insisted in coloring the sausages pink. I thought beetroot would give great, natural pinkish hue.

To make the breakfast sausages even more sweet-looking, I wanted to make them heart-shaped. That sounded a very lovely idea: pink, heart-shaped breakfast sausages for Mother’s Day to make the mom happy and satisfied.

So, I grated some beetroot and combined it with minced pork meat, organic poultry seasoning, salt and Greek yogurt. I pressed the dough into heart-shaped silicone molds and baked them in the oven.

When I took the sausages from the oven I was completely shocked! In the center of each sausage was a puddle of red, blood-reminding fluid! This was absolutely not what I was aiming at. I was quite disappointed that my innocent idea has turned into a gross-looking, dreadful output.

However, I was disappointed just a few seconds: these sickening sausages would be absolutely perfect for Halloween! You must already know how I’m hooked on Halloween, so I was actually very thrilled that I found a great, new idea for my low-carb Halloween party. And after all, serving sausages for mom on her special day sounded a bit too inappropriate.

I still did some fine-tuning and tried out different seasonings. After adding gluten-free soy sauce the color of the “blood” was perfect. Without it, the color was slightly too pink. I also gave up poultry seasoning — even I liked it and it went really well with the sausages — and used barbecue seasoning instead.

I also switched to sour cream because it has less carbs than Greek yogurt. I didn’t realize any difference in the taste, anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

Tips for variation

In case you are not used to the taste of beetroot, it might be a good idea to use spices and seasonings to mask the flavor. Even there is not too much beetroot flavor in these sausages, those who are not used to the flavor of beetroot might find it slightly disturbing. The meat, beetroot and sour cream are the essential parts of these sausages, but feel free to use your favorite spices. Hot and fiery spices are also perfect.

Instead of barbecue seasoning and soy sauce, I tried these sausages with a combination of 1 teaspoon organic poultry seasoning and 1 teaspoon organic onion powder, those worked great as well. Just remember to add unrefined sea salt to taste if you don’t use soy sauce. Also without the soy sauce the color is a bit pink, with soy sauce the color is just exactly like that of blood.

Instead of sour cream, you can use crème fraîche or Greek yogurt. In case you are after dairy-free sausages, you can experiment with different coconut or soya based products.

You can naturally shape the whole dough into one big heart-shaped loaf. Just remember to make the well in the middle for the “blood” to pool there, again, just like you would be making pie crust. If you make one big heart-shaped loaf, adjust the baking time accordingly.

Have a Happy Halloween!