Morcilla on the grill: gentle heat, hardly any turning

Morcilla comes already cooked, so on the grill you're not cooking it: you're warming it. That changes everything — treat it like raw meat and it bursts, with half of it ending up in the fire.

Gentle heat and patience

Put it over a cool part of the fire (your hand lasts 7 or 8 seconds), ideally in a corner of the grill. 10 to 12 minutes is plenty. Over live embers the casing gives way in under two minutes.

Barely turn it

• One turn halfway through, always with tongs and from underneath, never squeezing.
• It's ready when the skin goes shiny and taut and starts to take on colour. Nothing more is needed.
• If it bursts, take it off straight away and serve it: it's still good, but it won't get any better.

How it's served

It comes off with the chorizo, in the first round of the asado, with bread. For anyone who's never tried it, the chorizo-morcilla pairing is the best introduction: one salty and firm, the other creamy and sweet.