As a Pest dweller, my experience with peasant sausage was limited to the generosity of friends and relatives in the country. I don't know what was more exciting receiving a fresh box of disznótoros in winter or having a plate of dry kolbász brought up from the cellar during one of my summer visits. City folk lacked the knowhow of sausage making, something that was passed on to sons from their fathers. Access to equipment and storage was also a problem. During one of our visits to Hungary I once asked a cousin for his sausage recipe. Jenő was an architect, but he grew up in Siklós and made amazing sausage. What he could tell me was more of a method; the feel for the amount of ingredients he could not transcribe into a recipe.
Once a friend from Calgary brought us a box of Hungarian sausage that was strangely reminiscent of Jenő's sausage and I asked him to get the recipe for me. Imagine my surprise when he got the recipe from the generous butcher. . .
This sausage is not for the faint of heart or without sausage making equipment. But the taste of this sausage is excitingly reminiscent of Hungarian ‘házi kolbász’. Joe, our in-law makes Italian sausage. It is pretty good, but not as good as the Hungarian. I keep on dreaming that one of these days I will invest in a sausage making equipment…
Check out the recipe I made from only 500g of ground pork without casings and sausage making equipment following this same recipe here: Hungarian Homemade Sausage Roasted
HOMEMADE HUNGARIAN SAUSAGE
10 kg or [22 lb] pork meat combined with fat from the belly of a pig
[190 g] or [1/2 cup + 7 tsp] table salt
[20 g] or [3 Tbsp] black pepper, ground
[120 g] or [1 cup] sweet Hungarian paprika
[60 g] or [scant 1/2 cup] garlic, minced
[10 g] or [1 + 1/2 Tbsp] caraway seeds, ground
[20 g] or [1 + 1/2 Tbsp] sugar
[20 g] or [3 Tbsp] hot Hungarian paprika
Equipment needed:
Krups 402-70 The Butcher Shop Meat Grinder
medium hog casings
smoker
• Cut the meat and the fat into chunks.
• Place all ingredients in a large container and mix thoroughly.
• Cold meat grinds more easily, so keep the meat refrigerated until ready to grind.
• Put the seasoned meat through the meat grinder.
• Add 2 litres of pleasantly warm water. (The water will evaporate during smoking)
• Combine water-spice mixture with meat until thoroughly incorporated.
• Remove casings from refrigerator and knot one end.
• Lightly coat the stuffing funnel with cooking spray.
• Slip the other end of the casing over the mouth of the funnel.
• Continue to push remainder of casing up onto funnel until you have reached the knot.
• Begin to force the meat into the casing with one hand while using the other hand to control the thickness of the sausage as it is extruded.
• Remember, the sausage will shrink when it cooks, so you want a nice plump sausage. But be careful you don't overstuff or the casing will burst.
• Keep extruding until the casing is used up. Tie a knot in that end. You can either leave the sausage in a large coil or twist it at 6-inch intervals to make links.
• Rest the sausage refrigerated and covered up at least for overnight or up to two days before smoking.
• Smoke the sausage until the color turns to a nice red.
