Traditional Hungarian Sausage

Traditional homemade Hungarian sausage hanging on a smoker dowel.

Traditional Hungarian Sausage

Course: dinner, lunch, Sausage

Cuisine: European, Hungarian

Keyword: hungarian sausage, kolbász

Prep Time: 3

Cook Time: 4

Curing/resting time: 1 16

Total Time: 1 23

Servings:

Calories: 386kcal

Author: Victor

Print Recipe

US Customary - Metric

Ingredients

4 1/2 lbs pork butt
1/2 lb back fat or pork belly
1 3/4 Tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp Cure #1 level
2 1/2 tsp black pepper
6 1/2 Tbsp sweet paprika
3 Tbsp hot paprika
7 cloves garlic pressed
3 tsp caraway seeds ground
1 tsp sugar
1 cup ice water

Instructions

Cut the meat, and the back fat, into 2" (5-6 cm) pieces, mix with salt and Cure #1. Place in a container, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Grind the pork and the pork belly/back fat (partially frozen for 20 min in a freezer) through a medium-size plate - 1/4" (6mm). You can also chop the meat and the fat finely with a knife.
Mix the ground meat with the seasonings, adding a cup of ice water. Mix well until the meat becomes sticky.
Stuff into hog casings (28-32 mm), making 1-foot lengths and tying them into rings. Prick any visible air pockets with a needle.
Hang the sausage to condition in a cold room at 33F - 38F (like an unheated garage in winter) or refrigerate overnight. Do not let the sausages freeze.
Dry for about 60 minutes in the smoker at about 110F - 130F without smoke. The sausages should be completely dry before applying smoke.
Smoke at around 130F for 2-4 hours or until the casings develop a nice brown color. Use oak, beech, cherry, hickory, or pecan wood.
Next, poach at 161F - 165F for 25 - 35 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 154F -158F.
Alternatively, bake in an oven with convection, with a hot water pan below the sausages, at 175F for about 30-50 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 154F - 158F.
You can also finish cooking the sausage in the smoker/smokehouse by gradually increasing the temperature in the smoker to 165F-175F-185F and up to 195F. This method is not as easy and may take a long time depending on weather conditions and humidity inside the smoker.
Cool the sausages down in an ice bath or shower them with cold water and dry them with paper towels. If you have access to a fairly cold room, again, like an unheated garage in winter, just hang them there to cool down.
Optionally, hang the sausage in a cool room or a curing chamber for 5-7 days to dry at about 55F and 75% relative humidity. This will prolong the shelf life and intensify the flavor of the sausage.
Store in a refrigerator.

Nutrition