Chuchuk

Ingredients

Sausage

• 1.5 kghorse rib meat, cut in long strips
• 500 ghorse fat from the mane or rib, in strips
• 2 tbspcoarse salt
• 1 tbspground black pepper
• 1 tbspground cumin
• 6 clovesgarlic, crushed
• horse or beef intestine, cleaned, about 1.5 m

To boil

• 4 litreswater
• 1onion, halved
• 2bay leaves
• 1 tbspsalt

To serve

• boiled noodles, as for beshbarmak
• raw onion rings
• sorpa broth in bowls

Directions

1. Cut the meat and fat into long strips rather than mincing them. Chuchuk is a whole-muscle sausage and the strips are visible in every slice — minced, it becomes something else entirely.
2. Rub the strips with the salt, pepper, cumin and garlic and leave them in a cool place for two to three hours.
3. Clean the intestine thoroughly with coarse salt and repeated rinsing until it smells of nothing.
4. Feed the strips of meat and fat into the casing, alternating lean and fat so it is evenly distributed, and tie both ends. Do not pack it tight — leave room for the fat to render and move.
5. Prick the sausage in several places with a needle.
6. Bring the water to a bare simmer with the onion, bay and salt, lower the sausage in, and poach at 85°C (185°F) for about two hours until completely tender.
7. Never let it boil. The casing splits and the rendered fat, which is most of what makes chuchuk worth eating, is lost to the pot.
8. Lift out, cool slightly, and slice into thick rounds. Serve warm with boiled noodles, raw onion and a bowl of the sorpa.

Technique

• Strips, not mince. This is the single thing that defines the sausage.
• Fill loosely and prick it. A tightly packed chuchuk bursts as the fat renders.
• The mane fat is the prized part in Central Asia and it renders differently from ordinary fat.

Substitutions

• Beef with beef fat, which is what most people outside Central Asia will manage.
• Beef intestine in place of horse casing.
• A pressure cooker, which brings the poach down to about 45 minutes.

Variations

• The Kazakh kazy is the same sausage under another name, made from the ribs.
• Some households smoke or air-dry it after boiling, which is a cured product the atlas gives no method for.

History

Horse sausage of rib meat and fat packed into intestine, boiled and sliced thin.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chuchuk?

Chuchuk is a charcuterie & cured from Kyrgyzstan: horsemeat sausage, prized winter delicacy. Horse sausage of rib meat and fat packed into intestine, boiled and sliced thin.

How long does Chuchuk take to make?

Chuchuk takes 1 hour of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes makes 4 sausages. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Chuchuk?

Yes, within limits. Beef with beef fat, which is what most people outside Central Asia will manage. Beef intestine in place of horse casing. A pressure cooker, which brings the poach down to about 45 minutes.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chuchuk?

Cut the meat and fat into long strips rather than mincing them. Chuchuk is a whole-muscle sausage and the strips are visible in every slice — minced, it becomes something else entirely.