A coarse pork sausage heavy with sweet and hot Hungarian paprika, from Békéscsaba — a town settled by Slovaks in the eighteenth century. It holds PGI status and the town runs an annual sausage festival around it.
It is a smoked raw-meat cure dried over weeks, where safety depends on nitrite, pH and water activity hitting measured targets, and it is a PGI made in a defined area.
What goes into it
- pork shoulder and fat
- salt and curing salt
- sweet and hot Szeged paprika, in quantity
- garlic
- caraway
- natural casings
How it is made
Coarsely minced pork and fat are mixed with a great deal of paprika, garlic and salt, stuffed into casings, cold-smoked over hardwood for several days and then dried in a cool loft for weeks. The paprika is not only a flavouring: its oils coat the meat and slow oxidation.
How long it takes: four to eight weeks
How it is eaten
Sliced thin with bread and pickles, or cut into bean soup and lecsó.
History
From Békéscsaba, settled by Slovaks in the eighteenth century; the town holds an annual sausage festival and the sausage holds PGI status.
Frequently asked questions
What is Csabai kolbász?
Csabai kolbász is a charcuterie & cured from Hungary: coarse pork sausage heavy with sweet and hot Hungarian paprika. From Békéscsaba, settled by Slovaks in the eighteenth century; the town holds an annual sausage festival and the sausage holds PGI status.
How is Csabai kolbász made?
Coarsely minced pork and fat are mixed with a great deal of paprika, garlic and salt, stuffed into casings, cold-smoked over hardwood for several days and then dried in a cool loft for weeks. The paprika is not only a flavouring: its oils coat the meat and slow oxidation. It takes four to eight weeks.
Can I make Csabai kolbász at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is a smoked raw-meat cure dried over weeks, where safety depends on nitrite, pH and water activity hitting measured targets, and it is a PGI made in a defined area.
What goes into Csabai kolbász?
Pork shoulder and fat, salt and curing salt, sweet and hot Szeged paprika, in quantity, garlic, caraway, natural casings.
How is Csabai kolbász eaten?
Sliced thin with bread and pickles, or cut into bean soup and lecsó.
