Kranjska klobasa
Smoked pork sausage
Kranjska klobasa: Slovenian Carniolan smoked pork sausage, homemade, served hot with mustard
Slovenians eat Carniolan sausage everywhere, from the stalls of Ljubljana's market to mountain huts and the ski slopes: a coarse, garlicky pork sausage, smoked until bronze, then heated in water and served with mustard, freshly grated horseradish and bread. Made with pork shoulder and back fat chopped rather than finely minced, it snaps when you bite it and spills juice. The official sausage uses curing salt for its pink colour; this home version leaves it out, so the inside is pale, and it is hot-smoked until fully cooked, so it is safe to eat. A common mistake is boiling the sausages to reheat them; they split and dry out, so keep the water just below a simmer. Chef's tip: cut the meat and fat by hand into small dice for some of the mix, it gives the classic chunky bite.
- Total time
- 240 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the sausage
- 2 ¼ lb pork shoulder (lean)well chilled
- 9 oz pork back fatwell chilled
- ⅔ oz salt
- 1 ½ tsp black pepperfreshly ground
- 4 garlic clovescrushed to a paste
- ¼ cup ice-cold water
- 2.5 m natural hog casingssoaked and rinsed
For smoking
- 3 handfuls beech or fruit-wood smoking chipssoaked for 30 minutes
To serve
- 4 tbsp mustard (optional)
- 3 tbsp freshly grated horseradish (optional)
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Chill your mincer parts and the 2 ¼ lb pork shoulder (lean) and 9 oz pork back fat in the freezer for 30 minutes, until stiff at the edges.
30 minStep 2: Cut a quarter of the pork and half the fat into 5 mm dice by hand. Mince the rest through an 8 mm plate into a cold bowl.
15 minStep 3: Add the diced meat and fat, ⅔ oz salt, 1 ½ tsp black pepper, 4 garlic cloves and ¼ cup ice-cold water and knead with cold hands for 3 minutes, until sticky and well bound.
5 minStep 4: Stuff the 2.5 m natural hog casings firmly but not bursting, and twist into 15 cm links. Prick any air bubbles and hang or lay them in the fridge, uncovered, for 1 hour to dry the skins.
70 minStep 5: Set up a kettle barbecue or smoker for indirect heat at 80–200°F, with the drained 3 handfuls beech or fruit-wood smoking chips smouldering over a small bed of coals. Lay the sausages away from the coals and close the lid.
15 minStep 6: Smoke for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, adding chips as needed, until the skins are bronze and a thermometer in the centre of a sausage reads 160°F.
110 minStep 7: Cool in cold water for 5 minutes, then keep in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze.
5 minStep 8: To serve, heat the sausages in water just below a simmer (about 176°F) for 15 minutes, until hot through. Serve with 4 tbsp mustard and 3 tbsp freshly grated horseradish (check the mustard label for gluten), with bread on the side if gluten is not a concern.
15 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 1 g
- Fat
- 40 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kranjska klobasa take?
- About 240 minutes in total: 90 minutes to prepare and 150 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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