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Lukanka
Lukanka (луканка): cumin and black pepper pork-and-beef sausage, cooked through and pressed flat for slicing
Flat, dark-red lukanka from Panagyurishte and Smilyan hangs in every Bulgarian delicatessen, sliced paper-thin for a meze plate with white cheese, tomato and cucumber. The traditional sausage is pork and beef with cumin, black pepper and salt, pressed flat and dry-cured for weeks in cold mountain air, which needs curing salts and controlled humidity and temperature to be safe, so it is not for a home kitchen. This home version keeps the flavour and flat shape but is fully cooked: the mix rests overnight in the fridge, is poached in pork casings to 71 °C, then pressed and chilled so it slices cold. Bought dry-cured lukanka is raw cured meat: not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. The usual slip is letting the meat warm up, which smears the fat, so keep everything fridge-cold. Chef's tip: fry a teaspoon of the mix and taste it for salt and cumin before you stuff.
- Total time
- 800 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb pork shoulder, with some fatcut into 3 cm cubes
- 10 ½ oz beef chuckcut into 3 cm cubes
- ⅝ oz salt
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 3 ½ tbsp ice-cold water
- 2 m natural pork casings (32–35 mm)soaked in cold water
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Spread the 1 ½ lb pork shoulder, with some fat and 10 ½ oz beef chuck on a tray and put it in the freezer with the mincer parts for 30 minutes, until the meat is very cold and firm at the edges.
30 minStep 2: Mince the meat through a 5 mm plate into a bowl set over ice.
10 minStep 3: Add the ⅝ oz salt, 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp sweet paprika and 3 ½ tbsp ice-cold water and mix by hand for 2–3 minutes, until the mixture turns sticky and binds. Fry a teaspoonful to taste, cooking it through, and adjust the seasoning.
5 minStep 4: Cover and refrigerate overnight, at least 8 hours, at 5 °C or below, so the seasoning develops. Never leave it on the counter. Wash hands, boards and the mincer well.
600 minStep 5: Rinse the 2 m natural pork casings (32–35 mm) inside and out with cold water. Stuff the mixture in firmly with no air pockets, twist into 25 cm links and prick any air bubbles with a pin.
25 minStep 6: Heat a large pan of water to 75–176°F, just steaming with no bubbles. Poach the sausages for 35–45 minutes, until a thermometer in the centre reads 160°F.
45 minStep 7: Lift them into a bowl of iced water for 5 minutes to stop the cooking.
5 minStep 8: Lay the sausages between two lined trays with about 2 kg of weight on top and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until flat and firm.
240 minStep 9: Pat dry and slice thinly to serve cold. Keep in the fridge and eat within 5 days, or freeze.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 220 kcal
- Protein
- 18 g
- Carbs
- 1 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does lukanka take?
- About 800 minutes in total: 750 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 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 ground cumin?
- Cumin seeds, toasted and ground.
- What can I use instead of coarsely ground black pepper?
- Black peppercorns, freshly ground, same amount.
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