Skilandis

Skilandis is a high-quality, cold-cured and cold-smoked pork product. It is a Lithuanian specialty. The pork meat and fat is diced by hand and is traditionally stuffed into the pig's stomach and tied with string, giving the final product its distinctive rounded shape.

Seasonings such as garlic, black pepper, cumin, bay leaf, nutmeg and juniper can be added to the meat mixture. The flavor of this sausage is acidic, smoky and slightly spicy, with a unique aroma that develops during the long maturation and drying process.

The texture is stiff, while the color is pink to dark red, with pieces of fat visible. This Lithuanian delicacy is often served at festivals and on special occasions such as weddings or business meetings. Due to the process and long cold smoking, it is a product with high added value, around US$25 per kilogram.

Skilandis is usually cut into thin slices and enjoyed with wholemeal bread.

SKILANDIS INGREDIENTS

• 1000 g pork shank
• 20 g salt – 2%
• 5 g sugar – 0.5%
• 3 g type 2 curing salt (6% of nitrite, 3% of nitrate and 93.75% of salt) – 0.3%
• 3 g garlic powder – 0.3%
• 2 g black pepper – 0.2%
• 2 g allspice – 0.2%
• 1 g nutmeg – 0.1%
• 1 g rosemary extract (natural antioxidant) – 0.1%
• 0.15g starter culture (lactic acid bacteria) – diluted in 50 ml of filtered water

SKILANDIS PREPARATION

Skilandis can be made with pieces of pork cut into small and medium pieces. No need to grind. The pork belly must be cut into oblong pieces, longer than its width. The best way to make skilandis is with medium-sized pieces of meat.

Mix the meat and all the ingredients well, then place it in the pig's stomach. As we couldn't find the stomach, we used collagen film, which is a versatile casing that allows the skilandis to be modeled in its original shape, like a drop. Press well to avoid leaving air bubbles inside the Skilandis. The air inside matured sausages creates spaces suitable for the proliferation of pathogens and dark coloring due to oxidation induced by oxygen inside the product.

Then hang for 3 days. After this period, skilandis are traditionally cold smoked, that is, at a temperature not exceeding 30ºC, for 2 to 3 weeks. This process is complicated as few people have the time and suitable place for such a long period of smoking. An alternative, which was the method I used, is to leave it to smoke once a day overnight. I left it smoking for approximately 2 hours for 10 nights. In warmer times of the year I recommend transferring it to a refrigerated environment during the day.

After smoking, I kept the skilandis hanging in a minibar with a temperature and humidity controller. You can use a mini wine cellar, like I did in this one cup recipe, or even in a box inside the common refrigerator, as done in this salami recipe. The important thing is to keep it in a place with a temperature close to 12ºC and humidity close to 80%.

Keep it in this environment until the skilandis lose 40% of their initial weight, below are the dates and weights of my process.

Starting weight: 1348g
Process start date: 06/13

Final weight: 781g
Process end date: 08/09/2020

Weight loss: 42%

https://www.tasteatlas.com/skilandis