Romanian Traditional Pork Organ Recipe: Caltaboș

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In the Romanian cuisine, when it comes to preparing pig liver, there are many different recipes, some of which are seen as traditional delicacies during Christmas time. One of the best known Romanian traditional recipes with pork organs -offal- is caltaboș, a traditional pork organ stuffed intestines, similar to the German liverwurst. Unlike poultry liver, pig liver has a stronger flavor, that some people dislike, or just don’t know how to prepare it properly. Personally, I used to eat it when I was young, and now I get cravings for caltaboș sausages from time to time..

While visiting a farm in the village of Iaslovăț, we had the chance to see how this traditional dish is cooked and taste the same homey taste that I grew up with. They follow a classic recipe, with healthy ingredients from their farm. 

Outside the slaughterhouse, the butcher put a large cauldron with pork parts on the fire and added salt, allspice, bay leaves, peppercorns, and water.

After  boiling for about four hours, until it fall off the bones the meat and organs, such as pig head, pork meat, rind, kidney, liver, heart, lungs and tongue were transferred to the butcher’s table.

Everything left after the scraps were thrown away was minced together with fried onion, forming a soft, almost spreadable mix.

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Meanwhile, he left  1 kg of rice wrapped in a cloth to boil inside the cauldron, hanging by a stick. Boiled rice was then added to the mix,  with a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and a little paprika over it.

The mixture was then stuffed inside pre-cleaned pork intestine, with the ends tied. He placed the caltaboș sausages in a container and threw a pot of boiling water over it.

If you’re after  any kind of organ meats, then you will be delighted by caltaboș. It has an iron-like liver flavor and it should be consumed in 3-4 days after opening.

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