Lifrarpylsa

Liver sausage

At the end of January, the time for the Þorrablót begins in Iceland - actually an old Nordic blood sacrifice in the winter month of Þorri. The tradition was revived in Iceland in the 19th century and nowadays private Þorrablót parties often take place and restaurants also offer corresponding dishes during this time , often also as a "platter" with typical specialties such as black pudding and liver sausage (blóðmör and lifrarpylsa), hangikjöt (lamb smoked over sheep dung), pickled ram testicles (súrsaðir hrútspungar), singed sheep's heads (svið), dried fish (harðfiskur) and hákarl, the well-known fermented ice shark.

This year we had homemade liver sausage based on an Icelandic recipe for Þorrablót!

For the sausage I used two artificial casings ("soup casings", caliber 90) that I had previously purchased online.


Ingredients

450 g liver
100 g kidneys
300 ml milk
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
300 g hearty oat flakes
200 g rye flour
650 g lard

2 large sausage skins


Preparation

Wash the liver and carefully remove any skin, then cut into small pieces.

Also cut the kidney into small pieces.

Place the liver and kidney in the meat grinder or food processor...

...and process thoroughly into a mushy mass.

Then mix the meat mixture with the salt, pepper and sugar in a large bowl.

Add the milk and stir.

Knead in the oat flakes.

Finally, add the rye flour in small portions and knead until a nice thick, mushy mass is formed.

Finally add the lard...

...and mix.

Soak the skins accordingly according to the package instructions (here: 10 to 20 minutes in approx. 140-160 °F (60-70 °C) warm water).

Then fill the finished meat mixture into the well-watered skins without any air pockets, but be careful not to fill the skins too tightly, as the sausage mixture will expand a little when it is cooked. Tie the skins carefully.

Heat plenty of salted water in a large pot. When the water is boiling, add the sausages and let them cook for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, depending on their size. Also make sure that the sausages rotate so that they are cooked evenly. (I cooked the two sausages in two separate pots because I don't have a pot big enough for both sausages.)

Then let the cooked sausage cool down and keep it refrigerated.

For a hearty warm meal, cut the liver sausage into slices, fry/heat it briefly in the pan with a little fat...

...and serve with mashed potatoes and Rófustappa , i.e. mashed turnips.

[Translated from here.]