Icelandic Rullupylsa

[crr243]

Hi all,

I grew up eating an icelandic rolled sausage known as Rullupylsa. There are similar rolled sausages across Scandinavia.

I got a hold of my mom's recipe, which was written down from my great grandmother's memory, and it's not exactly precise. Here it is, word for word, including its distinct lack of measurements:

Trim fat off a flank of beef so it can be rolled up.
Rub inside with saltpeter.
Mix up chopped onions, sage, salt and pepper to taste.
Spread mixture on flank and roll up.
Sew seams and ends and tie.
Put in a roaster in a cold place (mom always put it in the fridge) for 5 days. Turn once a day.
On the 5th day, boil until done, 2-4 hours.
Put rolls on a cookie sheet in the fridge and compress the top of the rolls at least overnight.
Wrap in plastic wrap and tin foil and freeze.​

I would like to recreate something similar, but using proper curing techniques and measurements as necessary. I've never attempted it, so I'm looking for advice.

I would like to omit or substitute for the saltpeter without sacrificing flavor, though I know it's used in this recipe for a combination of the curing and the pink color it yields in the meat.

I have a few different thoughts on how to adapt the "recipe", if you can call it that. I'm hoping for advice on what might be the most appropriate technique.

1. Brine, with the appropriate measurement of prague powder #1 (I can find 6.25% sodium nitrite / 93.75% sodium chloride locally). I've found recipes for both the Icelandic version and the Danish version that actually brine the rolled sausage for several days before cooking and pressing, but I'm concerned that this might result in a saltier product that I grew up with. Mom and my great grandmother never brined theirs.
2. Dry rub all sides of the flank with a mix of salt and Prague Powder #1, in the appropriate concentrations for the flank, prior to rolling up and resting for 5 days.
3. Just simply omit the saltpeter and otherwise follow the recipe. Since this will be boiled, chilled, and then frozen, will there even be any risk of botulism? I'm also concerned that this might not achieve the same flavor profile introduced by the curing process.

Please let me know your thoughts on what might be the best approach here.

 

[daveomak]

Use your prague powder #1 at a rate of 0.9 grams per pound... That's the minimum acceptable rate, FDA, for curing meats... I'm suggesting that because, in the fridge, there were no active bacteria to convert the nitrate to nitrite .... So, lets use the min. cure#1... as for salt, you could go with 3-4%, which is ALOT... because of the boiling step...
The 5 days and turning are probably very important and I would follow all the steps closely as love and touching may have more to do with this recipe than any of us could imagine.. I know my grandmother, from Lithuania, coddled and nurtured more foods / recipes than I could count and her grub was sooooo awesome...
The only thing you might change is the salt... switch to potassium salt... that may bring stuff closer to the potassium nitrate flavor... but... I don't know if potassium flavors foods...
Keep notes, make changes each time you try this recipe... You may hit a home run or at least get a triple..
Hope that sounds reasonable.. let us know what happens...

Dave

 

[crr243]

Thanks for the reply Dave.

I’m not sure if I fully understand what you’re saying.

Are you thinking to dry rub with the Prague Powder, rather than brine? And I’m also not sure what you mean, exactly, with respect to the salt percentage.

I agree that there’s a lot of history and love behind the recipe, so I’m hoping I can at least approximate the original.

Thanks again!

 

[crr243]

Or maybe I do understand.

3-4% salt by weight is about 13.6-18.2g/lb (or 30-40g/kg).

For 1kg flank, I’d be looking at 30-40g salt and 1.98g Prague Powder #1.

 

[tardissmoker]

Without putting words in Dave's mouth, i think he means:

.9 gms per pound cure#1
13.6 gms per pound salt (3%) Preference test potassium salt or sodium salt NOT table salt. Now you gotta do 2. More if you change the percentage!
Onion, sage, pepper to taste
Mix all this together.

Dry rub as per recipe and continue per the many generations of knowledge you have.

Boiling will reduce the salt concentrations somewhat too, as stated.

Nitrites will cure the meat and give it a reddish colour.

Now you can tweak subsequent batches in terms of spices, type of salt to get the flavour profile you want.

Let use know how it turns out, sounds very intereting.

 

[crr243]

Thanks tardis, I understood the measurements correctly then.

The onions, sage, salt and pepper are only spread out on one side of the flank, not rubbed on the whole flank. It’s then rolled up so that these ingredients end up as a stuffing. The end result looks like a cured roulade or stuffed loin.

I could perhaps rub the entire loin with just the mixture of salt and Prague Powder, then spread the sage and onion mixture on top and roll up. I’m worried, though, that I’ll lose a lot of the cure o the back of the flank while I’m rolling and tying.

Another idea would be to combine half the salt and powder with the sage and onion, and reserve the other half salt and powder mixture. Use the reserved half to dry rub into the back of the flank as I roll it.

 

[daveomak]

I’m not sure if I fully understand what you’re saying.

Are you thinking to dry rub with the Prague Powder, rather than brine? And I’m also not sure what you mean, exactly, with respect to the salt percentage.

Yes, dry rub... It appeared to me, that's what the process was in your original recipe...
The 3-4% salt addition is because... I think long ago, heavy salt was added due to the "possibility" of meat spoilage.. heavy salt was the norm... Hence the boiling step... Boiling was the remedy when using "salted meats"... I thought the initial heavy salt, 3-4%, would replicate the original method.. I think I didn't make that very clear.. "replicating the old world recipe"... I know I was thinking it BUT, I should have been a little more clear....

As you roll up the flank, the salt and cure also comes in contact with the back side.. I would follow the recipe as best I could...
5 days is a good length of time for the flank to sit in the cure and spices... cure, nitrite, "travels" through meat at approx. 7 days per inch of thickness... that will get you a good penetration...

3-4% salt by weight is about 13.6-18.2g/lb (or 30-40g/kg).
For 1kg flank, I’d be looking at 30-40g salt and 1.98g Prague Powder #1.

Yep... Perfect...

On the 5th day, boil until done, 2-4 hours.

As a side note, I would not boil the meat... I would simmer it in a pot... I would have the temperature of the water about 180-190 F... reason... boiling protein toughens it... shoe leather in a pot... You want the temp to slowly break down the collagen or, whatever it is, to tenderness..

OK... It's early.... 1st cup of coffee.... If my mind wandered down the wrong street, let me know...

Dave


..

 

[crr243]

Thanks Dave, that makes perfect sense.

I agree with the boiling vs simmering. I suspect that if my great grandmother was around to quiz, I’d find out that she actually simmered it more than cooked at a full boil.

 

[crr243]

I finished my first attempt at this today, after a week of waiting for it to cure and press. I made two sausages, each with a flank at just a smidge over 2lb.

I used just under 1/2 tsp of Prague Powder #1 and approx 30g salt per flank.

I could have used the 40g of salt as it’s definitely not too salty. I could also have used more sage and onion than I did. However, it’s really close to what I grew up eating over the holidays.

I’ll just have to wait and see if my mom notices anything different.

Thanks for the advice on this project!

 

[daveomak]

I want to do a taste test... The recipe sounds good..

 

[tardissmoker]

Let us know what she thinks. She's the ultimate opinion. Gonna try this for the first time and would like to get the best recipe possible. Love the old recipes modernized for safety.

Thanks.