Pork-based
\ndishes make the staple food for Christmas, in Romania. The preparation of the
\ndishes is quite demanding, so it may take a while before the traditional
\nChristmas meal features pork jelly, liverwurst, pork rind, bacon, pork scraps, hog’s
\npudding, black pudding, sausages, pork-stuffed sauerkraut rolls.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The main pork-based Christmas dish is the hog’s pudding, TOBA in Romanian. It is a mix
\nof pieces of pork with fat, cut out from the goiter region, added to which are
\npork rind and pieces of liver, heart, kidneys and tongue, as well as ears. All
\nthat is minced and then used as a filling for the pig’s stomach. Traditionally,
\nthe stomach of the pig is used for the hog’s pudding. Right after the slaughter
\nof the pig, salt is rubbed in and the inner membrane is cleaned. The stomach is
\nthen soaked in a mix of water and vinegar, with an onion cut in four also
\nplaced there, in order to get rid of the bad smell. Pieces of meat, ears, pork
\nrind, tongue, heart, liver and kidneys are washed and cleaned. Then they are
\nput to the boil with two bay leaves, several pepper and pimento corns, an onion
\nand a spoonful of salt. As soon as boiling time is over, the meat and the other
\ningredients need to be minced. All those minced pieces are used as a filling for
\nthe hog’s pudding, TOBA in Romanian. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
As soon as the
\npig stomach is filled, the slit needs to be sown. The hog’s pudding is then
\npierced several times before it is put to the boil once again, on medium heat. The
\nhog’s pudding is boiled for about thirty minutes, in the same juice where
\ncrushed garlic has been added. Then the hog’s pudding needs to be cooled. For that, it is placed between
\ntwo wooden boards: the extra juice is thus squeezed as the boards press the
\nhog’s pudding. The hog’s pudding can also be smoked. It is kept cool and sliced
\nbefore it is served on the appetizers platter, alongside pork rind, pork
\nscraps, slices of liverwurst, black pudding or smoked or half-smoked sausages,
\nwith or without paprika.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In Romania, the
\nmain course for the Christmas dinner is made of cooked pork and fresh sausages,
\ngrilled or fried in oil, with a side-dish of saut\u00e9ed sauerkraut. The
\npork-stuffed sauerkraut rolls, the traditional sarmale, are an iconic Christmas
\ndish for the Romanians.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
For the
\nRomanians, the pound cake is the traditional Christmas dessert. It is prepared
\nusing leavened dough, eggs, butter sugar, while the filling is made of nuts,
\ncocoa, raisins or lokum. Enjoy!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pork-based dishes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":174690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45767],"tags":[46017,46018,45869],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-174689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-cooking-show","tag-hogs-pudding","tag-liverwurst","tag-pound-cake"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n