Christmas Verivorst with Mulgikapsad and Lingonberry

Christmas Verivorst with Mulgikapsad and Lingonberry

Recipes with Verivorst

The centrepiece of every Estonian Jõululaud — the Christmas table. Verivorst baked with butter in a hot oven, served alongside mulgikapsad (sauerkraut stewed slow with pork ribs and pearl barley) and a spoon of cold lingonberry jam on the rim of every plate. Folklore says seven or twelve dishes on the table bring good luck. Verivorst is always one of them.

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

2 hours 30 min

Servings

6

Difficulty

Medium

Ingredients

  • 8 Verivorst sausages (about 1.2 kg total)
  • 100g butter
  • For the mulgikapsad:
  • 800g sauerkraut, drained
  • 500g pork ribs or pork belly, cut into chunks
  • 150g pearl barley
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp caraway seeds
  • Salt and black pepper
  • To serve:
  • Lingonberry jam
  • Roasted baby potatoes
  • Sour cream

Steps

1

Start the mulgikapsad 3 hours ahead. Brown the pork chunks in a heavy pot for 5 minutes, then add the onion and carrots and cook another 5 minutes until soft.

2

Add the sauerkraut, pearl barley, bay leaf, caraway, and 1 liter of water. Cover and simmer on very low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. The barley should swell and the pork fall apart.

3

Heat the oven to 180°C. Lay the verivorst on a baking tray, scatter the butter in small cubes around and on top, add a splash of water to the tray. Cover with foil.

4

Bake covered for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 10 to 15 minutes until the casing is dark and the surface glistens. Do not let the casings burst.

5

Plate up: a mound of mulgikapsad on each plate, two verivorst on top, a cluster of roasted potatoes, a spoon of cold lingonberry jam on the rim, a small dollop of sour cream beside the kraut. A pat of cold butter on the hot sausage just before serving.

Tips

If your sauerkraut tastes very sharp, rinse it briefly under cold water before adding to the pot. The pearl barley needs the full two hours to swell properly — undercooked barley is the most common mistake. Lingonberry jam is non-negotiable; cranberry sauce is the closest substitute.