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Browned Estonian verivorst with sauerkraut and lingonberry jam on a winter table
CuisineEstonian
Europe

Verivorst: Estonian Blood and Barley Sausage

How to make verivorst, the Estonian sausage of pig blood, barley and pork served at Christmas with sauerkraut and lingonberry jam. Covers finding food-grade blood and casings, gentle poaching, baking, and checking for 75°C at the center, along with how the recipe was built and where Estonian versions differ.

Level: Advanced

Cooking flow

Cooking steps

STEP 11 / 10

Simmer the barley

Barley groats simmered in salted water, just before draining
The grains should be swollen but still distinct

Wash the barley and put it in a large pot with 1.25 L water and a little salt. Simmer over fairly low heat for about 45 minutes as a guide, but go by the grain rather than the clock. Stop when the grains have swollen but remain whole and separate, not porridge. If the water runs short, add hot water. If any is left at the end, drain it off.

STEP 22 / 10

Brown the pork and onion

Pork with rendered fat and diced onion, cooking in a pot until brown
Let the pork release its fat before relying on the onion for color

Cut the pork into knuckle-sized chunks. Heat them in a heavy pot with a little water until the fat renders and the pork starts to brown. A frying pan also works for browning. Add the onion and cook until brown, about 30 minutes.

STEP 33 / 10

Combine, season and cool

Browned pork and onion mixed into barley groats in a bowl, left to cool
Season now, before the blood goes in

Mix the pork and onion into the barley. Season with black pepper, marjoram, oregano and caraway, then leave the mixture to cool. The blood does not go in yet.

STEP 44 / 10

Fold in the blood and test the seasoning

Pig blood being folded gently into the cooled barley and pork mixture without foaming
Pour slowly and fold gently so the blood doesn't foam

Wait until the mixture is no warmer than you can comfortably stir by hand, because heat will set the blood. Strain the blood through a fine sieve, then pour in 500 ml and fold gently so that it doesn't foam.

The filling should flow through a funnel with only slight guidance. If it is too thick, add more blood up to about 600 ml.

Take about 1 tsp of the filling and fry it until cooked through. Taste the cooked spoonful and adjust the salt, adding it gradually so that you don't overdo it. If the blood is already salted, check its label before adding more. Do not taste the filling raw.

STEP 55 / 10

Prepare and fill the casings

Verivorst filling going loosely into a soaked sausage casing through a funnel
Fill loosely, because the casings can burst when overfilled

Rinse the casings twice, then soak them in water. Fit a casing over the funnel and fill it loosely, to less than three-quarters full. Leave slack at both ends and tie them with thread. Short lengths of 10–12 cm mean you lose less if one bursts. Poach the sausages right away rather than leaving them to stand.

STEP 66 / 10

Poach without boiling

Filled verivorst poaching in a pot of hot water without a rolling boil
Keep the water moving gently, with no rolling boil

Heat a wide pot of water with a little salt and the bay leaves, if using. Lower in the sausages and keep the heat below a boil for 15–20 minutes, because boiling can burst the casings.

If a sausage floats, air is trapped inside. Use a clean, fine needle to make a small hole only where needed. Poaching is progressing well once the hole no longer releases red liquid, but this is only a guide. The temperature check comes later.

STEP 77 / 10

Drain on a rack

STEP 7

Lift the sausages onto a wire rack and let them drain. If you aren't baking them right away, cool them quickly and refrigerate at 10°C or below.

STEP 88 / 10

Bake until crisp

Drained verivorst on an oiled tray going into a home oven
Bake until the casing is crisp, then check the temperature

Grease a baking tray with oil and lay the sausages on it. Bake at 175°C for 20–30 minutes, until the casing is crisp. Thick sausages may need longer, up to about 1 hour. Avoid a much hotter oven, as high heat can burst the casings.

STEP 99 / 10

Check the center temperature

STEP 9

Insert a food thermometer into the center of the thickest part of a sausage. It must reach 75°C and stay there for at least 1 minute. If it falls short, keep baking and check again. Do not judge doneness by time or color.

STEP 1010 / 10

Serve

Browned verivorst, sliced, with sauerkraut and lingonberry jam on a plate
Sauerkraut and lingonberry jam go alongside, not in the filling

Serve hot. Sauerkraut, potatoes and lingonberry jam are all optional, traditional accompaniments.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

1 / 1

Ingredients

Ingredient Amount Role
Raw fatty pork, such as shoulder or belly (liha) 625 g Meat and fat. Use fresh, not cured or salted, pork
Whole pearled barley groats (odrakruubid) 500 g, weighed before cooking The body of the filling
Onion 250 g Chopped or diced; browned with the pork
Food-grade pig blood (veri) 500 ml, up to about 600 ml if needed Binds and colors the filling. Strain before use
Water for the barley 1.25 L For simmering the groats
Water for the pork a little Starts the pork cooking and helps release its fat
Water for poaching as needed For cooking the filled sausages
Salt to taste A little in the barley water and poaching water; to taste in the filling
Black pepper to taste Seasons the filling
Dried marjoram about 1 heaped tbsp Main herb
Oregano to taste Seasons the filling
Caraway to taste Seasons the filling
Salted natural hog casings up to 10 m Hold the sausage. Prepare only what you use
Bay leaves 1–2 Optional; for the poaching water
Cooking oil a little For greasing the baking tray
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Verivorst: A Crisp-Skinned Sausage for the Estonian Winter Table

What this sausage has to get right

Keep the barley grains separate, cool the filling before the blood goes in, stuff the casings loosely, and never let the poaching water boil. Finish with a thermometer: 75°C at the center for at least 1 minute.

Picture a winter table set for Christmas in Estonia. Visit Estonia places verivorst there alongside sült, sauerkraut, roast potatoes and pork. The local newspaper Harju Elu says it is on most Estonians' Christmas tables. The casing is baked or fried until crisp, and sauerkraut and lingonberry jam often come with it.

Verivorst is a sausage of pig blood, barley groats and pork in natural casing. Before you plan to make it, two things are worth knowing. Food-grade pig blood can be hard to buy, and because both blood and raw pork need careful handling, a food thermometer is essential.

This recipe has not been kitchen-tested. It is an editorial combination of ratios from Estonian sources, which is also why it gives no yield, servings or number of sausages.

How This Recipe Was Put Together

There is no single correct formula for verivorst, and Estonian versions differ widely in meat, fat, barley, spice and blood. This one starts from an entry in the database of the Estonian Folk Culture Centre (Eesti Rahvakultuuri Keskus), recording sausage-making in Abja-Paluoja in Mulgimaa. It is a home-scale version of that record, not a standard for all of Estonia.

Element Where it comes from
Pork, barley, onion One quarter of the Folk Culture Centre's 2.5 kg meat, 2 kg groats and 1 kg onion
Blood An editorial addition. The Centre lists "the blood of one pig" with no volume, so this uses the 1 L blood per 1 kg groats found in Harju Elu and on the Rodoaed blog
Water for the barley An editorial addition, from Harju Elu's 2.5 L per 1 kg groats
Marjoram An editorial addition, half of Katrin Press's 2 heaped tablespoons per 1 kg groats
Oregano and caraway The seasoning list in Visit Estonia's recipe
Salt No source gives a number, so the filling is seasoned using a fried test spoonful, a method from the Ilse blog

Reading the barley as dry weight is also an editorial judgment. The Centre does not say so outright, but Harju Elu's water quantity implies uncooked groats, and a reader comment on Rodoaed says 1 kg can become 3–4 kg once cooked.

Visit Estonia's own amounts (675 g pork, 1.25 kg barley, 500 ml blood) are not used here. That recipe does not say how the pork divides between salted and fresh, or whether the barley is weighed dry or cooked. Read as dry weight, it works out to 0.4 L of blood per kilogram of barley, far from the roughly 1–2 L in the other Estonian recipes.

The Folk Culture Centre's record also includes garlic and sugar, which this version leaves out.

Ingredients

Verivorst ingredients laid out: pork, barley groats, onion, pig blood, seasonings and sausage casings
Weigh the barley before cooking, and keep the blood cold until you need it

Equipment

  • Large pot for the barley
  • Heavy pot or frying pan for the pork and onion
  • Wide pot for poaching
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Fine sieve for the blood
  • Sausage-stuffing funnel
  • Kitchen thread
  • Clean, fine needle
  • Wire rack
  • Baking tray
  • Food thermometer
  • Separate utensils and boards for raw pork and blood

Choosing the Blood, Casings and Barley

Pig blood is the biggest obstacle. Ask a butcher or a business food supplier whether they sell blood specifically for eating, and don't assume they will have it. Use only blood labeled as food-grade, and follow the seller's instructions and dates for thawing frozen blood. If you cannot confirm that it is food-grade, do not use it. Do not convert the recipe to a different blood or to dried blood.

Without both blood and casings, this is not a dish to imitate. A look-alike made from other ingredients is not verivorst. The honest alternative is to buy ready-cooked blood sausage and heat it.

Barley: look for whole pearled grains, sold in Japan as marumugi. Rolled barley is a different product and will change the texture.

Casings: salted natural hog casings need rinsing and soaking before use. Lightly salt any cleaned casings you don't use and keep them in the refrigerator.

How to Make Verivorst

Handling raw blood and pork

Blood is an excellent medium for bacterial growth, so hygiene and temperature control are essential. Keep it refrigerated until just before use; fresh blood should be stored at 3°C or below. Wash your hands before and after handling raw pork or blood, and keep their juices away from other foods by using separate utensils. Never taste the raw filling.

Troubleshooting

Problem Likely cause What to do
The barley turned to porridge Heat too high Simmer over low heat next time and stop while the grains are separate
The blood set when added Filling still too warm Next time, cool until you can stir the mixture by hand
The filling won't pass through the funnel Too thick Fold in more blood, up to about 600 ml in total
Casings burst in the pot Overfilled, or the water boiled Lower the heat, and fill the next batch to less than three-quarters
Sausages float Trapped air Prick only where needed with a clean, fine needle
The needle hole releases red liquid Not yet poached enough Continue poaching below a boil
Casings burst in the oven Oven too hot Keep the temperature around 175°C
The center is below 75°C Thick sausage or not enough time Keep baking until it holds 75°C for at least 1 minute

Storage and Reheating

Do not leave cooked sausage at room temperature for long. Divide leftovers into shallow containers so that they cool quickly, then refrigerate at 10°C or below or freeze at −15°C or below. Reheat to 75°C or above. Discard anything that has been kept too long. No day count is given here.

Variations: How Other Versions Differ

These are separate recipes rather than add-ons, so don't mix their amounts into the recipe above.

Version What differs
Estonian Folk Culture Centre (Abja-Paluoja) Adds a head of garlic and sugar to the marjoram, salt and pepper. Bakes at 180°C for 20–30 minutes
Visit Estonia Uses both salted and fresh pork and a much higher share of barley, seasoned with marjoram, oregano and caraway
Harju Elu Uses 500 g smoked bacon, 300 g onion and 2 tbsp butter per 1 kg groats, with allspice among the seasonings
Rodoaed Uses both fatty fresh pork and smoked pork
Meats and Sausages A technical recipe using head meat, fat, lungs, skins and allspice

You can also change how you serve it. Pan-frying until crisp is one traditional approach, and it doesn't replace the temperature check.

Verivorst on the Estonian Table

Visit Estonia says many Estonians consider verivorst with sauerkraut and lingonberries a national dish. That is a description of popular opinion rather than an official title. The Estonian Folk Culture Centre's entry likewise calls it one of the national foods. Food traditions also vary by region within Estonia, and you can explore more Estonian recipes, including mulgikapsad, a separate dish that also uses barley and pork.

The Centre's entry describes about ten sausage makers and interested locals gathering at the Abja day center before Christmas, working from knowledge handed down by their ancestors. Today the meat, casings and blood come from local farmers. The same entry says blood sausage spread from the early 19th century through contact with Swedes and Latvians, that slaughter season began on 29 September, and that Christmas food preparation began on St Thomas Day, 21 December. These details are the entry's own account.

A Baltic rural tourism guide associates a pig-blood and barley sausage with autumn and winter solstice tables. It adds that the sausage is now available year-round, and that it is pan-fried until crisp and eaten with cowberry or lingonberry jam. The Meats and Sausages site mentions Christmas service with cranberry sauce, or with sauerkraut and browned potatoes.

The same Baltic guide links verivorst to Finnish mustamakkara and Latvian asinsdesas. They are related by name and region, but that doesn't make them the same recipe. Visit Estonia places the sausage within a broader culture of winter stores, though that doesn't prove preservation was its origin. The materials behind this article do not establish where the dish began or how its name arose.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does verivorst taste like?

This recipe has not been made or tasted, so there are no tasting notes to offer. It is a rich sausage of blood and grain, and it is traditionally served with sour accompaniments such as sauerkraut.

What can I do if I can't get pig blood?

Buy a ready-cooked blood sausage rather than building a substitute and calling it verivorst. Heat it until crisp and to 75°C or above.

Retail supply is hard to confirm. In Japan, for example, the evidence found stops at a business food retailer's listing for 500 g of frozen Spanish pig blood, with no price shown, and a 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo report on wholesale shipments from Okinawan meat centers. Neither shows current retail availability, so contact sellers directly.

Can I use plastic wrap or a mold instead of casings?

This article does not recommend it. It would no longer be the same stuffed sausage, and it would fall outside the recipes used here.

What temperature should verivorst reach?

75°C at the center for at least 1 minute, measured with a thermometer, following home food-safety guidance from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. FoodSafety.gov in the US gives 71°C for sausage, and this recipe uses the stricter figure. It does not use the 68–70°C poaching endpoint given by Meats and Sausages.

How long can I store it?

The food-safety guidance used here gives no day count, so none is given. Cool quickly in shallow containers, refrigerate at 10°C or below or freeze at −15°C or below, and reheat to 75°C or above.

How many sausages does this make, and how much casing do I need?

Because the recipe has not been kitchen-tested, the yield is unknown. Harju Elu uses 10 m of casing for a batch with 1 kg of barley. This recipe has half the barley but proportionally more meat, so have up to 10 m available and prepare only what you use.

Sources