Skilandis

As tradition built it

Makes one skilandis, size and total quantities not specified in the source. Cold-smoked for 2 to 3 weeks, then dried for a few weeks to 2 or 3 months or longer, depending on size.

Ingredients

• 70 to 80% pork, lean, coarsely knife-chopped, not machine-ground
• 20 to 30% pork fat, coarsely knife-chopped
• to taste salt and seasoning, to the maker's own recipe (not further specified in the source)
• as available pig's stomach, bladder or beef caecum, or a large-calibre casing

Method

1. Coarsely knife-chop the pork, roughly 70 to 80 per cent lean to 20 to 30 per cent fat, rather than machine-grinding it.
2. Season and stuff tightly into a pig's stomach, bladder or beef caecum, or a large-calibre casing.
3. Cold-smoke at around 15°C for two to three weeks, the smoking itself, with breaks, running two to fifteen days depending on equipment and size. Use juniper in Aukštaitija, alder around Suvalkija, or oak elsewhere, according to region.
4. Dry at 8 to 18°C and 75 to 90 per cent relative humidity, from a few weeks for a smaller skilandis to two or three months or longer for a larger one.

What a modern chef changes

A climate-controlled cure and paper-thin slicing

Rung 4

Method

1. Run the entire cure inside a genuinely climate-controlled chamber, a converted wine fridge or a proper curing cabinet, rather than attempting open-air drying in a British kitchen.
2. Cold-smoke over a Big Green Egg held at a true, low, controlled dome temperature rather than a domestic stovetop smoker, for far more even smoke penetration through the thick casing over the same multi-day timeline.
3. Slice paper-thin on a dedicated meat slicer rather than by hand at serving thickness.
4. Serve alongside a quick pickled mustard seed condiment rather than presenting it plain, cutting the density of a long-cured whole-muscle sausage without altering how it was made.