Moldavian chișcă

Ingredients

• 12 m salted pork casings
• 3000 ml cold water for the casings
• 1 pork liver (approx. 1 kg)
• 2 pork kidneys (approx. 300 g)
• 3000 ml water for the offal
• 1 teaspoon salt for the offal
• 1500 g pork fatback
• 5 medium onions (750 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt for the onion
• 500 g pork shoulder
• 1 cup (250 ml) rice
• 500 ml water for the rice
• 2 cups (500 ml) coarsely ground corn grits
• 1 tablespoon salt for the filling
• 5000 ml water for boiling
• 1 tablespoon salt for boiling
• 15 ml oil for the pan

Preparation

1. Rinse the salted casings in several changes of water and leave them to soak for 30 minutes in 3000 ml cold water. 2. Put the liver and kidneys in 3000 ml water with 1 teaspoon salt. Boil for 30 minutes, until a fork goes in easily, then drain. 3. Grind the fatback and put it in a pan over low heat for 15 minutes, until almost all of it has rendered. Add the onion, cut into larger pieces, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook for another 10 minutes, until softened. 4. Cut the pork into the smallest cubes you can. Cook the rice in 500 ml water for 5 minutes, then drain. Rinse the corn grits in several changes of water and drain well. 5. Leave the offal, rice and fatback-and-onion mixture to cool for 30 minutes. Grind the offal and mix it with the pork, rice, corn grits and onion and fatback. Add 1 tablespoon salt and mix until combined. 6. Stuff the casings using the sausage-stuffing tube attached to the meat grinder, without the plate or blade. Keep the filling loose and tie the ends with string. 7. Put 5000 ml water and 1 tablespoon salt in a large pot. When the water starts to boil, add the sausages, in batches if they don’t all fit, and boil each batch for 45-50 minutes, until firm and cooked through. 8. Leave them to cool for 30 minutes. To serve, brown them for 8 minutes on the grill or in a pan with 15 ml oil, turning them as they cook.