Slovonian "kulen" sausage

Does anyone know where I can find authentic Slovonian sausage? The kind I'm looking for is like a really skinny pepperoni that's dry and has lots of paprika. My dad used to find it somewhere near Montrose and Western, but both he and the shop are gone

They sound similar to some dried sausages I have seen at City Fresh Market at the corner of Devon and Kedzie. I believe the owners might be Bosnian.

City Fresh Market
3201 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 764-6280

Rose wrote:My dad used to find it somewhere near Montrose and Western, but both he and the shop are gone

R.I.P. Joe's

Thanks! I'll try City Fresh this week!

Hi,

City Fresh Market's pastries and cakes were available at the Serbian Festival in Lake Forest in late summer. Their information stated: Delicatessan and dairy products. Roast lamb and pork (Balkan specialities), bread, cakes and pastries (home made).

City Fresh Market
3201 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 681-8600 (the number is different than the post above)
www.cityfreshmarket.com
Hours: Mon-Sat: 7 AM - 10 PM, Sun: 8 AM - 9 PM

Regards,

Thanks Cathy, I'll be sure to try City Fresh Market. I have gone to a few Serbian places, though, and they don't have the spicey paprika flavors I'm looking for....but I love trying new places whether they have exactly what I want or not. My brother and I actually brought 8 sausages home from Zagreb last month and are rationing them (hoping we haven't eaten them all before we find a source here!).
I'm new to this site and I love looking through the topics and discussions...kudos to everyone that participates and moderates these forums!

You know, there is a type of dried sausage that I bought at the Greenwood market in Niles called Lublianskaya, which means it is from Lubliana Slovenia (I assume). I think it may be what you are referring to. It is very fatty, but delicious. It is similar to German landjaeger.

Thanks...I'll try the Greenwood market as well. However, Slovenia is northwest and Slovonia is an area of Croatia that is the farthest northeast, bordering Hungary and Serbia. (It's the area of Croatia that my father and his family are from, and they're touchy about the tendency for others to confuse the areas!). But, hey, you never know...I'm on a quest.

Rose wrote:Thanks...I'll try the Greenwood market as well. However, Slovenia is northwest and Slovonia is an area of Croatia that is the farthest northeast, bordering Hungary and Serbia.

Oops, I didn't know that. I always assumed it was two different spellings for the same place. The Greenwood Market is actually Russian. So the sausages they sell are Russian versions of other countries' specialties. It is probably not quite what you are looking for.

d4v3 wrote:

Rose wrote:Thanks...I'll try the Greenwood market as well. However, Slovenia is northwest and Slovonia is an area of Croatia that is the farthest northeast, bordering Hungary and Serbia.

Oops, I didn't know that. I always assumed it was two different spellings for the same place. The Greenwood Market is actually Russian. So the sausages they sell are Russian versions of other countries' specialties. It is probably not quite what you are looking for.

Yea, me too.

A lot of info packed into this small thread!

I bought some Kulen at City Fresh Market today. It was made by a company called Max's Meats. I don't know how authentic it was, or the quality; but to me, it was absolutely delicious. I made sandwiches of Kulen, which is a Slovonian salami, with Lithuanian Radamer cheese and Bulgarian Pindjur on Assyrian Samoon bread, with Greek olives on the side, accompanied by a glass of Romanian wine. Lord, I love living in Chicago.

Today, I returned to City Fresh Market and bought a second type of Kulen. It was very different from the last type I got. Here is a picture of the two sausages side by side. The one on the left is from Max's Meats. It was encased in a cloth sleeve. It had a nice dose of hot paprika, a deep red color, and a good sour lactic bite. At first, it was a little moist, which made it seem a tad mealy. After several days, It dried out a bit, which gave it a nice chew. It had a much finer grind and was much leaner than the other sausage . The sausage on the right was labeled Kobasica Kulen Arkansaz. I assume the company name is Arkansaz (or maybe it was made in Arkansas). It came encased in a cello sleeve. It was much fattier and a little saltier than the Max's Kulen (they are both on the salty side), but it had a nice smoky taste, almost like ham. As you can see in the picture, it had nice big bits of garlic and red pepper. The texture was a wonderful aggregate of chewy flesh and creamy fat. The Arkansaz Kulen did not have as much of a "dry-cured" tang as the Max's version, nor was it quite as hot; but it had a more complex spicing and still had a nice bite.
Max's Kulen left. Arkansaz Kulen Right