Hungarian Meat Market

There used to be an excellent Hungarian meat market on Lincoln near Montrose, but they were goen the last time I went by there. I think it was called Sulahy's, or something similar. I'm sure the spelling is off. Does anyone know where they are now, if they are anywhere?

Several years ago I learned from Joe the Sausage King that the business had been inspected and renovations in the six figures were needed to bring it into compliance. The owners decided to call it a day. Joe did not mention them reopening elsewhere, or if they had even gone to work elsewhere.

Thanks, Annie. Know of any other Hungarian meat joints? I know about Bende's, but he doesn't sell what I am looking for.

Nope. Joe the Sausage King was my default, and now he's gone. Chicago Fruit Market on Montrose near Troy has pickled cabbage and some Hungarian smoked meats, but their stock in general seems to be dwindling (as does their customer base, I think Cermak Produce on Kedzie is killing them). Every time I go I expect to hear they're going to go out of business too.

Annie, I'm looking for a Hungarian sausage called 'hurka' (spelling likely wrong). It is the Hungarian equivalent of Polish kiska. It comes red or black, whereas I have only seen the black version of kiska. You pan fry or bake it with some potatoes, etc., it's quite tasty. That place on Lincoln & Montrose was my last known source. I wonder if Kuhn's might have some?

Cogito wrote:Annie, I'm looking for a Hungarian sausage called 'hurka' (spelling likely wrong).

Spelling is right! There's véres hurka (blood sausage) and májas hurka (liver & rice sausage), but I couldn't tell you where to get them in Chicago. I don't think I've ever seen either in a red color, though. There is a red sausage that's part of the traditional Hungarian pig kill (along with the two hurkas), but it's a kolbász (sausage made from muscle tissue rather than organ meat, and no stretchers or fillers). There very well may be a red hurka, but I never saw one in Budapest when I lived there. Perhaps it's a regional variation.

The best part is I get to share my favorite Hungarian ad, which happens to be on hurka.

Hi Binko. I've had the kolbasz, that's not the one I meant. Bende sells kolbasz and other types of salamis, but I've never seen hurka at his shop. Both the red (perosz?) and black (feketa?) hurkas that I have had contained rice. My Hungarian is limited to what I remember from hearing it, so my spellings are not usually accurate. They were both similar to kiska, (especially the black variety), but I preferred the taste of the red one. I've got a Hungarian friend in Milwaukee trying to find some up there. We'll see....

I'll bet you miss the fried fish from the open air markets in Budapest? Hungarian food is great. I wish there was a place like the Matyas Pince here. Paprikash, which is over-priced, has great stuffed cabbage, and is generally OK, but....

Binko wrote:

Cogito wrote:Annie, I'm looking for a Hungarian sausage called 'hurka' (spelling likely wrong).

Spelling is right! There's véres hurka (blood sausage) and májas hurka (liver & rice sausage), but I couldn't tell you where to get them in Chicago. I don't think I've ever seen either in a red color, though. There is a red sausage that's part of the traditional Hungarian pig kill (along with the two hurkas), but it's a kolbász (sausage made from muscle tissue rather than organ meat, and no stretchers or fillers). There very well may be a red hurka, but I never saw one in Budapest when I lived there. Perhaps it's a regional variation.

The best part is I get to share my favorite Hungarian ad, which happens to be on hurka.

And a rough translation of the lyrics, since they make me giggle:

"Ez a Jóska, ez a Gyurka ez pedig a véres hurka
Jóska, Gyurka, véres hurka, milyen jó a májas hurka
Ó de jó, sütnivaló, a hurka télen-nyáron jó
Itt a kenyér, itt a só, hurkát enni csú-da-jó"

This is Joey, this is Georgie, and now this is blood sausage.
Joey, Georgie, blood sausage, how good liver sausage is!
Oh how good, (roasting meats), sausage is good in the winter and spring.
Here's the bread, here's the sausage, eating hurka is terrific!

Cogito wrote:Hi Binko. I've had the kolbasz, that's not the one I meant. Bende sells kolbasz and other types of salamis, but I've never seen hurka at his shop. Both the red (perosz?) and black (feketa?) hurkas that I have had contained rice.

Piros would be red, and fekete would be black. To tell you the truth, I have no idea what piros hurka would be. I googled it, and there's only five hits. Can you describe it to me? And what's fekete hurka? Are they blood or liver sausages or something else? You're definitely describing hurka if they both contained rice.

edit: well, I found an online recipe for "fekete hurka," and that appears to be your standard blood sausage. No luck with piros hurka, though.

edit 2: Bende does sell kolbász, but I don't think I've ever seen any friss kolbász (fresh sausage) at the place, which is the third sausage normally made as part of the pig kill. It usually contains just pork, garlic, black pepper, salt, paprika, and sometimes caraway or marjoram.

Binko wrote:Piros would be red, and fekete would be black. To tell you the truth, I have no idea what piros hurka would be. I googled it, and there's only five hits. Can you describe it to me? And what's fekete hurka? Are they blood or liver sausages or something else? You're definitely describing hurka if they both contained rice.

edit: well, I found an online recipe for "fekete hurka," and that appears to be your standard blood sausage. No luck with piros hurka, though.

My guess would be that the red one is the liver sausage and the black one is the blood sausage. The black one is similar to Polish kiska. The red one, probably due to a paprika overload, was less coarse in texture and slightly sweeter in taste. When I bought them at that Hungarian meat shop on Lincoln, they were simply known as piros hurka, or fekete hurka, although I do remember folks saying that one was a blood sausage and the other a liver sausage. That's about all I can tell you. That commercial is funny.

HI,

This might help, please note there is also a Vernon Hills location as well.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

This might help, please note there is also a Vernon Hills location as well.

Regards,

Close, but no cigar. We mentioned this place above. Thanks, anyway.

I think that Ream's Elburn Market sometimes makes Hurka (at least I saw it on a list of products there). You could call and ask.

Ream's Elburn Market, Inc.
128 North Main Street
Elburn, IL
630/365-6461

d4v3, bingo! We have a winner. They are out of stock right now, but will make some by next week. Thanks, I'll let you know how it is....

I found out today that the Epicurean Hungarian Restaurant sells their own hurka to customers who want to cook it at home.