Falukorv
Large smoked sausage of mining origin: its creation is bound to the copper mines of Falun, where ox hides were used to make hoisting ropes, and the leftover meat was turned into sausage.
| Lean beef | 400 g |
| Lean pork | 350 g |
| Back fat | 250 g |
| Curing salt | 20 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Ground white pepper | 2 g |
| Ground ginger | 1 g |
| Grated nutmeg | 1 g |
| Onion powder | 3 g |
| Potato starch | 40 g |
| Iced water | 150 ml |
| Wide synthetic or natural casing (Ø 60–80 mm) | — |
- Preparation: Cut the meats into cubes. Part-freeze.
- Mincing: Mince very finely in a bowl cutter to a smooth emulsion (pâté texture).
- Emulsion: Add the curing salt, the sugar, the spices, then the iced water and the starch gradually. Beat to a creamy, homogeneous consistency.
- Stuffing: Stuff into the wide casing, forming sausages of 25 to 30 cm. Tie at the ends.
- Smoking: Hot-smoke (70–80 °C) for 2–3 hours over beech wood until golden in colour.
- Poaching: Poach in water at 75 °C for 45 to 60 minutes according to diameter, to an internal temperature of 72 °C.
- Cooling: Cool quickly under cold water, then refrigerate.
- Use: Slice and pan-fry, cook as a stroganoff, or bake in a mustard crust.
The falukorv stands apart from most Swedish sausages by its high proportion of beef, the principal ingredient of the forcemeat. Potato starch, the characteristic binder of emulsified Swedish charcuterie, stabilises the emulsion and contributes to the product’s soft, smooth texture. The touch of sugar in the seasoning is a constant in Nordic charcuterie tradition, absent from comparable German or French traditions.
Its origin is bound to the copper mines of Falun, in the Dalarna region of central Sweden. These mines were among the most productive in Europe in the seventeenth century, supplying a substantial share of the continent’s copper. Extraction required a large number of oxen for haulage and for driving the machinery (winches, water pumps). Their hides were made into the ropes indispensable to the mine’s working; the leftover meat, abundant, was turned into sausage by the local butchers. This origin explains the unusually high proportion of beef in the recipe. The first documented mentions of the falukorv in the Falun archives date from the seventeenth century.
The name falukorv has been protected since 2001 by a European TSG (Traditional Speciality Guaranteed), which imposes a defined composition and process (at least 45 per cent meat, potato starch as sole binder, no artificial colourings), without geographical restriction. Industrial versions that depart from this specification may not bear the name.
It is eaten in pan-fried slices, in a stew called korvstroganoff, or baked with mustard and melted cheese (falukorv i ugn). This last preparation is taught in the home economics classes (hemkunskap) that are compulsory in Swedish primary schools. In 2019, an announced reformulation of the recipe by the principal manufacturer, Scan, stirred a controversy in the Swedish Parliament, with several members publicly taking a stand to defend the original recipe.
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