1kg pork shoulder cut into small cubes (meat and fat together)
3-4 tbs crushed coriander
3-4 tbs salt
1 & 1/2 tbs whole “schinia” (or “shinia”) (Note: whole “shinia” looks like black peppercorns, but are not. They also are not pink peppercorns. They are also not juniper berries. “Shinia” come from a plant indigenous to the Mediterranean called pistacia lentiscus in Latin, so it’s best to ask a speciality store for direction when buying these because it’s a very specific type of dried berry that is needed. I suppose you could use pink peppercorn as a substitute if you cannot find “schinia”.)
1 & 1/2 tsps freshly ground black pepper
dry red wine (you will need a few bottles, see below for instructions)
2 pork intestines (cleaned and ready to be used). Tell your butcher you have diced 1kg of meat, and ask how many pork intestines you will need.
1. In a large bowl place the chopped meat, sprinkle 1 tbs salt and add enough red wine to cover the meat completely.
2. Cover and place it in the refrigerator. Every day for 8 days, stir and add about a 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup more wine. During this time, the meat will soak up the wine.
3. On the last day (8th day – e.g. Saturday to Saturday) take some of the wine out of the bowl, add salt, pepper, coriander, and whole “schinia”.
4. Stir the mixture. It is now ready to be stuffed into the intestines. You may need to create a “funnel” at the top of the intestine. (A trick is to get a little bendable twig, and make a circle with it, tie the two ends together. Then, put an open end of the intestine around this to make a firm opening. Also, if the intestines are long cut them in half, it will be easier to stuff and form the sausages.) Tie a knot at the other end of the intestine.
5. Begin to stuff the intestine with the sausage mixture. Once all the mixture has been stuffed into the intestine, tie a knot at the end.
6. Then create individual sausages. We made our sausages about 10 cm long, but you can also make them smaller. To make an individual sausage, simply twist the intestine to create a sausage.
7. Then, hang the sausages to dry in the sun for 2 weeks. (Bring them in at night and if it rains, otherwise leave them outside in the sun). Note that traditionally, people would “dry out” their “loukanika” by smoking them over the fireplace – sometimes burning the branches from wild juniper bushes. But, if you are making “loukanika” in a city, this won’t really be possible.
8. Once the sausages are dry, they are ready to be cooked. Serve them hot, cooked on charcoals, or fried with eggs, and together with (grilled) halloumi and tomato. (Note that the picture below is of the “loukanika” once they have been dried in the sun for 2 weeks. It’s not very appetizing but they taste really good – I promise!)
Hello , my husband is Cypriot and told me it is “shinos” and not “shinia” that are added to the loukanika. Shinia in Cypriot means “rope”.
that being said thank you for the recipe I have them drying now (unfortunately without shinos!!) but I hope they will be good nonetheless.
Hi Francoise, thanks very much! Yes “shinia” is the bush and “shinos” are the seeds, I must have made a mistake. I’ll take a look and make any corrections when I renovate the website (which is currently happening). I hope you enjoy the recipe and it works out well for you!
hi my name is christoph i am a cypriot and just about to try
your receipe. i leave in belarus so sunshine is a bit hard to
come by at this time of the year. i would imagine it would
be ok to dry them near a heat source
I think so, but I haven’t tried it without any sunshine! But traditionally they were smoked!
My mother would dry them in the unfinished room above the garage at our house in Norfolk, VA. It would get really hot up there in the summer and there was a window at one end of the room so it got sunshine too but essentially was dried entirely indoors. Delicious!
your recipe is very authentic. I am an Australian Cypriot (3rd generation) with origins all over Cyprus, but I call Kathikas my home, which is about 25km from Amargeti. I make and sell my own loukanika to the local market, but like you once were, I’m still in corporate world. I live in urban Sydney, but have kept my recipe and my methods as original as I can, but obviously with the assistance of modern technology. My produce is 100% Australian made, even the Shino and my dream is to one day expose the hidden treasures of our ancient cuisine to the global market.
Congratulations on your website, you’ve done an amazing job. Perhaps the next time I’m in Cyprus we can meet and we can discuss how we can keep our cuisine and our culture alive and thriving for the next 2000 years!
Nicholas
I have been looking for a authentic Loukaniko recipe 4 ever it seems ? all I find is recipes for Shiftelies and obviously that’s is not what I want the recipe you have posted is what I wanted .
And I have skinos (seeds) from Cyprus. (Shinos)
Hi everyone….is there any where online we can order the ‘shinos’ from?
I believe you can purchase it online at this site: https://foodfromcyprus.com/herbs-spices/275-carnation-schinus-pistacia-lentiscus-40g
Good luck!
Having spent many years visiting Cyprus with my Yiayia from Bella Pais I am trying to find a seller that will ship me some loukanika to N.C. Also colokassi…..both my favorites! Are you aware of anyone that will sell/ship these items? Am not interested in sausages from Greece–only Cyprus. My dear mother, 91 yrs. old, recently spoke about both and I wish to surprise her. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you in advance, Kathrin
Hi there!
Thanks for the recipe above.
Do you add any nitrite or similar to cure the loukanika? What stops cures the meat? I notice there isn’t much salt called for in the recipe?
I would like to dry these out in a cold smoker, has anyone here had experience with this, and how long would you smoke?
Cheers
Do not add nitrites as the ted wine has natural nitrate in it and will convert to nitrite as it cures over 2 weeks.
Cold smoke after you have dried in the sun for 8 days and the last 4 days can be cold smoked.
Hello
Thanks for the above recipe.
Do you recommend adding any curing salt to the mix?
Many thanks
Do not add nitrites as the ted wine has natural nitrate in it and will convert to nitrite as it cures over 2 weeks.
Thanks! Do you crush coriander seeds to a powder or just lightly crush them?
Hi
I managed to make Loukaniko this weekend with the help and guidance from my mother. (She is 89, from a Cyprus village, and has all traditional recipes)
With the coriander, my mother added Origanum, shinos (which she got from Cyprus), black pepper and a little cinnamon.
She recommended in using whole coriander then crush it before adding it for better flavour.
Not only that, she showed me how to make Halloumi, Kourabiedes and shefltialia.
Unfortunatly, I just dont have the patience for Shoushouko
Feta is next 🙂