Schwarzsauer (Swattsuer (Schwarzsauer))
Overview
Schwarzsauer, Swattsuer or Swartsupp in Low German, is the black sour soup of northern Germany, made with fresh pig's blood. Pork belly, rind and trimmings, sometimes with trotters, tails or snout, are simmered in water sharpened with vinegar and spiced with bay leaves, whole peppercorns, cloves, onion, a little sugar and root vegetables. Fresh blood is then stirred into the hot vinegar broth, where it sets and turns almost completely black, binding the pieces of meat and rind. The soup tastes sour, sweet and spicy at once. It is eaten hot with boiled potatoes or dumplings. A version made without blood is called Weißsauer.
History
In Lower Saxony, Hamburg, Mecklenburg and Schleswig-Holstein, Schwarzsauer was traditionally cooked on slaughter day, to use the fresh blood and the trimmings that were not needed for sausages. In East Prussia, Pomerania and East Frisia it was more often made with the giblets, feet and intestines of geese or ducks. Theodor Fontane remembered it from his childhood in Swinemünde in the 1820s. Because the ingredients were cheap, it was a poor people's dish until the second half of the 20th century, and it is rare today because fresh blood is hard to buy. Poland's czernina is a close relative.
Main ingredients
Pork blood, pork belly, pork rind, vinegar, bay leaf, cloves. The soup is built on sweet-sour black blood soup and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Pork soups · More soups from Germany
Recipe
Method
- 1
Simmer the pork belly and rind in 1.5 l water with the onion, carrot, celeriac, bay, peppercorns, cloves and salt for about 1½ hours.
- 2
Lift out the meat, cut it into small pieces and strain the broth.
- 3
Add the vinegar and sugar to the broth and bring it back to a simmer.
- 4
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the blood a little at a time until the soup thickens and turns black; do not let it boil.
- 5
Return the meat, adjust the sweet and sour balance and serve with potatoes or dumplings.
- ✓
Serve. About 1h 50m from start to bowl.
In short: Schwarzsauer is a meat soup from Germany, in Western Europe, made mainly with pork blood, pork belly and pork rind. It contains meat and is usually served hot.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
