Sausage, sausage everywhere: the secret of Gyulai and Csabai sausages

In 1934 all the sausages from Gyula were gone in Paris. This wouldn’t have been so bad had this not happened to András Stéberl, the owner of the Gyula Sausage Factory, whose product for the international competition was actually eaten up by traders and delegations from other nations also on their way to the event. According to the story, Stéberl’s delegation went back to Gyula, then travelled to the Belgian World Fair with enough goods the following year, where they gained a great success: the small pair of Gyulai sausages won a gold award. The pride of Gyula town, the Stéberl Meat Factory still stands in its original location on Béke Avenue, almost in the city centre. The factory survived both nationalisation and privatisation, and in 2013 the town decided to save the famous brand and its employees. Since then, they have been filling the sausages and preparing frankfurters and cold cuts again.

And there’s more! Thanks to the Gyulai Hentesek Hagyományőrző Egyesülete (Gyula Butchers' Traditional Association) you can also explore the history of the meat industry in Gyula. One of the buildings of the former slaughterhouse is home to a lovely private museum run by some of the most dedicated members of the profession. A passionate love of the profession and shared moments is on display in the three-room exhibition, where you are accompanied by enthusiastic and well-prepared guides. As you reach the end of the exhibition, you will be sure: the secret of Gyulai sausage is not only in its ingredients, but also its history. But let us see what makes the Gyulai sausage so tasty. First of all, the sausage is made with great care, even under industrial conditions. The meat mixture filled into the small intestine of the pork is seasoned with paprika and pepper, so the sausage is never really too spicy. The sausage is made only from typical Hungarian ingredients and is a protected product, so that only sausages produced within the administrative boundaries of Gyula or Békéscsaba can be called Gyulai sausage.

The question arises: how then is the Csabai sausage different? The Csabai sausage is basically a farm product with a long history, and its recipe was probably brought to the area by the Slovaks who settled here. Back in the old days, it was so treasured in peasant households that only a few slices were allowed to be consumed after meals. Hence the saying: “Real Csabai sausage is the best dessert in the world!”

In fact, it was only from the beginning of the 20th century that enough pigs were kept here for meat processing to become significant, but then it quickly gained ground, and by the 1930s the Csabai sausage was well-known nationwide and many wanted to copy it. Therefore, the local industry association took the initiative to trademark the product. Since then, the Csabai sausage cannot be anything else than what it is: a very spicy sausage, i.e. hot, but completely free of pepper, made only from domestic ingredients, which is matured for a few weeks or even several months after smoking – depending on its thickness. Its diameter varies, depending on who makes it. Fortunately, there are plenty of those who fill sausages in the area: the Csabai sausage is still produced by small-scale producers, according to a recipe that has been handed down for generations. And who has the best tasting sausage? Among others, this turns out at the “Csabai Kolbászfesztivál” (Csabai Sausage Festival), which has been organised for more than twenty years. It is decided at the Festival who made the best sausages of the year: whose sausage tastes the best will be the sausage king for a year. It is a great honour, though, it is also a great achievement if one team out of hundreds comes first in the sausage filling competition. The kneading, flavouring and stuffing of the fresh sausage is done on the spot by professional or even completely amateur teams, in a really cheerful atmosphere. Nevertheless, sausage is a source of pleasure in life in many ways. It is a pleasure both to make and eat it. You should definitely try one of them if you visit the area.