The recipe for traditional Romanian sarmales

You enjoyed them around the table with your family, when the Christmas tree lit up the corner of the room and the smell of baking mixed with the steam of the oven. They saved you from deadlocks at weddings where the menu didn't seem to convince and warmed your heart in the frosty winters when it was snowing lightly outside and all you wanted was a hot bowl of sarmale.

Pork-filled cabbage rolls are a feast in themselves, provided they're done right. You have to know how to carefully choose the ingredients, sprinkle the spices with the hand of a wizard and wrap them with a skill that only comes from experience, so that they are all equally beautiful and do not fall apart in the pot. The sarmale recipe is passed down from generation to generation, but wouldn't it be a shame, in these modern times, not to gather a drop of inspiration from the depths of the internet, especially when you're feeling homesick?

And if the recipe comes with a few golden tips and a foray into the kitchens of Romania's regions, where Moldovans and Transylvanians reveal their secrets, then it's really worth trying the traditional sarmale recipe with cabbage, which seems to be the mountain one.

The recipe for traditional sarmals

Ingredients for stuffed cabbage rolls

• 1 large sauerkraut
• 1 kg minced pork
• 500 g of smoked pork (preferably ribs or loins)
• 200 g smoked bacon
• 1 cup of rice
• 2 large onions
• 2 cups white wine
• 1 glass of tomato broth
• 3 tomatoes in broth
• thyme, dill, bay leaves, paprika, pepper, salt

Preparation of sarmals with meat

• How to prepare cabbage for sarmales?

Remove the leaves of pickled cabbage and wash them well to eliminate excess salt. If the leaves are too large, cut them in half. Remove the thick veins to make the leaves easier to roll. The remaining cabbage is finely chopped and kept for layering the stuffed cabbage in the pot.

• How to prepare the composition for sarmales with pork?

In a large pan, fry the finely chopped onion in a little oil or lard until golden.

Add the washed rice and continue to sauté for a few minutes, until the rice becomes translucent.

In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, finely chopped smoked meat and smoked bacon. Add the sautéed onion with the rice, then season with salt, pepper, thyme and chopped dill. You can also add paprika if you like. Mix all the ingredients well to obtain a homogeneous composition.

• How do you roll sarmales in cabbage leaves?

Take a leaf of cabbage and put a generous spoonful of stuffing on one end. Roll the sheet tightly, starting at the stuffed end, and tuck the side edges inward to seal the wire. Repeat until you finish all the composition for the sarmale.

• How do you mount the sarmales in the pot?

Grease the bottom of a large clay or cast iron pot with lard or oil.

Spread a layer of chopped cabbage on the bottom of the pot, then a layer of slices of smoked brisket or mouse.

Place the sarmales in layers, alternating with chopped cabbage and pieces of smoked meat. The last layer should be chopped cabbage, sprinkled with bay leaves and sprigs of thyme.

• How to cook sarmales with pork?

In a separate bowl, mix the white wine with the tomato stock and heat the mixture slightly. Pour it over the sausages, making sure the liquid covers them.

Cover the pot and put it on low heat. The sarmales are cooked over low heat for at least 5 hours, until the cabbage becomes very soft and the flavors are well absorbed. If the liquid drops too much, you can add a little hot water.

• How are sarmales served?

Sarmales are best served hot, with sour cream, hot peppers and warm polenta. Also, the next day, after they have rested and the flavors have melded even better, they are even tastier.

This is the classic recipe for sarmales with sauerkraut, a traditional dish that offers a real feast for the senses at every meal.

Tips for successful wiretapping

Usually, it is not enough to follow the recipe for sarmale step by step to enjoy those tender, aromatic delicacies with that unmistakable taste of smoked meat, embraced by the softness of the cabbage leaf. You need to steal a bit of craft from the housewives or to take on some of their "tools" secrets that turn any traditional dishes into a true culinary art.

We share with you some tips for the best braces.

• Choose meat with an adequate fat content

The fat is essential for the sarmales to be tender and juicy. Use fattier pork, such as pork loin, loin, or pork belly, in your traditional sarmale recipe. You can also add beef, but it is important that the mixture contains enough fat to achieve the desired texture.

• Prepare the cabbage correctly

Wash the sauerkraut well in cold water to remove excess salt. If the leaves are too hard, you can lightly scald them to soften them and make rolling easier. The remaining cabbage can be finely chopped and used to layer the sarmals in the pot.

• Do not put eggs in the composition for sarmales

Do not put eggs or raw onions in the composition for sarmales. The eggs strengthen the composition, and the onion should be sautéed with the rice before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients to add sweetness and flavor to the filling.

• Add 100 g of rice to 1 kg of meat

Too much rice can dry out the sarmales, so try to respect the right ratio of rice to a kilogram of meat.

• Don't put too much salt.

Don't forget that sauerkraut is salty, so you have to be careful with the amount of salt you add in the composition of cabbage rolls.

• Wrap the wrappers carefully

The sarmales must not come apart during cooking, so the meat must be wrapped tightly, with the edges well sealed.

• Don't pile up the stuffed cabbage rolls.

Leave enough space in the pot (3-4 cm) for the liquid to circulate and cover the sarmales.

• Boil the sarmales over low heat.

The best sarmals with meat are obtained after slow cooking, preferably in a clay pot with a lid, for 3-5 hours, or in the oven at a low temperature (150°C) for 3-4 hours. As it cooks, the rice will absorb liquid, so it needs to be topped up periodically. At the end, you can uncover the pot to let them brown for half an hour at 180°C.

• Serve them in the right company

Sarmales are best served hot, with sour cream, warm polenta and hot peppers, if desired. Also, if you let them rest overnight, the next day they will surprise you with better defined aromas.

These tips will guide you in preparing successful stuffed cabbage rolls with pickled cabbage, full of flavor and with a perfect texture. If you want to learn more traditional Romanian food recipes, feel free to browse the A&S Market blog.

Sarmale according to the region of the country

Sarmalele, with deep roots in Turkish cuisine, have been enthusiastically adopted and adapted throughout Romania.

• Moldovan sausages

In Moldova, sarmales are known for their small size and the fact that they are well stuffed. These are prepared with a combination of pork and beef, to which rice and sautéed onions are added. Moldovans are generous with the flavors, adding thyme and dill for an authentic taste. The sarmales are slowly cooked in borscht or tomatoes, resulting in a tart and flavorful dish that reminds you of festive meals at home.

• Wallachian Sarmales

In Muntenia, sarmales are larger and are often accompanied by pieces of smoked meat or mice, which give them an intense taste. Sauerkraut is a must, and the filling is made from minced pork, to which is added smoked bacon and rice. These sarmals are simmered in clay pots with plenty of tomato stock and white wine, resulting in a hearty dish ideal for long winter evenings.

• Sarmales from Transylvania

Transylvania boasts large, hearty sarmales, often prepared with scalded sweet cabbage. Here, the sarmale recipe says that in addition to pork, you need to use a lot of smoked meat, and the filling is often seasoned with paprika, which gives them a beautiful color and rich taste. In some areas, sarmals are cooked on the stove or in the oven, sometimes all night, to soften and absorb all the flavors from the pot.

Regardless of the region, sarmales have the power to bring a touch of Romania wherever you are. They are more than a dish – they are a story, a tradition, and above all, a memory that connects us to home and loved ones.