Hungarian Sausage: Kolbász, Hurka and Szalámi, and Where to Eat Them
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A Hungarian sausage is not a side dish
A thick, smoky, paprika-red kolbász on a paper tray, with mustard, a slice of bread and a pickle, is lunch in Hungary, eaten standing at a butcher’s counter. Before you order, you need three words: kolbász, hurka and szalámi. They are three different things, made three different ways, and once you know them every market stall and hentes menu in Budapest makes sense.
This guide explains each one, what the protected names on the label guarantee, how Hungarians eat them, and where to eat and buy them in Budapest and in the sausage towns of the south and east. For the rest of the table, our Hungarian food guide covers 25 dishes from gulyás to Gundel pancakes.
📋 The Three Words at a Glance
| Word | What it is | How it is eaten |
|---|---|---|
| Kolbász | Smoked, dried pork sausage with paprika and garlic | Sliced cold with bread, fried, or cooked into lecsó and bean soup |
| Hurka | Fresh cooked sausage of rice with liver (white) or blood (black) | Fried, with bread and pickles |
| Szalámi | Finely chopped, cold-smoked salami ripened for months under noble mold | Thinly sliced, cold |
Kolbász
Photo: Tobi85, public domain, resized. Kolbász at the Csaba Sausage Festival in Békéscsaba.
Kolbász is the long-keeping half of the pig-killing: raw lean meat seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper or paprika, in some places caraway, packed tightly into the casing and preserved by smoking. The meat was traditionally chopped with a cleaver. Paprika is what turns it red; the Transylvanian kolbász, still made without paprika, stays brown.
There is no single family recipe. In Békéscsaba they say “as many families, as many tastes”, but a few spices no Csabai can do without: salt, caraway, garlic, and two paprikas, one hot and one sweet. The paprika has a history too: when the war blockade of 1809 cut off black pepper, Békéscsaba’s makers switched to the hot paprika they grew themselves.
Not every kolbász is the dried kind. At a Budapest hentes counter you order sült kolbász, roast or fried sausage, served hot next to the hurka. The cured, smoked sausages on market shelves are the ones the protected names below describe.
Two sausages have EU protection: Csabai and Gyulai. A third, the Debreceni páros (Debrecen pair sausage, made from beef and pork), has been a Hungarikum since 2015 but is not on the EU register.
Hurka
Hurka is the other half of the pig-killing. Where kolbász is made to keep, hurka is made to be eaten right away. It is made in every region, in many local versions, and the most common pattern is a pair made side by side: a black one with blood and a white one without. Hungarians call the pair fekete-fehér (black and white) or véres-májas (blood and liver).
The base is almost always kása, a cooked grain or rice porridge, more rarely bread roll. Fat and spices go in for the white kind, blood as well for the black. Salt, onion and pepper are the constants; marjoram and ginger are common, and in the east cooks add dill seed, savory, apple or prunes. The rice is usually cooked in the liquor the pork was boiled in, and that liquor became soup in the days that followed. Hurka is eaten fried.
In Békéscsaba the local húrika uses lightly boiled meat, lung, heart, liver and bacon, minced with fried onion, salt and ground pepper, mixed with rice, poached, then fried in lard and served at the disznótor, the supper after the pig-killing, where neighbors and close relatives sit down to soup, meat with cabbage and doughnuts fried in fresh lard. Pig-killing traditionally happens in the winter months, so hurka is a cold-weather food.
Szalámi
Hungarian winter salami, téliszalámi, is a different animal from kolbász. The meat is chopped fine, smoked cold for days and ripened for months until a gray-white coat of noble mold covers the casing. Szeged is where it comes from: Márk Pick set up his factory there in 1869, and large-scale salami production began in 1885 with workers brought in from Italy.
Szegedi szalámi (also Szegedi téliszalámi) is an EU Protected Designation of Origin, registered in 2007. The register lets it be made only in the municipality of Szeged, from pigs raised and slaughtered in five southern and eastern counties. The animals must be over a year old and weigh at least 150 kg. The meat is chopped to 2 to 4 mm, filled into a casing at least 65 mm wide, smoked over beech logs at no more than 12 °C for 12 to 14 days, then ripened and dried for two to three months, at least 90 days in all.
The mold is the part that cannot be faked. No starter culture is used. The strains come from the house mycoflora of the ripening rooms, helped by the humidity of the Tisza river, and at least ten mold species, mostly penicillia, form the coat. That coat slows the drying and keeps the fat from turning rancid. Sliced Szegedi szalámi may only be sliced and packed in the production area, and on export labels the word “SALAMI” may replace “szalámi” in the name.
Two salami brands are Hungarikums, both since 2014. PICK téliszalámi follows Márk Pick’s late-19th-century recipe, still a secret, with cut pork and back fat, cold smoking and a maturing time the Hungarikum entry puts at close to 100 days. HERZ Classic téliszalámi follows Ármin Herz’s 19th-century recipe, smoked over beech, with white pepper and allspice in front. Both are now made by the same company in Szeged.
The Protected Names
These are the three Hungarian sausages on the EU register of geographical indications. The table gives what each register file requires.
| Name | Protection | What the register requires |
|---|---|---|
| Csabai kolbász / Csabai vastagkolbász | PGI, registered 2010; Hungarikum since 2013 | Made in Békéscsaba and Gyula. Pork and firm lard from pigs of at least 135 kg, boned by hand, minced to 4-6 mm. Sweet and hot ground paprika, garlic, whole caraway, salt. Large pork casing or permeable artificial casing. Smoked over hardwood, mainly beech, for 3-5 days, dried about 4 weeks (artificial casing) or 6 weeks (natural), then matured. 40-60 mm thick, 20-55 cm long, dark red. Label must say “csípős” (hot). |
| Gyulai kolbász / Gyulai pároskolbász | PGI, registered 2010; Hungarikum since 2013 | Made in Gyula and Békéscsaba. Same pig breeds and 135 kg minimum, boned by hand, minced to 4-6 mm. Salt, sweet and hot ground paprika, garlic, pepper, ground caraway. Small pork casing, filled in pairs. Smoked mainly over beech for 2-3 days, cure-dried 14-16 days, then matured. 26-40 mm thick, pairs 18-26 cm, reddish-brown, slightly knobbly, at most 5% salt. |
| Szegedi szalámi / Szegedi téliszalámi | PDO, registered 2007 | Made in Szeged. Pigs over 1 year and at least 150 kg, from five named counties, boned by hand, chopped to 2-4 mm. Casing at least 65 mm. Smoked over beech at max. 12 °C for 12-14 days, ripened 2-3 months, at least 90 days in total. Noble mold from the ripening rooms, no starter culture. |
On the shelf, the difference between the two sausages is easy to see: Csabai is the thick single stick, Gyulai the thinner pair. Both registers call for paprika, sweet and hot, and neither one requires it to come from Szeged or Kalocsa, Hungary’s two protected paprika regions.
Gyulai has a long prize record: its first international prize came in 1910, won by József Balogh Jr., and András Stéberl, who mechanized production, took a gold certificate at the 1935 Brussels fair.
Source: EU eAmbrosia register records and the single documents published in the Official Journal (C 248, 16 October 2009, for Csabai and Gyulai; C 86, 20 April 2007, for Szegedi szalámi), the European Commission’s Gyulai kolbász page and the hungarikum.hu entries, read on 24 October 2026.
How Hungarians Eat It
At the counter. The Budapest hentes routine is simple: take a tray, order across the counter, and eat at a high table. Fried sausage comes with mustard, pickles and a slice of bread. Belvárosi Disznótoros recommends crunchy bread and freshly grated horseradish with its hurka and kolbász, plus pickles from the counter, and braised red cabbage is among the sides there. At a market eatery the classic order is a pair of fried sausages with a slice of fresh bread.
Sliced cold. Dry kolbász and szalámi are sliced thin and eaten cold with bread.
In the pot. Sausage goes into lecsó, the pepper and tomato stew, so often that Pick sells a dedicated lecsókolbász. It also tops lángos, and it is the backbone of Jókai bableves, the heavy bean soup rich in smoked meat, kolbász and lard. The soup is named after the novelist Mór Jókai, though his own bean dish had pig’s trotter and no sausage; the version with sausage first appeared in a later, revised Gundel cookbook.
In season. Pig-killing falls in the winter months, so fried sausage and liver hurka belong to the Christmas table too. Our gulyás, pörkölt and paprikás guide covers the stews you will eat alongside.
Where to Eat It in Budapest
Belvárosi Disznótoros. The downtown hentes counter for roast sausage, liver hurka and blood hurka, sold by weight, with sides you pick at the counter and daily specials on the chalkboard on weekdays. It is self-service with mostly standing places and busiest on weekdays between 12:00 and 14:00, so come before noon or in the afternoon.
- Károlyi Mihály utca 17 (District V): Mon-Fri 11:00-18:00, Sat 11:00-17:00.
- Király utca 1/d (District VII): Mon-Wed 11:00-20:00, Thu 11:00-21:00, Fri 11:00-22:00, Sat 12:00-22:00, Sun 12:00-20:00.
- Etele Pláza, Hadak útja 1 (District XI): daily 10:00-20:00.
PICK Bistro & Lángos. Pick’s own Budapest outlet, at Kossuth Lajos tér 9 by Parliament, serves lángos and Hungarian dishes and sells salami to take home. Open Mon-Sat 11:30-23:00, Sun 11:30-20:00.
More counters. Our Budapest hentes guide ranks nine butcher counters that cook, from Teréz körút to Óbuda, with what to order at each.
Sources: Belvárosi Disznótoros and PICK Bistro, with Pick’s brand shop list, read on 24 October 2026.
Where to Buy It and Carry It Home
The Great Market Hall. The ground floor of the Great Market Hall at Vámház körút 1-3 (Fővám tér) is the easiest place in Budapest to buy kolbász and salami, with around 30 meat and charcuterie stalls. Compare a few stalls before you buy, and arrive early on a weekday, when the hall is quieter. It opens Mon-Fri 6:00-18:00, Sat 6:00-16:00 and Sun 10:00-16:00, and closes on public holidays. Entry is free.
Read the label. Look for the protected names: Csabai kolbász or Csabai vastagkolbász, Gyulai kolbász or Gyulai pároskolbász, and Szegedi szalámi or Szegedi téliszalámi. A Csabai must say csípős (hot) on the label; a natural-casing one may also say home style.
Taking it home. Check this before you buy.
- Great Britain: you cannot bring pork, or products made from it such as sausages, into Great Britain from the EU in personal luggage. The same applies to beef, lamb, mutton, goat, venison and all dairy, because of animal disease outbreaks in the EU.
- United States: the USDA’s animal health service tells travelers not to bring foods containing pork, and to declare all meat and animal products to customs. Customs may dispose of food containing pork, and declaring it avoids penalties even if the product is refused.
- Elsewhere, including inside the EU: check your own country’s rules before you pack it.
Sources: Budapesti Vásárcsarnokok, Nagycsarnok, read on 24 October 2026. GOV.UK, bringing meat and dairy into Great Britain, read on 24 October 2026. USDA APHIS, African swine fever and travel (page updated 16 September 2026) and traveling with agricultural products, read on 24 October 2026.
Sausage Country Beyond Budapest
Békéscsaba. The home of Csabai kolbász hosts the Csaba Sausage Festival every October. The 2026 festival runs 22 to 25 October, with sausage-kneading contests, an international dry-sausage competition and cooking contests for paprikás krumpli and stuffed cabbage. Our Csaba Sausage Festival guide covers how the weekend works and how to get there. Gyulahús, the maker of Gyulai kolbász, has a brand shop in town at Andrássy út 71-73 (Mon 6:00-12:00, Tue-Fri 6:00-17:00, Sat 6:00-12:00).
Gyula. Gyulai kolbász is still made at the original site on Béke sugárút, smoked over real beech. The brand shop at Béke sugárút 50 opens Mon 7:00-12:30, Tue-Fri 7:00-17:30, Sat 7:00-12:00. Our Gyula weekend guide builds the trip around the castle, the pastry shop and the sausage.
Szeged. The salami city. The Pick salami and paprika museum has closed and lives on as a virtual museum, so go to the shops instead:
- Pick Kereskedők Háza, Horgosi út 33: Mon 10:00-17:00, Tue-Fri 6:00-18:00, Sat 6:00-13:00, Sun closed.
- Pick Húsáruház, Maros utca 21: Mon 11:00-18:00, Tue-Fri 6:30-18:00, Sat 6:00-12:00, Sun closed.
Szeged is also one of Hungary’s two protected paprika regions. Our Szeged day trip adds the cathedral, the synagogue and the fish soup.
Sources: Csabai Kolbászfesztivál, Gyulahús, Pick brand shops and Pick museum notice, read on 24 October 2026.
The Verdict
Eat the fried sausage and hurka hot at a hentes counter, and buy the dried kolbász and winter salami to take away. If you want the real protected thing, read the label for Csabai, Gyulai or Szegedi. Choose Csabai for heat, Gyulai for a thinner, peppery pair, and Szegedi szalámi for the mold-coated salami that has been made the same slow way in Szeged since the 19th century. Before you pack any of it, check what your home country lets you bring in.
Sources: EU geographical indications register (eAmbrosia), the Official Journal single documents for Csabai, Gyulai and Szegedi szalámi, hungarikum.hu, Magyar Néprajzi Lexikon (entries kolbász, hurka, disznóölés, disznótor), Csabai Kolbászfesztivál recipes, Pick, Herz, Telex on Jókai bean soup, Visit Hungary, the operator pages listed under each section, GOV.UK and USDA APHIS, all read on 24 October 2026.
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Good to know
What is Hungarian sausage called?
Kolbász. It is the Hungarian word for the smoked, dried sausage made at pig-killing time from lean pork, garlic, salt and paprika or pepper, often with caraway. The soft cooked sausage of rice with liver or blood is hurka, and the slow-ripened salami is szalámi or téliszalámi (winter salami).
What is the difference between Csabai and Gyulai sausage?
Both are protected EU names made only in Békéscsaba and Gyula, and both are seasoned with sweet and hot paprika, garlic and caraway. Csabai is the thick one: 40 to 60 mm across, filled into a large pork casing, smoked for 3 to 5 days and dried for roughly four to six weeks, with the heat up front. Gyulai is thinner, 26 to 40 mm, filled into a small casing in pairs, adds black pepper, is smoked for 2 to 3 days and dried for 14 to 16.
What is hurka?
Hurka is the sausage of the pig-killing, made to be eaten fresh rather than kept. The base is usually cooked rice, with liver for the white kind (májas hurka) or blood for the black kind (véres hurka), seasoned with onion, salt and pepper and often marjoram. Hungarians eat it fried, with bread and pickles.
What makes Szeged salami special?
Szegedi szalámi is an EU Protected Designation of Origin. It must be made in Szeged from pigs over a year old and at least 150 kg, smoked over beech at no more than 12 °C, and ripened for two to three months, at least 90 days in all. No mold starter is used: the gray-white coat grows from the mold strains living in the ripening rooms.
Where can I eat Hungarian sausage in Budapest?
At a hentes, a butcher counter that also cooks. Belvárosi Disznótoros on Károlyi utca and Király utca serves fried kolbász and liver or blood hurka by weight, with bread, pickles and freshly grated horseradish. Our hentes guide lists eight more.
Can I take Hungarian salami home?
It depends on where home is. Great Britain does not allow pork or pork products such as sausages from the EU in personal luggage, because of animal disease outbreaks in the EU. The US Department of Agriculture tells travelers not to bring foods containing pork and to declare all meat to customs. Inside the EU, check your own country's rules before you travel.