Nagykunság (Greater Cumania)

Nagykunság (Greater Cumania) was the largest livestock region of the Great Hungarian Plains in the eighteenth century, with huge flocks of sheep grazing at the edges of towns. To this day, a number of working farms preserve the memory of this former shepherding lifestyle.

Following this way of life, diets in the region were largely based on mutton consumption. Instead of preserving the mutton, after an animal was slaughtered the meat was consumed immediately by the family. The Nagykunság mutton dish is characterised by the whole body being cooked at once. The flavours of Nagykunság roast mutton are not only completely different from dishes in the rest of the Great Plains, but even the Karcag cooking techniques within the Kunság are very archaic and take a very unique form.

Dishes given the epithet ’Karcag’ then, is not due to the location, but is given to show the specific method of cooking. This method involves the meat of the animal being roasted without adding any water at the beginning, cooking almost simultaneously with the previously charred head, hooves and tail cooked together, with the tripe and offal then added. The stew is only seasoned with onion, ground and whole paprika, and salt. The cast iron cooking pot used is big enough to fit the whole body of the animal in.

Since 2010 the Karcag mutton-cooking tradition of the Kunság has been included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.

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