Among the well-known and favorite first courses, such as borsch, pickle, cabbage, a special place is occupied by the recipe for a classic hodgepodge with sausage and smoked meats. It is no exaggeration to say that the combined meat hodgepodge is the queen of the first courses. Many do not know how to cook this first dish or are afraid to take up the recipe altogether, considering that this process is long and complicated.

Yes, indeed, cooking meat hodgepodge at home takes longer than boiling a light chicken broth, and there are nuances and subtleties both in the method of cutting the ingredients and in the order in which they are added. But nevertheless, it is very possible even for those housewives who do not have a lot of culinary experience to master the art of cooking delicious salt.

The most important thing is the correct recipe, quality products and a good mood. And to give you confidence in your abilities, I have prepared a step-by-step recipe with a photo of how this delicious dish is prepared. Well, go ahead to the kitchen - cook the most delicious hodgepodge in the world?

Ingredients required

Serves 4:

• 1 small onion;
• 1 small carrot;
• 2 medium pickled cucumbers;
• 300-400 g of smoked meats and sausages;
• 2 tbsp tomato paste;
• vegetable oil for frying.

For broth:

• 1.2-1.5 liters of water;
• 3-4 pork ribs;
• 1 small onion;
• 1 small carrot;
• salt;
• 3-4 peas of black pepper.

For decoration:

• lemon;
• olives;
• greens.

Cooking steps

A very important component in the hodgepodge is good meat broth. I cook it on pork ribs, so it turns out delicious and rich.

We put the ribs in water, put on fire. When the water boils, reduce the heat and carefully remove the foam that appears.

Add peeled carrots and onions, salt and peppercorns to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the broth on the ribs for 1.5 - 2 hours.

After that, take out the ribs, cool, separate the meat from the bone and chop finely. We also remove the broth and carrots from the broth. We will then use the meat, but we can say goodbye to boiled vegetables.

Now let's take care of the filling for the hodgepodge. Cut the onion into small cubes and sauté until transparent.

Three carrots on a fine grater, add to the pan to the onion, mix and sauté everything together over low heat for about 5 minutes.

Cut the cucumbers into small cubes. Add to the onions and carrots and simmer all together for another 5 minutes.

Add tomato paste, mix and cook over low heat for another 5-7 minutes.

Cut the smoked meats into small cubes. You can put whatever you like best in the hodgepodge. This time I had hunting sausages, ham and veal balyk.

Fry smoked meats over high heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the broth, brought to a boil, add vegetables with tomato paste, mix and cook for 5 minutes.

Then add chopped pork and fried smoked meats. Mix, bring the broth to a boil. Then cover the pan with a lid and cook on minimum heat for 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the hodgepodge brew for 20-30 minutes.