Belarusian · sauce/condiment

Machanka (Pork Rib and Sausage Dipping Gravy)

Name: Machanka (Pork Rib and Sausage Dipping Gravy)
Prep time: 1 h 57 min
Total time: 1 h 57 min
Cuisine: Belarusian
Ingredients: pork ribs — 600 g; italian pork sausage — 250 g; pork belly — 150 g; onions — 220 g; all-purpose flour — 23 g; water — 500 g; sour cream — 300 g; bay leaf — 2 g; allspice — 800 g; caraway seeds — 5 g; salt — 5 g; ground black pepper — 3 g; dill — 20 g

Machanka (Pork Rib and Sausage Dipping Gravy) reads umami 8.0, richness 7.7 and salinity 4.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Belarusian sauce/condiment, about 1 hr 57 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 8.7 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 2.6 / 10
Sour & Bright — 3.0 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 3.5 / 10
Rich & Fat — 7.9 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 3.8 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 8.0 · Richness 7.7 · Salinity 4.5 · Herbaceous 3.1 · Smoke 3.0 · Sourness 3.0 · Allium 2.9 · Warm Spice 2.7 · Funk & Ferment 2.4 · Sweetness 2.3 · Heat 1.8 · Earthy 1.7 · Bitterness 1.2 · Floral 1.0 · Fruity 0.9 · Nutty 0.7

What's in it (13)

pork ribs — 600 g
italian pork sausage — 250 g
pork belly — 150 g
onions — 220 g
all-purpose flour — 23 g
water — 500 g
sour cream — 300 g
bay leaf — 2 g
allspice — 800 g
caraway seeds — 5 g
salt — 5 g
ground black pepper — 3 g
dill — 20 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 57 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 181.6 kcal, 8.4 g protein, 10.4 g fat, 22.4 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (10 steps)

Render the pork belly lardons in a heavy pan over medium heat for 10 minutes, until crisp and swimming in their own fat.
Brown the smoked ribs in that fat on all sides, 8 minutes.
Add the onions and cook 12 minutes, until soft, gold and beginning to melt into the fat.
Sprinkle over the flour and stir 2 minutes to cook out the raw taste.
Pour in the water or stock and add the bay, allspice and caraway. Cover and simmer 1 hour, until the rib meat pulls away from the bone easily.
Add the sliced sausage and simmer 15 minutes.
Season with the salt and pepper.
Now take the pan off the boil entirely and stir in the smetana. Hold it at a bare tremble for 10 minutes, never letting it bubble; sour cream boiled in a gravy this acidic breaks into grains and there is no fixing it. The finished machanka should coat the back of a spoon thickly.
Scatter with dill and take it to the table in one wide bowl. Machanka means dipping, and that is literally how it is eaten: a stack of blini or draniki beside it and everyone tears, dips and eats with their hands. It is a Belarusian dish in its own right and is frequently misfiled under Polish or Russian names in English-language sources.
Substitutions: light pork stock can stand in for the water; full-fat sour cream can stand in for the smetana.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Smothered Pork Neck Bones and Rice — Soul Food
Feijoada à Portuguesa — Portuguese
Bulbianaja Babka (Baked Grated Potato and Bacon Pudding) — Belarusian
Cassoulet — French
Cajun Chicken and Andouille Pasta — Cajun/Creole · Cajun

Keep reading: what umami, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.