Name: Kazy
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Kazakh
Ingredients: 800g lamb ribs with meat (or horsemeat rib strips if available); 2 tsp salt; 2 tsp ground black pepper; 1.5 tsp ground cumin; Natural sausage casing (lamb or pork intestine), rinsed and soaked; Kitchen twine; For serving: thinly sliced raw onion, flatbread

Kazakhstan's ancient horse sausage — cured rib meat wrapped in natural casing, boiled and sliced thin, the most revered delicacy on the Kazakh feast table for over a thousand years.

The Cultural Story

Kazy is the prestige food of Kazakhstan. When a family slaughters a horse in autumn, the rib section — the rib meat left attached to the rib bone in a long strip — is seasoned heavily with salt, black pepper, and cumin, then packed into the horse's intestine casing and tied into a ring. This sausage is either hung to air-dry over winter or boiled fresh, then sliced into rounds and served cold on a platter at celebrations. The flavor is rich, slightly gamey, and deeply savory — unlike any other cured meat in the world because horsemeat has a sweetness that beef and lamb lack. Kazy has been documented in Central Asian cuisine since at least the 10th century. It appears in Persian geographical texts describing the food of the Kazakh steppe people. Today it is sold in Kazakh markets alongside other horse products — zhaya (smoked hip), sur-et (dried meat), and the fermented mare's milk koumiss that accompanies the feast. For Kazakhs in the diaspora, finding good kazy is a serious quest. This recipe uses lamb as an accessible substitute that honors the method.

Ingredients

800g lamb ribs with meat (or horsemeat rib strips if available)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
1.5 tsp ground cumin
Natural sausage casing (lamb or pork intestine), rinsed and soaked
Kitchen twine
For serving: thinly sliced raw onion, flatbread

Instructions

1If using horsemeat: keep the meat attached to the rib bones in long strips. If using lamb: take the rib section and keep the meat long and intact.
2Combine salt, pepper, and cumin. Rub the seasoning thoroughly into all sides of the meat. Cover and refrigerate overnight to cure.
3Pack the seasoned meat (with bones if using the rib strip) into the natural casing, stuffing firmly. Tie both ends tightly with kitchen twine. Form into a ring and tie the ends together.
4Bring a very large pot of water to a boil. Lower the kazy ring into the water. Reduce to a simmer. Cook for 1.5 to 2 hours, turning occasionally.
5Pierce the casing in a few places with a thin needle after the first 30 minutes to allow fat to render without splitting the casing.
6Remove and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight before slicing — cold kazy slices cleanly.
7Slice into 1cm rounds. Arrange on a platter with thinly sliced raw onion and flatbread. Serve as part of the cold meat selection at a feast alongside beshbarmak.

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