Kosher Blog

FAQ: Stuffed Derma / Kishka

From the Kosher Blog mailbag
I was recently in Long Island on business when on pure whim I stopped at a kosher deli and restaurant for lunch. My “PLT” was so tasty that I brought my colleagues back for dinner. For an appetizer we ordered something that had the word “derma” in it. It appeared to be pureed something – probably vegetables – in an oil or fat base, enclosed in a casing. I thought it tasted great! What was it?

Stuffed derma, also known as kishka (Slavic for “gut”), is traditionally a cow’s intestine stuffed with a mixture of grain, fat, and sometimes ground meat and vegetables. Nowadays, kishka is most commonly made with a synthetic casing, and when made at home, some people use chicken skin as a wrapping instead.

Typical filling recipes include flour, matza meal, salt, pepper, chicken or beef fat, grated carrots, and grated onions. It’s eaten plain, with sauce, or on top of the traditional Sabbath afternoon stew (called “cholent”).