By Josh Remmig
Some recipes feel especially meaningful when every ingredient has a story. Żurek is one of those dishes for us.
We love our life on the farm, but I think we can all relate at times to reminiscing of a simpler time and friends that are now far away. Żurek brings back some of the fondest memories of my university years and good friends, although back then it was know only as Polish hangover soup - this is a university years memory to be fair! This special soup was the cure to a "night on the town" a good friend of mine rarely traveled without. Still to this day there is an argument over who gets to finish the last of the soup when we are fortunate enough to have the time to get the old friends back together again.
Żurek is a traditional fermented rye soup, deeply rooted in Central and Eastern European cooking. It’s hearty, tangy, comforting, and built on patience. Making it with our own pasture-raised pork and our free range eggs brings the dish full circle, from field to table.
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What Is Żurek?
At its core, Żurek is a soup made with fermented rye (often called a rye sour or starter), slowly simmered with aromatics, hardy vegetable, pork, and traditional sausage then finished with eggs and pickles. The fermentation gives the soup its signature sourness—complex, earthy, and warming flavour.
Historically, Żurek was a practical food: a way to stretch ingredients, preserve grain, and create nourishment from simple staples. Today, it remains a celebration of humble ingredients transformed through time and care.
Bringing the Farm Into the Pot
When we make Żurek, we like to build it around what we raise.
Our pasture-raised pork forms the backbone of the soup. Cuts like bacon, sausage, or smoked pork add richness and depth.
We finish the soup with pasture-raised chicken eggs, cooked so the whites are just set and the yolks remain tender. Eggs raised on pasture have a noticeably deeper colour and richer flavour, and in Żurek they add both protein and a silky texture that balances the soup’s acidity.
This is one of the ways we love cooking most: letting our farm products play a central role rather than competing with heavy seasoning or complicated techniques.
The Role of Fermented Rye
The heart of Żurek is the fermented rye base, and it’s what makes this soup truly special.
Fermenting rye flour with water over several days allows natural probiotic bacteria and yeasts to develop. This process:
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Enhances digestibility by breaking down complex carbohydrates.
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Supports gut health through natural fermentation.
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Develops deep, layered flavour without the need for vinegar or additives.
The sourness from fermented rye is rounded and earthy, not sharp. When it meets rich pork broth and eggs, the result is a soup that feels both hearty and restorative.
A Slow, Intentional Process
Żurek isn’t rushed, and that’s part of its charm.
From fermenting the rye, to simmering the pork, to cooking the eggs at the end, each step invites you to slow down. This isn't your 30 minute weeknight dinner, though if you make a big batch of it you will have plenty of hearty soup to enjoy all week long! Or feel free to freeze or can extra to enjoy at a later date.
Why We Love Making Żurek
Żurek brings together everything we value about food:
- Using whole, thoughtfully raised ingredients
- Respecting traditional methods like fermentation
- Creating meals that are nourishing, practical, and deeply satisfying
- Turning what we raise on the farm into food meant to be shared
- Exploring tradition and heritage recipes
- Turning cooking from a chore into a rewarding and fun family activity
It’s a reminder that good food doesn’t need to be complicated. It needs care, time, and ingredients you believe in.
As we share photos from the process, we hope they give you a sense of how this soup comes together—and maybe inspire you to try your own version, using what you have and making it your own.
INSTRUCTIONS :
Want to try Żurek for yourself?
There are many, MANY renditions of this recipe but below is our recipe and is in measurements for a BIG pot of soup (23 cups of liquid) so adjust if necessary
Start with the sour rye zukwas also known as Żur. 5 to 6 days in advance of soup day!
Pour 5 cups boiling water into a heatproof 1-quart jar or glass bowl. Let cool to warm.
Stir in 1.5 cups rye flour, and 3 bay leafs into the warm water. Tightly cover/seal the jar or bowl with plastic wrap (use a rubber band or two to hold the wrap tightly) and let sit in a warm, dark place for 5 to 6 days, we cover with a towel and leave it in the same room as our fireplace to keep a warm ambient temperature for fermenting. open to cover every 2 days to "burp" the mixture, releasing built up gases from fermentation, then reseal.
When the zakwas is ready it will have a strong pungent smell, a solidish, spongy deposit on top/bottom of the container, and be light brown-gray in color. Scrape off any green spots off the top if they appear, this is can naturally occur during the fermentation process and is not a cause for concern. Remove the bay leaf and strain the zakwas through a sieve and cheesecloth into a bowl, discard any solids. You’ll have about 3 ½ to 4 ½ cups of Zakwas.
On to the soup!
Ingredients
11 cups water
Zukwas prepared ahead of time (however much liquid you ended up with)
7 Cups broth (we use bone broth from our pork but you can use chicken stock)
1 lb of Clay House Farms traditional Bratwurst
1 lb of Clay House Farms German style double smoked bacon (we opt to use a full smoked Clay House Farms pork cheek instead)
1 lb of Clay House Farms Smoked sausage or Clay House Farms traditional Polish Kalbasa (we use the Kalbasa)
4 Yellow onions
4 Large Carrots
5 Celery sticks
1/4 cabbage sliced in 2 inch long strips
1 small celery root
2 tsp of salt (or to tastes)
4 tsp of Marjoram
2 Bay leaves
1/4 tsp allspice
2.5-3.5 lbs of sliced mushrooms (Blue oyster, King Oyster, portobello)
1/2 cup horseradish
Cut your meat a vegetables how you like them! we like thick, large cut veg and meat for a hardy feeling soup!
Step 1 - In a very large sauce pot add the broth and water, bay leaf, marjoram and allspice, heat on medium until the broth starts to simmer, reduce heat and allow to simmer as the other ingredients are prepared.
At the same time, in a separate heavy bottom pan or dutch oven cook your bacon, if using cheek or slabbed bacon cut it into 1/2 inch pieces. once cooked remove and set aside
Step 2 - In the same dutch oven cook your Bratwurst until browned, flipping often for even cooking. Once cooked, set aside with the bacon.
Step 3 - In the same dutch over cook your cured sausage (smoked sausage or polish kielbasa). These sausages are already cooked when smoked so your goal is to quickly fry them to add some colour. Set aside with bacon and bratwurst once cooked.
Step 4 - At this point all the meat can be added into the stock to simmer.
Step 5 - In the same dutch oven cook your vegetables; celery root, carrots, celery and onions. Cook until softened and set aside.
Step 6- In the same dutch oven cook your sliced cabbage, break the cabbage up as it becomes tender. Set aside.
Step 7 - In the same dutch oven cook your mushrooms, at this point you may need to add some additional butter if the cooking oil has been absorbed by the vegetables. cook mushrooms till browned and liquid has been released and cooked off. Set aside with the rest of the vegetables.
Step 8 - Add the vegetables and mushrooms to the stock to simmer.
In a small strainer drain the liquid from your horseradish and add it to the stock.
Step 9 - Add your zurkwas to the stock and allow to simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes to allow the flavours to incorporate.
Step 10 - While your soup is simmering boil eggs to add to your soup 1 to 2 eggs per bowl of soup. We do a medium hard egg. Do not add the eggs to the stock.
Step 11 - Cut up a few pickles into small 1/4 quartered slices.
Your Żurek is finished!
Serve your soup into individual bowls, add your boiled egg - peeled, rinsed and sliced in half. Top your soup with a tablespoon of sliced pickles (pickles in soup may sound strange but trust us, they go along way with Żurek and strongly complement the tangy soup! Gather your friends and family and ENJOY this traditional hardy soup!
