Vėdarai are Lithuania's traditional potato sausages — pork intestines stuffed with a mixture of grated raw potatoes, bacon, onions, and marjoram, then baked until crisp outside and soft within. The cousin of British bangers and German bratwurst, they are distinctly Lithuanian in their potato-and-bacon filling and their pairing with sour cream.
Vėdarai (singular vėdaras) are a traditional Lithuanian sausage — but instead of meat, they are filled with grated raw potatoes, bacon, onion, and marjoram. The pig's intestine casing is the same as any sausage, but the potato filling is distinctly Lithuanian (and Baltic). Vėdarai were historically a way to stretch scarce meat: the potato filling made the sausage filling and cheap, while the bacon and intestine provided the pork flavor. They are baked (not boiled or smoked), which crisps the casing and softens the potato. Served with sour cream and crispy bacon bits, they are a staple of Lithuanian rural cooking and festive meals.
A long, crisp-skinned sausage, sliced to reveal a pale, starchy interior flecked with bacon and herbs. The casing is crackly and savory; the potato filling is soft, slightly chewy, with the warm flavor of marjoram and the salt of bacon. Dip each bite in cold sour cream. It is the most hearty, most Lithuanian sausage there is.
The potato filling uses raw potatoes grated fine (not cooked — they cook inside the casing during baking). The grated potato releases starch, which binds the filling; the bacon provides fat and flavor. The mixture is stuffed loosely into cleaned pork intestines (not packed tight — the filling expands during baking). The sausages are pricked (to vent steam), then baked in a dish with a little water and bacon fat, turning once, until the casing is deep brown and crisp. The long bake (60+ minutes) fully cooks the potato.
Variations
Some add barley; some add mushrooms; some serve with lingonberry jam; the marjoram is essential and non-negotiable.
On the Palate
Where Vėdarai sits in the Lithuanian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
8 steps · 1 hour active + 1 hour waiting
- 110 min
Clean 1.5 m pork intestines thoroughly; rinse; soak in cold water.
- 210 min
Peel 1 kg potatoes; grate fine; squeeze out excess moisture.
Watch outSqueeze the grated raw potato hard to wring out the water — wet potato won't bind or brown, and the sausages turn soggy instead of crisp.
- 38 min
Mix the grated potato with 200 g diced bacon (fried crisp), 2 diced onions (sautéed soft), 1 tbsp marjoram, salt, and pepper.
- 410 min
Stuff the mixture loosely into the intestines; tie off into 15-cm links; prick each several times with a needle.
- 52 min
Place in a baking dish; add 100 ml water and 2 tbsp bacon fat.
- 660 min
Bake at 180°C for 60 minutes, turning once, until the casings are deep brown and crisp.
Watch outBake the full hour, turning once, until the casings are deep brown and crackly and the potato inside is fully cooked — pale casings mean the raw filling isn't done.
- 75 min
Rest 5 minutes.
- 82 min
Serve with sour cream and extra crispy bacon bits.
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