Hrudka: Slovak Egg Cheese Recipe for Easter

By
Barbara Rolek
Barbara Rolek
Barbara Rolek is a former chef who became a cooking school instructor and award-winning food writer.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 02/10/23
Partially sliced round yellow egg cheese on a plate

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Prep: 40 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Refrigeration: 12 hrs
Total: 13 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 24 to 32 servings

This recipe for Slovak egg cheese is typically served at Easter time and goes by various names including hrudka, cirak, sirok, sirecz and more. Essentially, it's a ball of eggs and milk that have been cooked until the proteins separate into curds and the liquid separates into the whey. The technique for making hrudka is similar to making farmers cheese. Hrudka can be made savory with salt and sometimes pepper or sweetened with sugar. It's always included in the basket of Easter foods to be blessed on Holy Saturday and not eaten until the next morning, Easter Sunday, with other traditional blessed foods like beet horseradish, ham, sausage (klobása), salt and paska bread.

Ingredients

  • 12 large eggs

  • 1 quart whole milk

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 6 whole black peppercorns, crushed, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for Slovak egg cheese recipe gathered

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  2. Beat eggs in top of a double boiler.

    Eggs being beaten with a wire whisk in a bowl placed over a pot

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  3. Add milk and salt (and pepper if using) and mix thoroughly.

    Milk and egg mixture being beaten with a wire whisk in the bowl

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  4. Fill bottom pan of double boiler with about an inch of water. Bring water to a boil and turn down heat so that it is simmering.

    Water being poured into the bottom pot

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  5. Place upper pan containing eggs and milk over (not in) pan with simmering water.

    Bowl with egg mixture being placed on top of the bottom pot with water on the stove

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  6. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until mixture curdles, approximately 20 to 30 minutes or until no more whey (the liquid) is exuded. By the way, don't throw away the whey! Use it in place of the milk in this paska Easter bread recipe.

    Curdled egg mixture being stirred with a wooden spoon in the bowl

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  7. Line a colander with damp butter muslin or two layers of cheesecloth that is large enough to hang over sides of colander. Place muslin-lined colander over a bowl to catch any whey.

    Colander lined with cheesecloth hanging generously over the sides

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  8. Use a skimmer or slotted spoon to ladle curds into cheesecloth. Allow curds to drain for 10 minutes.

    Curdled egg mixture being transferred to the lined colander with a fine wire mesh sieve

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  9. Gather up edges of cheesecloth to form a bundle to drain as much whey as possible from egg cheese. Use a length of butcher's twine to tie cheesecloth containing curds into a neat bundle, pressing on cheesecloth a bit to help whey drain off.

    Top of cheesecloth being twisted in the colander with two hands

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  10. Tie twine to a wooden spoon or dowel, hang egg-cheese curds over a pot or container to collect any remaining whey and continue draining for 30 minutes.

    Twisted cheesecloth bag being tied with string to a wooden spoon suspended over a large pot

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  11. When egg-cheese ball has cooled and is not dripping any more whey, place it in the refrigerator overnight still suspended over a pan so it will retain its round shape.

    Cheesecloth bag hanging down from the wooden spoon over a large pot

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  12. When ready to serve, remove cheesecloth.

    Compact round egg cheese in the opened up cheesecloth

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  13. Serve on sandwiches and sausages or on its own sprinkled with a little salt.

    Partially sliced egg cheese loaf on a plate next to a braided bread

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Tips

  • This cheese is very perishable and should be consumed within a day or two.
  • Store tightly covered in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
45 Calories
3g Fat
2g Carbs
3g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 24 to 32
Amount per serving
Calories 45
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3g 4%
Saturated Fat 1g 6%
Cholesterol 73mg 24%
Sodium 106mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 2g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 45mg 3%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 66mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)