Polish Sausage, also known as Kielbasa, has always been a staple food of Polish families during special occasions such as Christmas season. It is best enjoyed with side dishes, especially Sauerkraut which is a fermented and finely cut cabbage.
How To Cook Polish Sausage There are many other ways to eat it. You can eat it along with fresh fruit juice extracted using slow juicers like a masticating juicer. This will allow you to get the best nutrients you need for the day. One can enjoy it cold sandwiched between two loaves of bread. It can also be eaten along with soup and scrambled eggs. It is also great during camping as grilling it is easy.
Polish Sausage Varieties:
There are a number of Polish sausage varieties. As the years progressed, Polish people experimented with its ingredients. Nonetheless, they remained true to its Polish flavor. Here are some of our suggestions you can try.
- Dry and Normal Polish Sausages - The dry variety of sausage is smoked. It is known to last longer than normal polish sausages. It is commonly consumed cold. On the other hand, the normal sausages can also be eaten cold or cooked. It is a great addition to traditional Polish dishes like Bigos.
- Krakowska - This variety originates from Krakow. It is one of the most popular Polish sausage around the world. Krakowska has a larger diameter than traditional sausage. It spans up to 4 inches in diameter and is normally consumed in slices. It may be eaten cold or cooked depending on your preference.
- Hunter Sausage - Also known as Mysliska, this variety is made up of pork and beef meat. It is a short Polish sausage with wrinkled skin. The chunks of pork and beef are peaking through the thin skin casing. It resembles the shape of a sickle and is divided into two by tying a knot in between.
- Weijska - The name Weijska means "like the countryside". Made of pork and veal meat, this Polish sausage variety includes garlic and marjoram. It is then seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. This is a smoked type of sausage and is commonly used on traditional Polish recipes
Making a Polish Sausage:
Making a Polish sausage at home is easy as it requires only a few ingredients. You also need to prepare grinding and stuffing machine to complete the sausage making process. Just follow these steps and you are on your way in creating a traditional Polish Sausage or Kielbasa.
Gather the following ingredients:
- 2 kilograms of pork butt.
- ½ kilogram of beef.
- ½ kilogram of pork belly or back fat.
- 2 medium sized pressed garlic cloves.
- 1 teaspoon of marjoram.
- 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper.
- a pinch of kosher salt to taste.
- A pinch of Prague powder, also known as salt #1.
- ½ cup of ice water.
- Sausage casings (28 to 32 millimeters in diameter)
You will need a meat grinder and sausage stuffer. Most of the time, consumer grade meat grinders come with a sausage stuffer attachment.
Instructions:
- Step 1: Mix together the pork butt, beef and pork belly or back fat in a bowl. Place the meat in the grinder until well ground.
- Step 2: Prepare the garlic cloves, marjoram, salt, pepper and Prague powder in a small bowl. You may opt to use the best pepper mill in grinding the black pepper. This is to create perfectly ground pepper for your sausage.
- Step 3: Add the spices in the mixture. Slowly pour in the ice water until all the mixture turns into a lumpy paste consistency.
- Step 4: Using the stuffer, fill in the sausage casings. Tie the ends or divisions with a knot.
- Step 5: Dry the sausages at room temperature for around two hours. While doing this, preheat the smoker to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Step 6: After drying, place the sausages in the smoker. Allow the sausages to rest in the smoking area for three to four hours.
- Step 7: Once the internal temperature of the sausages reaches 152 degrees Fahrenheit, remove the sausages. Should the internal temperature does not reach 152 degrees Fahrenheit after three to four hours, raise the temperature of the smoker to 170 to 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Step 8: After removing the sausages from the smoker, immediately place them in an ice bath to cool down. Note that the bath removes the smoke residue in the surface of the sausage. This makes the sausage taste less smoky and paler in color.
- Step 9: Let the sausages cool down at room temperature before storing them in a refrigerator or freezer thereafter. By allowing the sausages to cool down at room temperature first, the Polish sausages shall be less plump and just slightly wrinkle.
Cooking the Sausage:
Cooking the sausage is easier than making one. Since the sausage has been seasoned and smoked already, it requires less preparation and cooking.
For stove-top cooking, there are the things you need to do:
- Place the sausage in skillet under medium heat.
- Pour several cups of water until it fills half of the skillet. Bring the water to a boil and reduce the heat to low.
- Cover the skillet and allow it to simmer for eight to 10 minutes. You can pierce through the sausage using a knife to check if the meat is already cooked through
Should you want to add more taste, you can bake it in the oven. Here are a few things to remember when baking it:
- Lightly coat the Polish sausage with vegetable oil.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake the sausage for 15 to 20 minutes or until it turns brown.
Lastly, you can also pop it in the microwave for another 10 minutes to cook through and make the meat become tender.
Final thoughts in Cooking Polish Sausage:
Polish sausage or Kielbasa has always been a great addition to families in Poland. It can be prepared by mixing ground meat and few spices. The cooking process is easy as you can pan fry, grill or oven bake it.
This type of sausage can be served with a variety of side dishes like sauerkraut, corn and mashed potatoes. We recommend you to try it out and experience a different taste compared with regular sausages.
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