Polska Kielbasa
User Reviews
4.9
58 reviews
Excellent
-
Prep Time
2 hrs
-
Cook Time
3 hrs
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Total Time
5 hrs
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Servings
25 links
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Calories
358 kcal
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Course
Main Course, Breakfast, Appetizer
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Cuisine
Polish
Polska Kielbasa
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Polska Kielbasa is a traditional Polish sausage made from a mix of pork and pork fat, seasoned with garlic, marjoram, black pepper, and curing salt. After grinding and mixing with ice water to ensure proper binding, the meat is stuffed into hog casings. The result is a savory, well-spiced sausage that holds together with a balanced texture.
Description
This Polska Kielbasa recipe involves chilling the pork and fat before chopping into chunks, then seasoning with kosher salt, Instacure No. 1, sugar, garlic, marjoram, and black pepper. The combination is rested, then ground finely to create a uniform texture. Mixing in ice water helps the proteins bind the sausage effectively. The meat is stuffed into hog casings, forming traditional sausage links.
These sausages can be stored tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or frozen for a year, allowing for extended use. Making your own kielbasa allows control over the seasoning and quality of meat, resulting in rich flavor and traditional texture.
For those unfamiliar with sausage making, following a step-by-step tutorial ensures proper technique in preparation and casing stuffing, crucial for a high-quality kielbasa.
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Ingredients
- 4 pounds pork wild pig, bear, venison, etc
- 1 pound pork fat (fatback or shoulder fat)
- 36 grams kosher salt about 2 tablespoons
- 5 grams Instacure No. 1 about 1 teaspoon
- 5 grams ground black pepper about 2 teaspoons
- 1 gram marjoram about 2 teaspoons, dried
- 10 grams sugar about 2 teaspoons
- 6 garlic minced, cloves
- 1/2 cup water ice
- Hog casings
Instructions
- Chill the meat and fat until they is almost frozen by putting it in the freezer for an hour or so. Take out some hog casings — you’ll need about 3 to 4 standard lengths, about 10 feet — and set in a bowl of very warm water to rehydrate.
- Chop meat and fat into 1-inch pieces. Combine the salt, instacure, sugar, garlic, marjoram and pepper and mix it into the meat and fat with your hands. Let this rest in the fridge for about an hour.
- Grind through your meat grinder (you can use a food processor in a pinch, but you will not get a fine texture) using the fine die. If your room is warmer than 65°F, set the bowl for the ground meat into another bowl of ice to keep it cold. Put the meat mixture back in the freezer while you clean up.
- Add the ice water to the meat mix, then mix thoroughly either using a Kitchenaid on low for 90 seconds or with your (very clean) hands. This is important to get the sausage to bind properly. Once it is mixed well, put it back in the fridge while you clean up again.
- Stuff the sausage into the casings. Kielbasa is normally made into long links tied at both ends to form a loop. Stuff about 2 feet of sausage, then pinch off the trailing end and pull off at least 6 inches of casing from the stuffing tube. Cut the casing with a knife and immediately pull out another 6 inches or so of casing to form the loose end for the next long loop of sausage. This ensures that you will have enough casing to tie off the links. Leave the links untied for now.
- Check each long link of kielbasa for air pockets. You will probably have some. Use a sterilized needle (get the point glowing in the stove burner for a second or so to do this) and pierce the casing all around any air pockets. Gently compress the meat in the link from either end. Don't force it or the casing will burst. When you see no more air pockets, tie off the casings at either end.
- Hang the sausages in a cool place. If it is warm out, hang for one hour. If you have a place where the temperature will not go higher than 38°F, you can hang them as long as overnight.
- Get your smoker going. Smoke the links for at least 4 hours, and as many as 8. I prefer a lighter smoke, so you can still taste the meat and spices. You are looking to get the internal temperature of the links to 155°F. When the kielbasa is smoked, shock the links in ice water to cool quickly.
- Hang them to dry for at least 1 hour before eating, and if you have a cool place (55°F or cooler) you can hang for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Store homemade kielbasa wrapped tightly in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
- For longer storage, freeze kielbasa; it can keep up to one year when properly sealed.
- If new to sausage making, consult a step-by-step tutorial for proper techniques on grinding and stuffing.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
358kcal
(18%)
Carbohydrates
1g
(0%)
Protein
12g
(24%)
Fat
34g
(52%)
Saturated Fat
13g
(65%)
Cholesterol
69mg
(23%)
Sodium
599mg
(25%)
Potassium
216mg
(5%)
Fiber
1g
(4%)
Sugar
1g
(2%)
Vitamin A
15IU
(0%)
Vitamin C
1mg
(1%)
Calcium
15mg
(2%)
Iron
1mg
(6%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 25links
Amount Per Serving
Calories 358 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 358kcal | 18% |
| Carbohydrates | 1g | 0% |
| Protein | 12g | 24% |
| Fat | 34g | 52% |
| Saturated Fat | 13g | 65% |
| Cholesterol | 69mg | 23% |
| Sodium | 599mg | 25% |
| Potassium | 216mg | 5% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 1g | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 15IU | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 15mg | 2% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
58 reviews
Excellent
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