Homemade Smoked Polish Sausage {Kiełbasa Wędzona}
There are about one bazilion (technical term) types of smoked Polish sausage. Some of the most popular types of sausage found in any Polish grocery store are: śląska, grilowa, swojska, chłopska, czosnkowa, krakowska, myśliwska, jałowcowa, biała, kaszanka, on and on. Some are raw (unsmoked), some come smoked and some are smoked and dried. Generally they are made of pork or pork and beef mixture (unless specifically marked) and there is a general understanding what each of the types is.
Mark and I briefly talk about it here:
Today, I’m sharing a recipe for a typical homemade sausage. This basic recipe follows a common approach to a smoked Polish sausage making: lots of garlic, salt & pepper and notice, no sugar.
Smoked Polish Sausage
Ingredients
- One 8 oz / 227 g package of natural 32 mm hog casings
- 9 lbs / 4 kg of pork (shoulder or butt)
- 2 lbs / 1 kg of pork belly or pork fat
- 1 qt / 1 l of water
- 5 tbsp / 80 g of fine sea or rock salt
- 1 tsp curing salt*
- 5 tbsp of ground pepper
- 5-10 garlic cloves
Instructions
Grind pork (shoulder / butt) using the largest-opening grinding plate. Grind pork belly / fat using the smallest grinding plate.
Place ground meat in a large container, add water, salt, curing salt, and pepper and massage with your hands until sticky (about 10-15 minutes). Refrigerate for 24 hours.
When ready to stuff, add crushed garlic and massage again until well combined.
Stuff into casings tightly, separating into desired links.
Hang to dry for 2 hours in cool, well-ventilated room.
Smoke at 120-140°F / 50-60°C for 3 hours, then parboil at 170°F / 75°C for 20 minutes.
Hang dry in well-ventilated room until cool.
Refrigerate laid out or loosely wrapped in parchment paper until ready to eat.
Enjoy sliced on sandwiches, grilled, oven roasted with onions or over a fire.
Notes
Homemade "kiełbasa" will keep in the fridge, loosely wrapped in paper, for 3-4 weeks.
*Make sure to reference manufacturer's recommendation for amount of curing salt per pound / kilo of meat. Each product may vary.