Kiełbasa
Sheet pans
Stand mixer with meat grinder and paddle attachment
Sausage stuffing attachment
Smoker (optional)
1.
In a bowl, mix together the salt, minced garlic, black pepper, dried marjoram, cane sugar, and Prague Powder. Toss the meats and fat with the seasoning mixture on a sheet pan, then chill both the seasoned meat and your meat grinder attachments for 30 minutes.
2.
Grind the chilled meat and fat, then chill the mixture again for 30 minutes. While chilling, rinse the hog casings in cold water.
3.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the ground meat mixture and ice water. Mix on medium speed for 90 seconds. Fry a small amount to taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
4.
Fit the stand mixer with the sausage stuffing attachment. Thread the hog casing onto the attachment, pulling off about 6 inches. Pinch the casing, start the mixer, and gently stuff the sausage until you reach about 36 inches. Stop, pull off another 6 inches of casing, and cut. Repeat with the remaining meat and casing.
5.
Compress the meat at each end of the casing and tie it off. Twist the long sausage in half to form two 18-inch links, then tie the ends together to create a ring.
6.
If smoking, follow your smoker’s instructions, ensuring an internal temperature of at least 155ºF after about four hours. Let the sausages cool and refrigerate. They’ll keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator or up to a year if frozen.
7.
The kiełbasa is fully cooked. Reheat by baking, grilling, or, as my dziadek did, boiling in a pot of water. Serve with mustard and rye bread.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 pound veal shoulder or ground veal
- 1 pound beef shoulder or ground beef
- ½ pound pork fat (fatback or shoulder fat), cut into ½ inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
- 2 teaspoons cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon Prague Powder No. 1 (also known as Instacure, Curing Salt)
- 1/2 cup ice water
- Hog casings, about 15 feet
Cook's Notes
Marjoram and garlic are the defining flavors of Polish sausage, much like fennel seeds mark Italian sausage and paprika defines Hungarian sausage. These two ingredients—marjoram and garlic—are non-negotiable, and no other additions are needed.
Smoking the sausage adds a subtle sweetness, but if you choose not to smoke it, you’ll have a fresh, equally delicious sausage.