Bratwurst and Fresh Polish Sausage -- thank you Chef JimmyJ!!

[snorkelinggirl]

Hello everyone,

I haven't posted in a while due to time constraints, but to prove I'm still around I thought I would show off the sausage I made today: Bratwurst and Fresh Polish!

I owe a very big thank you to Chef JimmyJ for giving me lots of help and advice on the topic of Kielbasa.  

Chef JJ also highly recommended that I give Fresh Polish (uncured, unsmoked Kielbasa) a try.  The recipe I followed is largely based on this excellent thread by Shannon127 which Chef JJ directed me to:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/129813/kielbasa-start-to-finish-for-chef-jimmy

So, thank you very much for a great recipe, Shannon!

I deviated a little from Shannon's recipe in that I lowered the salt down to 1.25%, added .05% marjoram, and added 1.1% sugar.  I confess that I also added in 1/2 cup of NFDM because it helps compensate for my lack of skill.  

The bratwurst recipe I used is adapted from the one posted on "lets-make-sausage.com".  I've posted on it before, so if you want to see the recipe I used it is on this thread:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...making-beef-pub-bangers-and-bratwurst-updated

Here are a few pictures….

My grinder loaded up with pork and pork fat (80/20) for the Fresh Polish:

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• snorkelinggirl
• Jun 22, 2014

One pass through the medium plate:

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• snorkelinggirl
• Jun 22, 2014

Mixed with salt, sugar, ground black pepper, garlic powder, marjoram, NFDM, and cold water to achieve a good bind: 

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• snorkelinggirl
• Jun 22, 2014

Here is the Bratwurst.  My recipe has me run the pork, beef, and pork fat (60/20/20) through the fine plate two times:

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• snorkelinggirl
• Jun 22, 2014

And mixed well with the salt, nutmeg, mace, ginger, black pepper, half and half, eggs, and NFDM to get a good bind:

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• snorkelinggirl
• Jun 22, 2014

Here is the Fresh Polish all stuffed and linked using 38-42 mm casings:

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• snorkelinggirl
• Jun 22, 2014

And the Bratwurst stuffed and linked in 32-35 mm hog casings:

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• snorkelinggirl
• Jun 22, 2014

 I used some of the Fresh Polish for dinner tonight.  First I poached in 165 deg F water for 20 minutes:

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• snorkelinggirl
• Jun 22, 2014

Then browned them up on the grill:

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• snorkelinggirl
• Jun 22, 2014

Cross-sectional view:

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• snorkelinggirl
• Jun 22, 2014

And plated up along with some shredded beet and carrot salad, and some homemade potato salad:

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• snorkelinggirl
• Jun 22, 2014

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• snorkelinggirl
• Jun 22, 2014

I have to say, the Fresh Polish sausage has just shot to the top of my favorite sausage list!  Delicious!!  For our taste, the salt level was perfect, and it had a great garlic flavor with a hint of marjoram.  Very juicy too.  I wouldn't do a thing different next time, except maybe try them with 35-38 mm casings instead.  

I didn't cook up any Bratwurst tonight, but I've made them before a bunch of times and they are always good.  

Thanks again to Chef JJ and to Shannon127, and thank you everyone for reading my post.

Have a great night!
Clarissa

 

[chef jimmyj]

WOW! That looks good. Great post. The Fresh Kielbasa is one I have been eating since I had teeth, 51 years, Holy Crap I am getting OLD! My Paternal Grandfather had 3 Butcher shop's and made large batches of Kielbasa to be Smoked. He used ingredients similar to above including Cure #1. He always held out a portion of the cased sausage to be sold as Fresh or White Kielbasa. Having the cure in it resulted in a pale pink color to the cooked meat. The cure is not necessary to make the Fresh Kielbasa but was there as a matter of convenience, one large batch, two different styles of Kielbasa. I doubt there is anybody that has eaten Fresh Kielbasa unless they have access to a Polish Deli or make their own. It is worth making and exceptionally delicious, not to mention easy since many of our members are already making Smoked Kielbasa...JJ

 

[foamheart]

Boy your stuffing skills are excellent! Those polish sausages look killer!!

Really nice, nice to see ya back!

 

[szynka]

Very nice sausages!  And I'll even forgive you for the milk powder.

The beauty of fresh polish sausage (kiełbasa biała), is its simplicity.  It is a great example of how you can make a fine sausage with only a few ingredients.

 

[boykjo]

Very nice Clarissa............. You plate looks great............. The sausage forum has been quiet lately and It just got a jump start

Joe

 

[snorkelinggirl]

 
WOW! That looks good. Great post. The Fresh Kielbasa is one I have been eating since I had teeth, 51 years, Holy Crap I am getting OLD! My Paternal Grandfather had 3 Butcher shop's and made large batches of Kielbasa to be Smoked. He used ingredients similar to above including Cure #1. He always held out a portion of the cased sausage to be sold as Fresh or White Kielbasa. Having the cure in it resulted in a pale pink color to the cooked meat. The cure is not necessary to make the Fresh Kielbasa but was there as a matter of convenience, one large batch, two different styles of Kielbasa. I doubt there is anybody that has eaten Fresh Kielbasa unless they have access to a Polish Deli or make their own. It is worth making and exceptionally delicious, not to mention easy since many of our members are already making Smoked Kielbasa...JJ

Hey Chef!

Thanks again for all of your help, and for spurring me to try making the fresh polish/kielbasa.  From here out, I'll be doing the same as your Grandfather.  As you said, this sausage is easy to make and really really delicious.  At the first bite last night, my husband and I looked at each and high-fived.  Just great stuff.

BTW, my husband just turned 55 this year.  IMHO, 51 years is just nicely seasoned. ;-)

Thank you again for everything!

Clarissa 

 
Boy your stuffing skills are excellent! Those polish sausages look killer!!

Really nice, nice to see ya back!

Thanks so much, Kevin!  I've started buying casings from Syracuse Casing and I am really impressed with them.  No holes and very uniform in size, makes them a lot easier to stuff and produce some purty-looking sausage. Great snap too!

The polish sausages were amazing, definitely the best sausages I've ever made. So nice to have some good grilling sausage in the freezer now that summer is here.

Thanks for keeping in touch!!!  Have a great week!

Clarissa

 
Very nice sausages!  And I'll even forgive you for the milk powder.

The beauty of fresh polish sausage (kiełbasa biała), is its simplicity.  It is a great example of how you can make a fine sausage with only a few ingredients.

Thank you Szynka!  The bratwurst recipe on this post used to be my favorite sausage, but I thought the fresh polish was superior in flavor.  Which surprised me because it was far simpler to make….easier to grind and fewer ingredients.  I appreciate the comments you have made on prior fresh polish threads, I learned a lot from them.  Thanks for sharing your experience!

Thank you for reading my post, and have a great week!

Clarissa

Very nice Clarissa............. You plate looks great............. The sausage forum has been quiet lately and It just got a jump start

Joe

Hi Joe!
 

Thank you so much for stopping by and for the compliments!  As almost everything I've learned about sausage making comes from this forum (and a lot of it from you!), I'm pleased if I've spurred some posts.  

Thanks again and have a great week!
Clarissa

 

[fished]

Those are some great looking sausages.  I'll have to check out Syracuse Casing for some casings.  Myself and the wife have been thinking about making our own hot dogs.

 

[snorkelinggirl]

 
Those are some great looking sausages.  I'll have to check out Syracuse Casing for some casings.  Myself and the wife have been thinking about making our own hot dogs.

Hi Fished,

Thanks so much for stopping by and for the compliments!  I heard about Syracuse Casing from others on the forum here, and I have been extremely impressed with the quality of their casings as well as their customer service.  Using the pre-tubed casings makes life a lot easier, too!

Thanks again for reading!

Clarissa

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

WOW Clarissa, what a nice thread ! Ya sure have a knack at the sausage making for sure, those look so tasty.... Had a few things come up so wasn't yet able to get my grinder & stuffer, but lookin at your thread I just may have to prioritize them up to the top of the list of "needs" ! LOL ;-). Here's to making sausage ! :beercheer:

:points1:

:kewl:

 

[snorkelinggirl]

WOW Clarissa, what a nice thread ! Ya sure have a knack at the sausage making for sure, those look so tasty.... Had a few things come up so wasn't yet able to get my grinder & stuffer, but lookin at your thread I just may have to prioritize them up to the top of the list of "needs" ! LOL ;-). Here's to making sausage !

Hi Justin!

Thanks so much for the compliments and points!!  

You haven't gotten your sausage making equipment yet?  I thought that was a done deal a couple of months back!  

Anyway, sausage making is a lot of fun, and the cleanup gets quicker as time goes on.  With a little practice, you will not be able to easily find sausage as good as your own.

I hope that you feeling well and that all is well for you and your family!  Looks like you had some great smoking this weekend.  Thanks again for reading and the points!

Clarissa 

 

[driedstick]

That looks great Very nice!!! 

A full smoker is a happy smoker

DS 

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Okay so late to the party as usual! Great looking meal Clarissa! Thanks for sharing!

 

[reinhard]

The whole presentation is very impressive!!!!  You do a great job with the links.  They are perfect.  I also like the bay leaves in the water. Going to try that next time on mine [I usually use beer but bay leaves wont hurt a thing].  While brats are flavorful I also think fresh polish are a notch better in that department.  Thanks for the great post.  Reinhard

 

[tropics]

Now I am going to have to get the last ring of fresh out of the freezer. Been making my own fresh for ages. Thanks for sharing all the details. Looks really great.

Richie

 

[snorkelinggirl]

 
That looks great Very nice!!! 

A full smoker is a happy smoker

DS 

Hi DS!  Thanks so much for stopping by and the compliments!  I didn't smoke the fresh polish, but I have smoked kielbasa several times, and agree with you completely. 

Have a great night!

Clarissa

Okay so late to the party as usual! Great looking meal Clarissa! Thanks for sharing!

Hi Case,

Thank you for reviving an older thread!  I really appreciate you reading my post.  I hope that you aren't getting too smoked out over there (from wildfires, that is!)  

P.S. - I've got a couple of tail-ends of some summer chinook in my freezer, and when I'm in my break between summer and fall term classes I am going to try curing and smoking them per your recommendations!  I'll let you know how they come out!

Have a great Friday and weekend!
Clarissa

 
The whole presentation is very impressive!!!!  You do a great job with the links.  They are perfect.  I also like the bay leaves in the water. Going to try that next time on mine [I usually use beer but bay leaves wont hurt a thing].  While brats are flavorful I also think fresh polish are a notch better in that department.  Thanks for the great post.  Reinhard

Hi Reinhard,

Thank you so much for the compliments!! Especially from you, as your sausages are always gorgeous!  I looked over your fresh polish sausage threads several times before trying my hand at them.  The bay leaves in the poaching water was a suggestion from Chef JJ, and it definitely smelled great!  I agree with you completely about the fresh polish being a notch better.  The recipe I was following for bratwurst used a fine grind x 2, and I have to say I prefer the coarser grind of the fresh polish as well. 

Thank you again for stopping by, and have a great Friday and weekend!
Clarissa

 
Now I am going to have to get the last ring of fresh out of the freezer. Been making my own fresh for ages. Thanks for sharing all the details. Looks really great.

Richie

Hi Richie,

I'm envious that you can get your sausage in a nice ring!  I've tried a couple of times to put mine in a ring, but the sausage weight just keeps making the ring slip apart.  Obviously there is a trick to this that I haven't learned yet!  

Thanks for stopping by and the compliments, and enjoy your fresh polish this weekend!  

Clarissa

 

[foamheart]

OMG!! Who is that masked sausage maker?

 

[remsr]

Yummmmmm.

 

[bill dominiak]

Clarissa,

Can you advise me on the following cooking questions?

I purchase 20 lbs from a Polish Market in South Bend and need to prepare it all at once for 20+ at an annual reunion. Here's what I do in two large pots I place the sausage in and cover with water then bring it to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer for 25 - 30 minutes. Now I cut into smaller links and grill to brown. There are two problems 1. The sausage is long links (3 feet approx.) with no twists in them for sandwich sized thus I can't cut in smaller sizes until after it's poached. Can I add twists to the casings prior to this and cut or no? 2. The sausages after grilling are too dry not nearly as juicy as my mother's. Is my grill guy just over grilling them?

One other question. Do you skim the foam (fat) when poaching?

Bill