Kiełbasa Krakowska Wędzona (Smoked Krakow Sausage) & Good ol' Basic Kielbasa (with pics)

[woodcutter]

Nice job!

 

[couger78]

The kielbasa recipe can be found here. easy to make & quite good.

http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/sausage-recipes/polish-hot-smoked

Here's the recipe I used for the Krakowska.

It's a compilation of my wife's Aunt's recipe, plus some info gathered from various 'Polish' sources.

Enjoy!

Kiełbasa Krakowska Wędzona

Makes 11 pounds

Lean pork 6.16lbs

Fatty pork 3.74lbs

Lean Beef 1.1lbs

Cure#1 12g

Salt 90g

Garlic 5 cloves, finely-chopped

Allspice 1 tsp

White Pepper 1 tsp

Nutmeg 1 tsp

Coriander 1 tsp

Marjoram 1 Tbl

(not ground)

Water 14 ounces

• Cube lean pork into .75” cubes. Mix pork with salt (50.4g), Cure (6.7g), and sugar (7g) and store in fridge to cure for several days.

• Finely-grind the fatty pork & beef (3mm plate). Regrind twice more —or use a processor to emulsify into a fine paste. To paste, add cubed pork, the rest of the spices and water.

• Mix very thoroughly until a sticky, cohesive paste is formed (about 7-10 minutes of hand-mixing).

• Stuff meat mixture into large synthetic casing (2.75-3.25”), forming lengths of 12-14”. Tightly tie-off and prick chub to eliminate any air bubbles that form. 

• Hang in warm (120°F) smoker for hour or so until dry. Apply smoke and gradually raise temps up to 170.° Sausage is finished when internal temperature of 154° is reached.

• Plunge into ice water; let sausage air-dry & bloom for an hour or so.

• Refrigerate overnight before slicing. Serve chilled or room-temp with cheese, pickles, etc.

 

[squirejoe]

As far as the Pork tasting different, you might want to see if there are any "Heritage" pig farms raising Berkshire breed of swine. Most of the modern, industrial Pig is bread to be leaner and grow faster. Berkshires and other Heritage breeds tend to glow slower, more fatty and taste like I remember back in the '70's. Also if you have in's with the hunting crowd, fresh Wild Boar is also just as tasty.
 

 

[driedstick]

Wow that looks great. Job well done Kev. The polish to me looks very juicy and the other looks like it has a good texture to it almost looks like a boneless ham you get in store.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Came out beautifully! Thanks for sharing the Recipe and Technique...JJ

 

[smoking b]

Excellent job on the sausages!  Great write up too - Job well done! 

 

[shannon127]

Kevin,

Thanks for posting your recipe, I am going to give it a try.  Here is my recipe for Krakowska.

Krakowska
Meats	Gr/Kg	Actual	Ratio
Pork Loin Lean	667		0.0
Pork Loin trimmings	333	0
Kosher salt	17	0.0	0.0
Cure #1	2.25	0.0	0.0
sugar	2.25	0.0	0.0
ground white pepper	2.25	0.0	0.0
garlic	3.75	0.0	0.0
nutmeg	1	0.0	0.0
cold water	40	0.0	0.0
Cut the lean light colored portions of the loin into 1/2 to 3/4 chunks.  The calculator will tell you the amount of fat/darker meat which will need to be ground through a 1/4 die.  You can use black pepper but you will see it in the finished product.  Smoke with Cherry and Apple for 4 hours at 155 degrees, then poach for 30 minutes in water at 175 degrees

krakowska.jpg

• shannon127
• Jan 28, 2013

Three Krakowska from a couple of weeks ago. 

Here is the inside. 

104_9617.JPG

• shannon127
• Jan 28, 2013

 

[couger78]

Shannon - by all means give it a try. I'd like to know how it compares to other recipes you've tried.

I wound up smoking these (with heavy smoke) for much longer than I anticipated. This was due to the fact my smoker held temps extremely well al day yesterday. Often it fluctuates wildly & I have to babysit it for hours....no fun there.

The good news in my house IS everybody seems to enjoy the krakowska

I hate going to all the time, trouble & expense and having folks turn their noses up at the results.

Before I slice & pack the large chubs, I'm going to continue to hang in the fridge for several more days.

This seems to help the overall texture & firmness.

Kevin

 

[shannon127]

It looks great to me.  We go through a 4lb stick every week, so it will be nice to try a change

 

[kathrynn]

Love watching the progression of the sausage. Those are amazing.  Sounds wonderful.  Great Thread!

 

[boykjo]

looks great k.............

 

 

[sam3]

WOW!

Once again Kevin, you knock it out of the ballpark!

Fantastic!

 

[couger78]

Thanks, all.

I do have a question for those who have made a 'boatload' of meat and wish to keep it 'at it's best' for an extended period.

I still have two large 14" chubs in my fridge and I'm debating whether to go ahead & slice them up. These would be vac-sealed in smaller packets for 'daily use.'

Alternatively, I can leave the big chubs whole and hanging. They'll continue to firm up (dry) and will be cut up as needed, but left intact during that time.

I know most local delis keep their chubs whole & slice as needed in their cooler displays.

Just thinkin' out loud here.

Kevin

Kielbasa_2chub_lg_zps1ffbcecd.jpg

• couger78
• Jan 29, 2013

 

[daveomak]

Kevin, morning.....  If you plan on slicing and freezing...  What works well for me is....

Slice and place on saran, layer the meat slices, then wrap and enclose and freeze...  once frozen in the saran, vac-pack and place back in the freezer....   Seem the meat stays better that way...  Most stuff I vac and freeze is first wrapped in saran....  

When the vacuum is applied the saran wraps real tight and help guard against whatever is evil to frozen food....  

Or, it is best eaten fresh... I'll send the postage...  freight shouldn't be too bad to Washington....     Dave

 

[zahlgren]

 

[chef jimmyj]

I can't say whether letting the Chubs dry will extend the life any but I was a Deli manager for awhile and we rarely take delivery of any quantity of meat that we can't move in 5-7 days. Italian Deli's with full blown dry Cured products like Prosciutto and Salami go longer but that's about all. I too am interested in long storage options as there is Krakowska in my near future...JJ

 

[shannon127]

I can't say whether letting the Chubs dry will extend the life any but I was a Deli manager for awhile and we rarely take delivery of any quantity of meat that we can't move in 5-7 days. Italian Deli's with full blown dry Cured products like Prosciutto and Salami go longer but that's about all. I too am interested in long storage options as there is Krakowska in my near future...JJ

You could make Krakowskie or Krakowska Sucha. 

 

[couger78]

I can't say whether letting the Chubs dry will extend the life any but I was a Deli manager for awhile and we rarely take delivery of any quantity of meat that we can't move in 5-7 days. Italian Deli's with full blown dry Cured products like Prosciutto and Salami go longer but that's about all. I too am interested in long storage options as there is Krakowska in my near future...JJ

Jimmy, I think I'll be better off slicing & vac-packing up smaller portions. Vac-sealed, they seem to keep quite well.

After about 3-5 days, the chubs will start getting a bit too dry, so I'll be doing some slicing in the next few days.

Kevin

 

[couger78]

I got all the krakowska sausage sliced up and ready to go into vac-seal bags.

That way it'll be easier to distribute to the masses (co-workers, neighbors, wayward vegans....)

Kevin

Kielbasa_SlicedUp_lg_zpsab1400b4.jpg

• couger78
• Jan 30, 2013

 

[daveomak]

Sure looks good Kevin....  I'm a wayward vegan.... "NOT"....