polish sausage

[cal1956]

i finally made my 1st "polish" sausage yesterday , i decided to use " Leggs " polish seasoning and did a "test run" of 2 lbs
the Leggs seasoning comes in an11 oz pouch that claims to make 25 lbs , that breaks down to .44 oz per lb
i followed Leggs directions only adding 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper for a little heat
then i smoked the sausage for 2 hours with a light to med smoke
the results :
the flavor was very weak , had very little heat , and when i took it off the smoker the internal temp was 170 waaaay over cooked
But the 1st batch gave me enough information to try a 2nd batch of 7 lbs
this time i used 1 oz per lb of seasoning , and added 3 tablespoons and1 teaspoon of red pepper
i reduced the smoke time to 1 hour with a very heavy smoke
the results :
PURE PERFECTION
the sausage looked beautiful , the taste couldn't be better , the heat was just right , in fact my mouth started watering as soon as i took the 1st bite
Leggs makes a great polish seasoning if you double the recommended amount

 

[MCQSmoker]

Looks great, good work

 

[tallbm]

i finally made my 1st "polish" sausage yesterday , i decided to use " Leggs " polish seasoning and did a "test run" of 2 lbs
the Leggs seasoning comes in an11 oz pouch that claims to make 25 lbs , that breaks down to .44 oz per lb
i followed Leggs directions only adding 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper for a little heat
then i smoked the sausage for 2 hours with a light to med smoke
the results :
the flavor was very weak , had very little heat , and when i took it off the smoker the internal temp was 170 waaaay over cooked
But the 1st batch gave me enough information to try a 2nd batch of 7 lbs
this time i used 1 oz per lb of seasoning , and added 3 tablespoons and1 teaspoon of red pepper
i reduced the smoke time to 1 hour with a very heavy smoke
the results :
PURE PERFECTION
the sausage looked beautiful , the taste couldn't be better , the heat was just right , in fact my mouth started watering as soon as i took the 1st bite
Leggs makes a great polish seasoning if you double the recommended amount View attachment 518944

Great info for us to have on that Leggs seasoning!

With any store bought or unproven sausage seasoning doing a fry test before stuff will let you know if it is bland or too salty. This saves the day a ton since you can modify and retest until you get good flavor!

Now the fry test wont taste exactly like the smoked product BUT the idea is not to get exact flavor but to test if bland, too salt, or pure disgusting. Also if it seems like it needs "just a little more salt" that is the indicator to STOP hahaha. Learned this lesson over and over too many times :)

I hope this info helps and you continue to crank out good and new sausage!

 

[thirdeye]

Good call, you saved your whole batch from being too bland. We were talking about doing a small test batch in another thread on breakfast sausage.... You never truly know how you will like a commercial seasoning as far as saltiness and overall flavor when using the recommended amount.

The basic Polish seasonings are salt, pepper, and garlic, but I like to add some heat also, usually in the form of white pepper and red pepper.

 

[cal1956]

i always fry the sausage that is left in the stuffing tube to get an idea so i already knew i was going to have some adjusting to do , i was a little disappointed that the pouch ( 11 oz ) only makes 11 lbs but thats ok because in the end its still well worth it to get some really really good polish sausage
a friend was here while we made these and was over the moon at just how good they are

 

[SmokyMose]

Looks good!
Most Polish sausage recipes tend to be a little bland, which is why many of us "Doctor it up" a little ;-)
I've never used a bought mix like that so I'm curious. I assume it has cure in it.
Wouldn't doubling the mix also double the cure?
Good call on making a small batch at first....

 

[cal1956]

it does NOT have cure in it , i add cure to all the sausage i make
( always better to be safe than sorry ) i would highly recommend Leggs seasoning for polish sausage as long as you double the amount per lb

 

[thirdeye]

Most Polish sausage recipes tend to be a little bland, which is why many of us "Doctor it up" a little ;-)

I had a guy in an old school butcher shop refer to the flavor of their Polish (they had both fresh and smoked) sausage as "delicate".

 

[WI Smoker77]

Thanks for the heads up on proportions for the Leggs seasonings. The pics look great. I , like above, do fry tests when I make sausages and usually end up slightly adding spices for my preferred tastes. Thanks for posting

 

[cal1956]

my thoughts on "polish " sausage
good polish sausage is really hard to find ,its not an everyday kind of sausage , its more of a treat type of sausage , many people only eat them at fairs and such , the ones that you can buy at the corner store are seldom worth buying ( some my dog wouldn't eat ) but the sausage i have described in this thread is something you owe it to yourself to try , if you use the mix like i described you will have a treat that you will be proud to share with family and friends , and i promise you after your family and friends try them they will come back for more
they are easy to make , and taste really really good !!!
i do hope some of you fellas will try to make them , i know you will be as happy as i am with them
calvin