Best Fresh Polish Sausage Recipes

KIELBASA, HOMEMADE KIELBASA, FRESH POLISH SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Put the garlic through a garlic press or mince really fine. Put the seasonings into a small pot with a pint of water. Boil and then cool. Here's where my Mom always said taste it and I wouldn't. That could account for the variance in taste from year to year!
• Meanwhile, cut the pork off the bone. Cut into strips maybe 1" by 3". Doesn't have to be exact size, we get pretty sloppy with it. Strips go through the grinder better than chunks. Don't trim anything off, unless you just can't stand not to. Trust me, if there's not enough fat, the kielbasa will be dry and hard. DO trim off any bloody-type stuff though. We then put the meat into plastic dishpans, pour the cool liquid over, add about 4 cups ice cubes and mix together until your hands freeze. It should be kinda sloppy. If not, add more water or ice. Cover with aluminum foil or such and put in fridge over night to marinate so the meat soaks up the flavor. Stir occasionally. The ice will probably all be melted the next day before you make the sausage. The meat kind of absorbs the flavors. Yes, it will smell up the fridge. In fact, it will smell up the whole house! Open the windows. Make the neighbors crazy!
• Next day, take the casings out and soak in warm water for several hours; it makes them more flexible. Cut in 4 ft. lengths. Shove the meat in the freezer for 1/2 to 1 hour before you start. The meat stiffens up a little and it's easier to put through the grinder. (We forget to do this a lot!) Stick one end of each casing on the faucet and run warm water through the inside of the casing.
• Ready? (Keep everything as cold as you can) This is the fun part. Put a little oil on your hand and run it over the horn where the meat will come out. Run casing through fingers to drain slightly. Put a casing on the horn. One person helps push the meat through the grinder while the other holds the casing while it is filling up. It kinda curls up as you hold it. I find for me that it's better if I hold it up while it's filling, less pressure on the casing. We make each one about 12-16". Or until it splits! Tie it off with string or knot the end if you can get it close to the end of the filled casing. Some people twist it every 6" or so to make smaller sausages. If the darn thing splits, you gotta scrape out the meat, dump it back with the other stuff in the dishpan and start over. Some years you're lucky, but some years the darn things split all the time. That's one reason for soaking the casings for a longer time, they don't split as easily. Sometimes it's just a bad batch of casings. Then all you can do is swear at it.
• We put the coils of sausage back into clean dishpans (on a rack if possible) and put back into fridge to kinda dry overnight. Then we pack them in Saran, aluminum foil, ziplock bags, anything that will keep the smell in, and put the packages in the freezer. We make 2-3 lb. packages. Since I have a vacuum sealer, I use that. It works really great.
• By the way, the sausage is pale because it is not smoked. We don't care for smoked kielbasa. But you can smoke it before freezing. Can't help you with that, though!
• We've been able to keep the sausage frozen for months. Just keep everything cold and clean while you're working. Keep a lot of paper towels handy to dry hands, answer the doggone telephone, etc.
• We have found over the years, that pork has become much leaner now.That is sometimes a problem. We've considered buying more fat and mixing it in but never have. It worked out all right just not cutting off any fat. But insufficient fat makes for dry sausage.
• It takes up about 1-1/2 hours altogether to fill the casings. It's really simple and easy. Of course sometimes we have splashes on the walls when "someone" gets a little rough pushing the meat through the grinder. Hey, that's the fun of it. It's a messy job, but someone has to do it.
• Oh yeah, the house smells for 3-4 days. But it smells good. If you like garlic. All the seasonings are to your personal taste. You really need a lot of salt though. The pepper -- eh, how much do you like? We like a lot. Same with the garlic.
• We keep a little of the ground meat and cook a couple of small patties of the sausage. That's when you can taste it and find out what you did wrong in the seasoning, too late, of course.
• Use the plate in the grinder which grinds the meat coarse. It's better if the meat is a little chunky. You don't want a mealy texture.
• If you run a search on google, you can find other information under kielbasa.
• One recipe I found says to knead meat and seasonings. Supposedly the more you knead, the more tender the sausage. We've never tried that.
• In recent years, we've set aside 3-4 lbs. of the ground sausage meat and made it into small patties like breakfast sausage, and larger patties like hamburgers. The grandkids really like that. We do, too. But for Easter and Christmas, it has to be the links.

FRESH OLD FASHIONED POLISH SAUSAGE RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• Cut the meat into one-inch cubes. Put through medium grinder. Using your hands (wear latex or rubber gloves, if you prefer), mix the pepper, marjoram, garlic, allspice, water and salt into the meat. Cover and chill at least two hours or overnight. Make into patties or links using hog casing. If links, spread on a tray and refrigerate for up to three days, turning daily to allow sausages to dry and cure. Makes five pounds of sausage. To cook, you can grill or brown in a skillet. Cook thoroughly, at least 20 minutes.

FRESH POLISH SAUSAGE SAUERKRAUT POTATO DISH RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil to cover bottom of baking dish (Le Creuset Dutch Oven-Mary fills 9 ½ qt oval, Marilyn uses 5 ½ qt oval) Sauerkraut (lots) , drained, layer on bottom of dish Beef broth, ½ to 1 cup, to add moisture for potatoes & polish sausage to cook in Cut fresh polish sausage into 6" pieces, tuck into sauerkraut, along edges of pan, will brown Peel and cut potatoes into fourths, tuck into sauerkraut Sprinkle with Lawry's Seasoning Salt, a little pepper Bake at 300-350 degrees until potatoes are done, tender. About 1 ½ hours. Cook slowly, can keep warm at 200 degrees when potatoes are tender, sausage browned. Easy, you can cook and add more polish sausage if you have extra sauerkraut and/or potatoes for another meal or 2. Mmmm delicious!

FRESH CORN AND POLISH SAUSAGE CHOWDER

Steps:

• 1. Place sausage slices in a 4 to 6 quart kettle or dutch oven; cook over medium heat, stirring, to brown sausage lightly in its own drippings.
• 2. Spoon off fat; add potatoes, bay leaf, green pepper, pimientos, onion and broth.
• 3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 to 25 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
• 4. Stir in corn and cabbage and boil gently, uncovered, about 3 minutes; add milk.
• 5. Heat slowly just until soup is steaming hot (do not boil).
• 6. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
• 7. Sprinkle with paprika.

FRESH POLISH SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large container combine the ground meat,spices and water. Using your hands to mix thoroughly. I use the sausage stuffing attachment on my Kitchen-Aid mixer, keep a toothpick handy to poke any large bubbles you may get in the casing tube.

HONEY-GLAZED FRESH POLISH SAUSAGE WITH SAUTéED APPLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• To cook the sausages, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the sausages (don't unwrap them if they are in cheesecloth) and parboil until firm, 5 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Unwrap the cheesecloth and place the sausages side by side in a baking dish. Pour the honey over them and turn to coat all around. Place in the oven and bake, basting two or three times, until bronze colored, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the apples. In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the apples and cook, turning often, until deep gold on the outside and soft all the way through, 30 minutes or so, depending on the size of the pan and the type of apple.
• Transfer the sausages and apples to a platter and serve.