How To Cook Polish Sausage – A Mouthwatering Dish  

Kielbasa is a thick sausage, also known as polish sausage.  It is available in beef however, polish sausage is made traditionally with pork. The flavor is generally mellow, versatile ingredient, and is lightly spiced with pepper and garlic.

Generally, the Polish word for sausage is Kielbasa, like its German cousin however, Polish is versatile and is available in many varieties. For instance, each variety possesses its descriptor to differentiate its origin or type like kielbasa krakowska (Krakow style sausage) and kielbasa mysliwska (hunter’s sausage).

‘’Kiel basa’’ is simply known as a large smoked link of pork sausage. To increase the shelf life of polish sausage, it is vacuum packed sometimes.

In soups, casseroles, stews, appetizers, and sandwiches polish sausage is used.

The smoked sausage is fried and thin-sliced to make the yummiest meat served along with eggs, pancakes, or French toast.

Some meat markets offer fresh polish sausages however, most of the polish sausage is sold precooked and smoked.

In this article, we will consider and discuss the ways of cooking polish sausage. So stay with me.

Polish Sausage: Kielbasa but not Kielbasa:

In States, many people get confused with polish sausage and take the polish sausage as shrink-wrapped and pre-cooked kielbasa from the market.

Preparation of sausage:

Grinding the meat:

The preparation of fresh polish sausage is very simple.

• Meat and fat are grounded.
• Spices are added and mixed.
• Smoke the hog casings stuffed with meat.

See Also: Substitute For Coffee Creamer – A Complete Guide

Consideration points while preparing the polish sausage.

• The most important point is the selection of meat.
• The freshest and the better meat is picked up.
• Taste is dependent on better and fresher meat.
• On a medium grinder plate (4.5 mm-6mm), the meat is grounded.
• The texture of the meat loses if grounded too fine.
• Buy a good meat grinder.

Stuffing:

Burst casings will occur if the sausages are stuffed too tight. The sausages must be a little bit firm.  The sausage stuffers manually operated are the perfect choice as LEM Products 5 Pounds Stainless Steel Vertical Sausage Stuffer.

The stuffer is the best choice in every way.

Smoking Polish Sausage:

A tasty sausage is without smoke, as you can cook it in the oven, but it won’t resemble Swojska kielbasa. In order, to have this sausage you require a smoker. There is no substitute for smoke flavor as it is a seasoning itself.

The smoke generation is simple if a wood smoker or charcoal is used. Some kind of smoke generator is required by electric and gas smokers.

Smoker Temperature:

• Low temperature is key to smoking Polish sausage.
• The fat melts down and the result will be holes in the sausage as the temperature rises.
• 140⁰F is an ideal temperature to smoke the sausage.

Chilling the sausage:

• Maintain the temperature of the sausage by letting it cool down.
• Place the meat in the refrigerator the whole night.
• The fat will solidify once it is properly chilled and there will no hollow areas.
• An ice water bath may or may not be used to chill your sausage.
• The process will make the sausage plump and full.
• Some color of the sausage loses because of this process.

Types of Polish sausage:

There are a variety of polish sausages here I mentioned a few most common types:

• Kabonosy: Often spicy appetizer and a thin and dry sausage (Pork is used to make thin beef stick).
• Zwyczajna: It is a great combination with mustard and brad and is a regular sausage, most famous for pan-frying and grilling.
• Kielbasa Krakowska: The sausage is eaten cold on salads and sandwiches and this sausage from Krakow is thick in diameter.
• Black sausage: This sausage is traditionally grilled or fried with potatoes and onions. The sausage is also known as blood sausage, is made with buckwheat, offal, and pig’s blood.
• White sausage: It is the kind you will find traditionally in Polish white borscht and is served with horseradish sauce often. This sausage is pale in color because it has been boiled rather than smoked.

Is Kielbasa precooked?

The cooking depends on the type of fresh polish sausage purchased from the market. Most kielbasa sold except Poland is generally cooked either cured or smoked. It tastes best when heated up rather than eaten as- it is.

You will need to boil fresh polish sausage at the deli however, dried kielbasa is served cold and ready to eat in sandwiches and as an appetizer.

How to cook raw/ fresh polish sausage?

Boil in water:

The most dependable way is to slowly simmer the sausage until the temperature of the inside reaches 165 degrees.

Cook the sausage until the pink color disappears.

• In a large pot fill water and add salt in water, or else the sausage will lose its flavor in the water.
• Boil the water on high heat and place polish sausage in the pot.
• Gently simmer for half an hour on medium heat and the lid should not be placed on the pot.
• Immediately serve the dish and more crispiness can be added by roasting or grilling.

Never let the sausage boil:

• The casing turns very tough moreover can be exploded if the temperature rises quickly.
• The sausage can be eaten after attaining the desired temperature however, can bake in the oven or a pan for heating again.

How to cook smoked kielbasa?

The sausages are not smoked or boil pre-cooked because they are not raw however, the boiling reduces the flavors. Try one of the methods mentioned below.

• Cook on the grill/ barbeque.
• Fry on the stove.
• Roast in the oven.

Tips:

• Before cutting, allow the sausages to cool down for a few minutes gives the best result however, in terms of food safety letting the rest of the sausage is not mandatory. The juice thickens as it cools down and when the meat cut down the juice is more likely to stay.
• The sausages might split down when baking or boiling is done as heat causes stuffing to swell up and the casing breaks down. Moreover, there is nothing to get worried about and also no indication of deteriorated sausage.
• While the sausage boils in the pot, try adding more ingredients for a kick of flavor like for an Italian twist, toss the sausages into the water with garlic, onions, and tomato sauce.

Cooking sausages in Pan:

Delicious meals at any time of the day can be served, as sausages fry up easily. Different varieties of ground meat like beef, turkey, and pork are included as sausages however, all types of meat possess a considerable ratio of seasoning to make the sausages tasty and zesty.

The sausages will be soft and tender on the inside while the outer casing is full of flavor. When cooked on the pan.

• ¼ inch of water is filled in the frying pan placed on the stovetop and cover the pan’s bottom.
• Tins of a fork are used to puncture sausage and place them into the pan. The sausage juices are allowed to add flavor to the cooking water.
• Cook the sausage for 5 minutes on a medium flame and cover it.
• Sausages are rearranged gently with a spatula.
• The sausages are flipped over to cook the other side.
• Cover the pan.
• For approximately 10-15 minutes cook the sausages are cooked till water disappears.

Recipes made using Polish sausage:

Polish Sausage and Sauerkraut:

A meal you will have in breakfast and dinner and is a great meal with the addition of some potatoes and onion. Polish sausage and sauerkraut are a match made in heaven.

The preparation time is 15 minutes and the cooking time is 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

• It requires 1 lb. smoked or fresh polish sausage.
• 1 onion, sliced and cut into 1’’ pieces.
• 1 ½ lb. (about 2 large) russet potatoes, cut and cut into ½ cubes.
• 1 Cc sauerkraut.
• ¼ tsp. salt.
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter.
• ½ tsp ground black pepper.

Instructions:

• Take a large pan and fill it with water, boil and cover the potato cubes and boil them for 5-7 minutes, until soft. Throw the water and set the boiled potatoes aside.
• Add polish sausage in a large non-stick skillet and fill it with ½ cup of water. Over medium heat cook the sausages until the water evaporates. Fry the sausages in a pan till they are golden (7-10 minutes total) then remove the sausages from the pan.
• Heat 1 tsp. of butter in the pan if the sausages did not release much heat.
• Sauté the added onions and sauerkraut until golden and dry for 3-5 minutes. The mixture is pushed to one side of the pan.
• To the empty side of the pan, add the boiled potatoes and the remaining 2 tsp of butter. Before mixing all the ingredients in the pan, gently toss the potatoes in the hot melted butter.
• Stirring is done after every 1-2 minutes, for 4-5 minutes, let the mixture fry and let the potatoes crisp and golden.
• Now sprinkle and season with pepper and salt depending on your taste and desire.
• For 1-2 minutes heat the sausage and serve the recipe hot.

Nutrition:

Calories per serving 353.

Serving size ¼ of a recipe.

Polish sausage Dogs:

The polish sausage is easily topped with brown golden onions and has a mouthwatering flavor. From ordinary hot dogs, the polish sausage has a very tasty change and perfect for the whole family dinner.

How to make Polish Sausage Dogs:

The sausages are nestled in hot dog buns and have a topping of caramelized onions.

The preparation time for this recipe is 5 minutes and the cooking time is 25 minutes. It is American Cuisine and served as the main course. The recipe has 8 servings with a 147 calorie count.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Salt and pepper taste.
• 8 hot dog buns.
• 8 polish sausage links.
• 2 large yellow onions peeled and thinly sliced
• For topping ketchup and mustard are optionally used.

Steps:

• Fry onions in a large skillet until slightly soft and sprinkle some pepper and salt.
• After the addition of sausages, keep the flame medium and stir to the point meat is cooked through and the onions turn golden brown.
• Turn heat to low, cover to keep it warm.
• The buns are filled with onion toppings, sausage and present it with ketchup and mustard.

Nutrition:

• Calcium 80mg.
• Fat 3g
• Calories 147kcal
• Fiber 1g
• Iron 1.5 mg
• Carbohydrate 23g
• Protein 4g
• Potassium 94mg
• Vitamin C 2.6mg
• Sodium 222mg
• Sugar 3g

Great Recipes using Polish sausage:

• Mulligatawny Soup.
• Smothered cabbage.
• Chicken bag.
• Haluski and Polish sausage.
• Creamy One-Pot Kielbasa Tortellini.
• Sheet Pan BBQ Smoked Sausage Dinner.
• Sheet Pan Smoked Sausage Dinner.
• Kielbasa Sauerkraut Sliders.
• Cauliflower and Sausage Roast.
• Kale and white bean soup.
• Slow cooker Polish sausage and cabbage soup.
• Crock pot sausage stew.
• Easy sausage bake with apples and sauerkraut.
• Slow cooker lentil soup with smoked sausage and tomatoes.
• Slow cooker Barbecue beans and sausage.
• Sweet and sour polish sausage.
• Chicken bog.
• Slow cooker Kielbasa sausage in beer and mustard sauce.
• Crockpot smoked sausage with potatoes and cabbage.
• Roasted potato and sausage dinner.

 

Frequently Asked Questions.

1. How long will it take to cook polish sausage?

The sausages available in markets are sometimes precooked and don’t require cooking. The sausages are grilled, roasted, and fried till they are golden in color.

2. What is Kielbasa Sausage?

Rural polish homes originally made Kielbasa by using garlic, marjoram herb, ground pork, salt, and pepper. Today the sausage is made with many meat varieties like beef, lamb, turkey, and chicken. The meat of Kielbasa goes through curing proves and diverse spices flavor the sausage.

3. How many types of Kielbasa are there?

Generally, there are 3 types of Kielbasa.

1. Dried kielbasa.
2. Fresh kielbasa.
3. Smoked kielbasa.

4. What goes with polish sausage?

• Mash butternut squash.
• Roasted brussel sprout.
• Steamed broccoli.
• Mashed cauliflower made with mashed potato.
• Roasted onion and 3 different colored peppers.

5. Is Kielbasa German or Polish?

The word Kielbasa is commonly known as Polish sausage however, in Germany the cousin of Kielbasa is available in many forms.

Conclusion:

There are many ways to cook fresh polish sausages. Some methods are tastier while some are easy to cook. Each method has a specific taste. The best method can be chosen depending upon your time, taste, and appliances the polish sausage can be cooked.