Smoked Polska Kielbasa

[Rich G]

Made up a full 5lb batch of sausage today.....well, that's a full batch for me. I like to get some variety, so that seems to work. Anyway, pretty similar to the ones I made last week. I ground up 5lbs of pork shoulder on the 7mm plate in my grinder (I love my grinder.....I think it took less than 2 minutes to go through 5 lbs.) Put the meat back in the fridge while I got the seasoning ready and washed/soaked the casings. When the casings were about ready, I hand mixed the seasonings into the meat for about five minutes to extract the proteins from the meat which will ensure the sausage binds well together. I set up my Enterprise hand crank stuffer outside, and got everything stuffed up. Hung the sausages to dry for a couple of hours, then into the smoke at 145F for a bit over five hours. Finished them off with a 10 minute poach in 170F then a shocking ice bath. All in all, this batch went really smoothly, though I need to come up with some sort of baffle in my smoker as it appears that the lower portions of the sausage got less smoke than the tops (of course, that could be due to poor drying, too.)

Smoked Polska Kielbasa
Pork shoulder ground through a 7mm plate (I like this size/texture for this type of sausage)
1.8% Salt
.25% Cure #1
.25% Sugar
.20% Black Pepper
.10% Marjoram
.35% Minced garlic
10% Cold Water (100g per 1000g of meat)

My broomstick drying rack:



Just hung on my fancy new smoke sticks (not really, just what I had in the garage.....need a round hardwood dowel!):



Done smoking, ready to poach:



Poached and cooled, ready to dry a bit overnight in the fridge before packaging:



Super simple recipe, but I am finding I prefer sausages that have 4 ingredients or less besides salt and cure. Amazing how such small amounts really come through.

R

 

[Brad Olson]

Dang, Rich, that's some nice work!

Of course, until you send me some QC samples I'll have to believe it tastes like crap. You're welcome to prove me wrong.

 

[Rich G]

Dang, Rich, that's some nice work!

Of course, until you send me some QC samples I'll have to believe it tastes like crap. You're welcome to prove me wrong.

Ever since I simmered some brats prior to grilling, I've been barred from all commerce with WI. I can certify that they are delicious, however, I cannot provide independent verification (unless maybe Bruno stops by for a sample.)

R

 

[James Nevarez]

Those look outstanding.

 

[Rich G]

Those look outstanding.

Thanks, James. They are fun to make. I got the grind, mix, stuff done in about 90 minutes this am, so not that time consuming of an endeavor, either. The rest of it is mostly inactive waiting time.

R

 

[Jim Lampe]

Ever since I simmered some brats prior to grilling, I've been barred from all commerce with WI. I can certify that they are delicious, however, I cannot provide independent verification (unless maybe Bruno stops by for a sample.)

R

Rich, Brad Olson isn't really from Wisconsin, he just likes to eat cheese.

Your Kielbasa looks like the real deal!
CONGRATULATIONS!!

(hope it wasn't me that gave you crap about the brat/water mishap...)

 

[Jerry We]

Those sausages are a masterpiece. Wish I had the patience to try that.

 

[Rich Dahl]

Boy, those look great Rich. Someday I'll get around to try that.

 

[EricV.]

Made up a full 5lb batch of sausage today.....well, that's a full batch for me. I like to get some variety, so that seems to work. Anyway, pretty similar to the ones I made last week. I ground up 5lbs of pork shoulder on the 7mm plate in my grinder (I love my grinder.....I think it took less than 2 minutes to go through 5 lbs.) Put the meat back in the fridge while I got the seasoning ready and washed/soaked the casings. When the casings were about ready, I hand mixed the seasonings into the meat for about five minutes to extract the proteins from the meat which will ensure the sausage binds well together. I set up my Enterprise hand crank stuffer outside, and got everything stuffed up. Hung the sausages to dry for a couple of hours, then into the smoke at 145F for a bit over five hours. Finished them off with a 10 minute poach in 170F then a shocking ice bath. All in all, this batch went really smoothly, though I need to come up with some sort of baffle in my smoker as it appears that the lower portions of the sausage got less smoke than the tops (of course, that could be due to poor drying, too.)

Smoked Polska Kielbasa
Pork shoulder ground through a 7mm plate (I like this size/texture for this type of sausage)
1.8% Salt
.25% Cure #1
.25% Sugar
.20% Black Pepper
.10% Marjoram
.35% Minced garlic
10% Cold Water (100g per 1000g of meat)

My broomstick drying rack:

View attachment 19464

Just hung on my fancy new smoke sticks (not really, just what I had in the garage.....need a round hardwood dowel!):

View attachment 19465

Done smoking, ready to poach:

View attachment 19466

Poached and cooled, ready to dry a bit overnight in the fridge before packaging:

View attachment 19467

Super simple recipe, but I am finding I prefer sausages that have 4 ingredients or less besides salt and cure. Amazing how such small amounts really come through.

R

I recently started buying pre-mix sausage ingredients from The Sausage Maker. I noticed that they sell a soy protein concentrate. I’ve smoked sausage with insta-cure, but never used this product. The concentrate binds the fat and meat for a smoother consistency and minimizes shrinkage in the smokehouse by increasing moisture retention. Because it contains seven times more protein than meat alone, it can help improve the nutritional quality of your foods as well. Not sure if this is is snake oil, your thoughts or any others would be appreciated.

 

[Rich G]

I recently started buying pre-mix sausage ingredients from The Sausage Maker. I noticed that they sell a soy protein concentrate. I’ve smoked sausage with insta-cure, but never used this product. The concentrate binds the fat and meat for a smoother consistency and minimizes shrinkage in the smokehouse by increasing moisture retention. Because it contains seven times more protein than meat alone, it can help improve the nutritional quality of your foods as well. Not sure if this is is snake oil, your thoughts or any others would be appreciated.

It is definitely widely used as a binder in sausage, and has the effect of increasing moisture retention. I have not found the need for it (my sausages come out plenty juicy), and I prefer to not use any fillers. I think that some of that kind of stuff makes more sense in a commercial setting, as more water in the product means better margins for the sausage maker. Another common binder is nonfat dry milk powder, though I have enough lactose intolerant eaters that I haven't messed with that either. You can always give it a try to see if it does anything you like (assuming you can find it in a small enough quantity to test it out.)

If you are smoking sausages, and use the soy protein concentrate, you would still need the Instacure (Cure #1, Prague Powder #1) for safety.

R

 

[EricV.]

Well that confirms what I already thought! It’s use can be more beneficial in a commercial setting, stretching the product as well as margins. I’ve never had any complaints on past smoking endeavors, yet I seem to be be always looking for ways to tweak things; lesson learned, less is more!