How To Make Smoked Polish Sausage

In this post I am going to make smoked Polish sausage, kielbasa, but the most important take aways are the techniques, which you can apply to other sausages like andouille, hot dogs, half smokes.

There a lots of tips for making smoked Polish sausage and sausage making in general.

The Most Important Tricks to Sausage Making

These tricks aren’t just for making smoked Polish sausage.

Salt-This is make or break!!! The meat must be salted at least 4 hours in advance of grinding! Other than seasoning the meat the salt gives it the great texture.

Temperature-Don’t even think of grinding the meat over 45 degrees Fahrenheit. I get it down to 35 degrees to be safe. I put it in the freezer.

If you do not pay attention to salt and temperature your sausage will be mealy, the fat will make melted fat pockets, and the casing will separate from the skin.

Read why salt is the most important ingredient in cooking and all the things salt does other than seasoning.

This might be a good time to start soaking the hog casing. They need to soak at least one hour in water no warmer than your body temp but a longer soak on cold tap water is better. Warm water quickens the soak but also weakens the casing. More about that later.

Cut and Salt the Pork

This recipe is for 8 pounds of pork. Find a pork butt that has quite a bit of fat. Pork butt is usually the right ratio of meat to fat. Avoid a lean looking pork butt. You want the meat fat ratio between 70/30 to 80/20.

Make sure the pork butt is cold, it makes it easier to cut and you won’t smear the fat. I like to cut long strips about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide but if it is wider it is ok. The reason I like to cut long strips is when I grind the grinder will grab the strips and pull them through.

Salt the pork, I use 8 grams of salt per pound and 1 gram of pink curing salt salt per pound. Pink curing salt preserves the meat and makes is safer to smoke avoiding botulism chances. Do not use Hawaiian pink salt, use a curing salt sometimes called Prague Powder no. 1. Here is what I used.

Mix the salts and meat really well then into the coldest part of the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. After 3 hours temp the meat and if the meat is above 40 degrees put it in the freezer and turn it every 15 minutes until you get a temp between 33 and 40 degrees. The lower the better.

Put grinder attachment in the refrigerator to get it cold, the auger, blade, , grinding chamber, tray, grinding plate, NOT THE MOTOR.

I use a 7mm (5/16 inch) grinding plate. I like a courser sausage but you can use a 6mm (1/4 inch)

Gather Your Seasonings (this is for 8 lbs.)

10 grams of freshly ground black pepper (a little course)
2 tsp marjoram (can sub oregano but marjoram is better)
15 cloves finely minced garlic
1 tsp sugar
1tsp allspice

Mix, Assemble the Grinder, Grind

Once the meat reaches a proper temperature mix all the seasonings in the cut salted meat. Mix well then back in the refridge.

Assemble the grinder and grind the meat. Work fast and if you need to stop pushing meat through shut the grinder off. You don’t want the auger spinning and heating the meat in the chamber.

Once you have put all the meat in the grinder you can put some previously ground meat back in to push through the last of the cut meat.

Take grinder apart and pull ground meat out of auger put meat and grinder back in refrigerator.

The Casing

There are many kinds of casings but for this sausage a natural hog casing between 32mm and 35 mm works best. The casings come different ways but if you are reading this you probably are a home sausage maker like myself. The easiest way to casing is from Amazon.

The casing comes salted, pictured below is one brand but recently I have preferred the LEM brand here. Since the casings are salted they need to be rinsed, soaked, and you have to run water through them.

Take only the amount of casing you are going to use, rinse it off then soak it in around 90 degree water for at least an hour. Before putting it on the sausage funnel open the casing up under the faucet and turn the cold water on low and run it through the inside of the casing. Check out about 2:20. mark here.

You can also soak the casing overnight in the refrigerator. Don’t soak in warm water it will make a blowout more likely.

Tip for Putting Casing on Sausage Funnel

Reassemble your grinder without the blade and plate but instead put your sausage funnel on. If you have a separate sausage stuffer ignore that. Feed some of the grinder meat into the grinder until a little nub comes out the funnel. This will make threading the casing on the funnel much easier. It greases the casing with the fat in the grind.

Stuffing the Casing

If you are using your grinder to stuff the sausage you should work fast because the spinning auger will heat the meat if it isn’t pushed through. If you stop for a second shut off the grinder.

Use your fingers on the funnel to slow the casing from moving to fast so you can fill the casing. Apply more pressure to fill tighter but don’t fill it to tight. I filled mine quite tight because I am not going to twist off links. If you plan on linking the sausage fill it a little loser and it will tighten up when you link it. Here is a video start at the 7 minute mark.

If you get an air pocket or it is packed to loose just pull the casing back on the funnel to pack the grind.

Dry the Sausage then Smoke It

Hang or rack the sausage in an area that has good air circulation until it is dry, about and hour. If you have a fan use it. You can also dry it in the refrigerator overnight. Make sure air circulates around the sausage.

The drying helps the meat stick to the casing, better color, and texture.

Smoke the Sausage

Smoke the sausage with indirect heat under 250 degrees (I do it higher but don’t until you are really confident). I did it for years on a Webber Kettle. When it is done smoking it is a good idea to quickly shock in ice water.

I could go into smoking more but I think if you are attempting this project you should know how to smoke meat.

ENJOY!! making smoked Polish sausage and enjoy eating it!