Krakowska

Krakowska is perhaps the most popular kielbasa (sausage), in Poland and draws its name from the beautiful city of Krakow. Both my parents trace their parents or grandparents to Krakow, so this kielbasa is in my blood. Several things distinguish Krakowska from other cured meat sausages; first, not all the meat is ground and the meat you do grind is parsed into coarse and fine textures. Second, the sausage is hot smoked, but then hung to cure but it still has to be kept refrigerated, unless you complete the dry cure stages. Like anything, there are many versions of Krakowska, but the one grew up with had a heavy dose of garlic.

Ingredients

• 900 g Lean pork – a ham, butt, or loin (on sale) ~2 lbs
• 100 g Pork fat ~ 0.25 lbs
• 2.5 g Garlic – pressed ~2 cloves
• 18 g Kosher salt ~ 3 tsp
• 2.5 g Curing salt #1 ~ 0.5 tsp
• 2 g Black pepper ~1 tsp
• 0.5 g Coriander – ground ~ 0.25 tsp
• 0.5 g Marjoram – ground ~0.25 tsp
• 0.5 g Yellow mustard seeds ~0.25 tsp
• 0.15 g Nutmeg ~ 1/16th tsp
• 30 g Cold water (distilled) ~2 TBL

Process

1. Mise en Place – measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
2. Prep meat
   1. Cut meat into 1″ cubes and separate into three groups
      1. Pieces with no fat – cut in half
      2. Pieces with some fat – coarse grind
      3. Pieces with lots of fat – grind once coarse then again fine (1/8th” plate)
   1. Mix kosher salt and curing salt #1
   2. Mix meat in a plastic bag, add salt and shake to coat meat with salts.
   3. Pack tightly in bag and place in frig for 48 hours.
   4. Separate meat into three groups
      1. Pieces with no fat – cut in half
      2. Pieces with some fat – coarse grind
      3. Pieces with lots of fat – grind once coarse then again fine (1/8th” plate)
3. Prep fat
   1. Cut fat into 1″ cubes.
   2. Coarse grind fat
   3. Mix spices with water.
   4. Add spice mixture to fat and grind a second time fine (1/8th” plate).
   5. If fat is not emulsified, run through a food processor.
4. Mix pork with emulsified fat
5. Using 3″ (75 mm) hog casings or synthetic fibrous casings, stuff firmly in 16-18″ chubs.
   • Be careful to avoid air pockets. If pockets emerge, prick with a needle.
   • Can prick casing to help with drying and smoking – some casings are pre-pricked.
6. Hang sausages at room temperature for 12 hours to both dry and cure
7. Smoke or cook in stages
   1. Dry sausages in smoker with light smoke (or in oven), at 120 F for 20 mins.
   2. Smoke with thick smoke (or in oven) at 130 F for 2.5 hours.
   3. Finish cure with light smoke (or in oven) at 195 F for 25 mins., or until internal temperature reaches 157 F.
8. Rinse with cold water for 5 mins
9. Final cure
   1. Place in frig. and eat once chilled, or
   2. Hang at room temperature for 7 days to mature.
10. Vacuum pack and keep in frig for several weeks. For longer storage, can freeze.