Polish Party Time: Kielbasa for the masses.....

[Kevin A]

My mother-in-law is celebrating her 80th birthday and so a party in her honor is being thrown this weekend. One of the requests I received was to bring enough kielbasa for 20...—the unfortunate part was I didnt get this request until a few days ago. I figured 10 pounds of the stuff should be plenty.
So between work & other commitments, I gotta crank out some kee-bazzy. Due to time constraints I wound up taking fewer photos than usual of the process.

Got 10+ pounds of pork shoulder & prepped about half of it in the manner I did in a previous thread where I cut up small lean pieces & cured them overnight before grinding & mixing the balance. I used pretty much the same recipe I used last time, but added a bit more salt and garlic.
My previous kielbasa thread:
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=22606.0

I used larger casings this time (32mm last time) and went with the 38-42mm size.
Meats with spices & rest of the cure mixed & stuffed. You can see the cubes of the 'cured' pork within the sausages:


Decided to do a couple of hours of heavy smoke. I used apple wood this time instead of hickory.
I hung the kielbasa @115-120° for an hour to dry before applying the smoke.
Smoke just starting & the sun is starting to set...


I bumped up the temp to 130-140° over the next two hours with good smoke.
They look ready to pull...


NIGHT POACHER:
plunked the load into my roaster full of 175° water. held the temp at around 165-170°


Time for a break & some liquid refreshment while waiting for the kielbasa's IT to hit the magic mark...


After ONLY about 25-30 minutes, IT hit 157° so I pulled the kielbasa, plunged them into an ice bath & hung 'em up to bloom for 90 minutes or so:


FINALLY: Ten pounds of smoked kielbasa ready for the weekend!
Of course we had to sample some beforehand.

—Kevin

[Sailor]

I think you are gonna make Momma proud!  Nice job on them there sausages!

[viper125]

Looks great! Just wonder whats with the chunks of pork. Does this change texture or taste.

[Kevin A]

Looks great! Just wonder whats with the chunks of pork. Does this change texture or taste.

It's the way my wife's family grew up (Poland) making it. Called Krakowska Sausage (Kielbasa krakowska krajana)
It really doesnt impact the texture much—maybe a 'bit' firmer—but overall the eater doesnt detect a difference. To my taste, it resembles something akin to a 'soft' ham that blends in really well with the mix. I actually like it.  :)

[SamuelG]

Great post!

Been going to garage sales here  and no roasters... Wonder why...??? Ahhhh  you can't fit a pig in it!  Hehehe


SamuelG

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[Keymaster]

Very, very nice job Kevin!!!!

[pikeman_95]

Kevin

You are a machine. I love the look of your sausage. Did the flavor work our for you. Your cut shots look very professional. I am still looking for a roaster. It would be easier for small batches. When we do larger batches the large tank is great but it is too much work for a small batch. I have been working on an outside sausage making area. I plumbed the hot and could water to the outside wall. For clean up I can just let the water fly.

Kirby

[pensrock]

Nice job. Hope 10 pounds is going to be enough.  :)

[Kevin A]

Kevin

You are a machine. I love the look of your sausage. Did the flavor work our for you. Your cut shots look very professional. I am still looking for a roaster. It would be easier for small batches. When we do larger batches the large tank is great but it is too much work for a small batch. I have been working on an outside sausage making area. I plumbed the hot and could water to the outside wall. For clean up I can just let the water fly.

Kirby

Hi Kirby
I'm really pleased with this batch of 'basa. I had used VERY lean cuts for this mix (pork shoulder chops were on sale for $1.69/lb!) so had to add a bit of extra pork fat I had in the freezer just to get it into a 20% fat range. My concern was too lean=dry & lacking flavor. But the results was moist, juicy & garlicky. The bucket worked great for mixing this batch too. 25-30 minutes to finish in the roaster bath was a great time-saver.

Pensrock— I just got back from the party this evening in the Sierra foothills. More like 40 people showed up so the 10lbs was JUST the right amount. Mom-in-Law had a great time too.  :)

—Kevin

[ghost9mm]

Great job Kevin...I think this is going to be my next project using your recipe... I will wait till Pat gets done her radiation therapy in three weeks, but we will make some kielbasa for just two...lol

[cobra6223]

Kevin those GREAT !! Can't wait to try somecould or would you please post the exact amounts ? Thank you in advance, one last thing, just got home from 10.5's smoke out you need to get that roaster under a lock and log chain or in a vault, it was a very hot topic and I think about 50 guy's would now like to have that roaster, not sure if it would be used for sausage or just an antique  ;D
keep the great sausage pic's coming, Thanks for sharing.

Tim

[Kevin A]

Can't wait to try somecould or would you please post the exact amounts ?
Tim

Tim, I'll post the recipe soon as I locate it....

Here's something for you discriminating Art Lovers...."Kielbasa Still Life."  ;D

[NePaSmoKer]

yup

real nice

[viper125]

Hey guys check craigs list. Youngstown area had three or four the other day.

[OU812]

Nice, verry nice.

The money shot is makin me hungry.