First Keilbasa..

[Sam3]

Well after reading all these great recipes and tips, it was time to try my hand at some homemade Polish goodness.
Thanks to Kevin for sharing his recipe.
1hr at 120 no smoke to dry the casings.
1 hr at 140 with smoke.
1 hr at 150 with smoke.)
@2.5 hrs at 160 with no smoke to reach an IT of 135. (It was 20 degress outside  :o)
Here we go...

5lbs of Pork shoulder and spices.


Ready to go.



Not bad for a 1st try with the new stuffer. Into the frig for 24 hours.


Doing it's thang..


Out of the smoker enroute to the water bath.


Poached for about 15 min at 160-162 degrees  to an IT of 157. Thermometer holder is made with aluminum step flashing.  ;D


Cold water bath to an IT of 110 degrees.


Blooming next to the bucktails..


Money shot..



I specifically did this so I could share this with my 94 year old Polish grandmother at Christmas. It's going to be a surprise.  ;)
Thanks again for all you post on here. It's all great info and made this Keilbasa a breeeeeeze to make!

[squirtthecat]

Good job!!

[Tenpoint5]

Looks great for your first shot out of the gate!  You do realize it is too late to suck up to grandma she already got you your gift card for Christmas! ;D

[smokeNcanuck]

Looks really nice, great job.  You are a natural ;)

[rigstar]

those look very good!!
what kind of smoke did you use?
would kevin mind parting with his recipe again?

[Mr Walleye]

Looks fantastic Sam!  ;)

Grama is going to be darn proud!  8)

Mike

[Sam3]

Here is Kevin's recipe from another site. I  do believe he is on this board though. I didn't cut the pork into 1/2" cubes like he did. I just let it rip through the ginder.  ;D
I did 5 lbs, so I cut this in half. I also poached as mentioned above in lieu of finishing it off in the smoker.
Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm pretty happy with how this came out.


Pork Butt (20% fat) 1000g (2.20 lb.)
Ingredients per 1000g (2.20 lb.) of meat
* I cut about 25-35% of the lean into 1/2" cubes & add a portion of the cure & water. These cubes sit overnight to let the cure be absorbed before mixing it with the remainder of the meat & other ingredients.

Salt (kosher preferred) 18g (3 tsp.)
Cure #1 2.5 g (? tsp)
Sugar 2.5 g (? tsp)
Black pepper (fresh ground) 2.0g (1 tsp)
Marjoram 1.0 g (⅔ tsp)
Garlic (fresh) 3.5g (1 clove)
Cold water 100ml (⅜ cup)

Instructions
Grind the lean meat with a 3/8? grinder plate and the fat meat through 3/16? plate.Mix everything together adding cold water. Stuff mixture into 32 - 36 mm hog casings and form links 12 - 13? 30 - 35 cm.
Place sausages in a preheated smoker at 130? F with draft dampers fully open. When casings are fully dry, apply heavy smoke. Smoke for 60-90 minutes. Keep on increasing the smoking temperature until you reach 160 - 170? F range. Sausage is done when the internal temperature (IT) reaches 157? F. I tend to skip this extended smoker time by poaching in a hot water bath until the desired IT is reached. Takes about 30 minutes instead of the 3-4 hours sometimes necessary in a smoker. Links come out moist, juicy & smokey

[Sam3]

i used Hickory also, forgot to mention that.

[rigstar]

excellent Sam3,
i appreciate the recipe
thank-you

[rigstar]

I did 5 lbs, so I cut this in half. I also poached as mentioned above in lieu of finishing it off in the smoker.

forgot to ask a question sam3, above you said you did 5 lbs, so you cut ingredients in half?
then in recipe it states ingredients are for 2.2lbs, so did you double ingredients?
if it is supposed to be double, the cure#1 would be roughly 2 tsp for 5 lbs, from what i
have read on here i thought it was supposed to be 1tsp cure#1 for 5lbs meat, sorry
just a little confused am very new to making sausage, will be making my first this weekend or
early next week.
i would like/hope mine turns out as good as yours did
thanks for your time

[Tater]

That looks really good.  Brilliant thermometer holder!  Thanks for the idea!

[pikeman_95]

Looks good Sam. Great first try. Granny will love this.

[Habanero Smoker]

Nice!

2.5 grams = .089 oz ≈ 3/8 teaspoon which is the correct amount for 2 pounds of meat.

[rigstar]

right on, thanks Habs,
was just confused when he said he did 5lbs, i cut this in half(recipe)
thank-you for clarification.

[Sam3]

rigstar, I apologize for the confusion. Yes, I doubled the recipe to make 5 lbs.
When Kevin made his, he did 10 lbs.