A Little Kielbasa

Walleye1 · Post by **Walleye1** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 19:47

I spent all day yesterday doing a 150 lb batch of my Kielbasa for a friend. I used a blend of 50% deer and 50% pork for this batch. I didn't have many pictures but I do have a couple. It was along day so I was a little tired by the time we had it all ran through the smoker, bloomed and packaged. I think start to finish it was about 18 hours and a bottle of rum. ;D

Here's the recipe I have used for years. It's a blend of a few recipes and has been tweaked a few times here and there as well.

Ingredients: (Based on a 20 lb batch.)
●10 lbs of ground Pork (80/20)
●10 lbs of lean ground Beef (80/20)

●3 cups ice water
●8 Tbs of Kosher Salt
●2 Tbs of White Sugar
●3 Tbs (heaping) Course Black Pepper (butchers grind)
●3 tsp Powdered Garlic
●4 tsp (heaping) Marjoram (rubbed)
●4 tsp Cayenne
●4 tsp Cure #1
●¾ to 1 Cup Mustard Seed (optional)

Mike

Post by **redzed** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 21:23

Well done Mike! Somebody is going to have a happy Easter! Your recipe and the 50/50 pork/venison is spot on! The best kielbasa is most often the one that has a minimal amount of different spices. The cayenne works great in diffusing the gamey flavour of the deer meat. But if I was making this kielbasa using beef and pork, I would not go over 20% beef content. I guess we all have our personal preferences.

Have a Happy Easter and I see that the temp has finally risen above 0 in Moose Jaw! Put on the shorts and start up the barbecue!

Walleye1 · Post by **Walleye1** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 21:53

Thanks Redzed

Boy, I'm so done with winter! It's been a long one now we just need to get rid of all this snow.

Mike

Devo · Post by **Devo** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 23:01

As always Mike great looking Kielbasa. For those that don't know Mike he is kind of a Kielbasa wizard of sorts when it comes to making these. I have tried other recipes but always come back to making his recipe.

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 05:51

Beautiful looking project, I can tell by the way it looks it'll taste great. Good on ya! RAY

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 09:08

Mike, your Kielbasa looks incredible. Very nice recipe. I can almost smell the marjoram from here. Beautiful work pard. Keep it up!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Walleye1 · Post by **Walleye1** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 13:26

Thanks guys!

Between my family and friends I can never seem to make enough of it.

Mike

IdaKraut · Post by **IdaKraut** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 21:38

Mike,

There's nothing I can say that hasn't been said already. I am so fired up by the looks of your Kielbasa and the reputation you have as the Kielbasa master that I am in the process of making some using venison, pork and a bit of turkey. I thought of throwing in some pepper jack cheese and fresh jalapenos only because I want to. Thanks again.

snagman · Post by **snagman** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 03:04

Mike,
Exceptional work ! 150lbs holy cow ! Without the rum it would have been 36hrs..... I have a Polish friend who might kill for a batch, so I am going to use your recipe for his birthday.
Regards,
Gus

sausagemaneric · Post by **sausagemaneric** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 03:37

That's a beautiful thing! Spice wise, your recipe is similar to Rytek's. That is the recipe I use and it is always great. I made a hundred fifty pounds one day and never did it again. I can do a hundred every day of the week, but one fifty took me over the edge! How does it "bind up" with out the soy protein concentrate? I have always used it because that's the way I learned in Rytek's book. I wouldn't mind getting away from it since it is more expensive than the pork itself. I just bought a meat mixer and I notice my sausage binds up better since it gets beat up a little more.

Walleye1 · Post by **Walleye1** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 04:15

Sausagemaneric

It is pretty similar to Rytek's recipe for sure. I like the little bit of spark the cayenne adds. I also like the addition of the mustard seed. It's just evolved over the years.

I've certainly never had a problem with binding without the soy protein concentrate. I used to use it a number of years ago but I really haven't had a problem since I quit.

Mike

IdaKraut · Post by **IdaKraut** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 00:59

Here's my modified take on Mr. Walleye's Kielbasa recipe:

I stayed true to his recipe except for the following:

I used venison, pork and turkey that resulted in 10% fat total

Increased salt to 1.5%
Decreased mustard seeds to 1.0%
Added jalapeno habanero jack cheese 11.9%
Fresh jalapeno, diced (no seeds or membrane) 6 medium peppers
Sodium erythorbate 0.055%
Meat binder phosphates (Butcher-Packer brand) 0.5%

Habanero Jalapeno Jack Cheese, diced with fresh Jalapeno peppers, diced:

Stuffed into 38mm hog casings:

Smoked at 130°F with pecan smoke for 3 hours and then into 155°F hot water bath until internal meat temp reached 150 (about 45 minutes):

Keeping the temp below 160 kept the pepper jack cheese from melting out:

This turned out mildly hot, really good flavors,

Once again, thanks Mr. Walleye for a great recipe.

Walleye1 · Post by **Walleye1** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 01:16

Oh ya Rudy!

You knocked that outta the park!

I can almost taste that cut shot! Very, very nice!

Mike

IdaKraut · Post by **IdaKraut** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 01:29

Mike,

Thanks. This is without a doubt the best kielbasa recipe out there. It's a great way to use venison or elk without hiding the flavors of the meats. I'll definitely be making this many times again.

Post by **redzed** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 02:44

Geez, it does look good. I still have venison in the freezer and just might have to try it. How would a medium cheddar go with it?

A Little Kielbasa

A Little Kielbasa

Modified Walleye Kielbasa with Pepper Jack and Jalapeno