Kiełbasa Krakowska -Kraków Sausage

Post Reply
User avatar
redzed
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3852
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 06:29
Location: Vancouver Island

Kiełbasa Krakowska -Kraków Sausage

Post by redzed » Thu Apr 08, 2021 06:44

Kiełbasa Krakowska - Kraków Sausage

Kielbasa Krakowska is the Queen of Polish Sausages. It has it's origins in the beautiful city of Kraków, the former capital of Poland, and today one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe. A favourite among Poles for centuries, it is always present in Polish sausage shops around the world, whether it be in Kraków, Calgary or Brisbane. Krakowska is a quality sausage, containing a large proportion of whole chunks of lean pork. There are a few variations, a regular hot smoked, semi-dry or dry. The latter version, “kiełbasa krakowska sucha staropolska” is on the European Union's list of products designated with the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). My version is very close to the traditional version, but instead of finishing it with high heat (baking) in the smoker, it's poached,with a second round of smoke the following day. The recipes also call for coriander or nutmeg, I utilized both, but substituted the nutmeg with the finer tasting mace. I've made Krakowska numerous times and this effort was one of my best. Excellent and complete bind, solid texture but still a moist mouthfeel and a happy marriage of the spices. A shot vodka, a bite of this sausage and my eyes closed, I felt as if I was relaxing in a log chalet is the Tatra Mountains after a long day's hike.

Image

Recipe for 1kg of meat block
Meats
600g, pork, Class I, lean with no connective tissue
250g, pork, Class II, semi fat with no connective tissue
100g, beef, Class I, no fat
50g, pork, Class III, some fat and rich in connective tissue
Ingredients
16g, salt
2g, Cure #1
2g, white pepper, fine grind
1g, coriander
1g, mace
2g, sugar
Processing Instructions
1. Cube and classify the meat, keeping the different classes of meats separate. Cube the Class I meat into 4 – 5cm chunks, the remained into 3 – 5 chunks. Add the salt and Cure#1 to the cubed meat, mix well, pack into a container, cover, and refrigerate for 48-72 hours.
2. Using the flat side of a meat meat tenderizer mallet, gently beat the cubed Class I meat to extract the myosin.
3. Grind the beef and the Class III pork two times through the 3mm plate.
4. Add the spices and approximately 40% of the total ice cold water to the Twice ground meat and mix well until sticky. Add the beaten cubes and mix well until the ground meat coats the cubes well.
5. Grind the Class II pork with a 10mm plate and combine with the otrher meats and spices. Mix for several minutes or longer adding the remainder of the ice coat water gradually.
6. Stuff into 75mm fibrous or collagen smokeable casings.
7. Set the sausage overnight in fridge. The next day hang at room temp. For 2 to 3 hours.
8. Preheat your smoker to 160F, let it cool, and load your sausage into it. Open top and bottom dampers wide and warm sausage at 110F for one hour. Smoke at 130-145F (55-65C) for at least 3 hours Rearrange the sticks mid way through the smoke.
9. Finish by poaching with water at a temp of170F (76C) until the internal temperature of the sausage reaches 152F (71C). Cool gently with water and hang at room temp. Don't over chill. The sausage should still be slightly warm inside when hanging to bloom.
10. Allow sausage to bloom at room temperature for two to three hours before moving to a cooler environment. Leave the sausage hanging at a temp of 15 or lower overnight.
11. The next day warm smoke at a temp of 120-125F for 2-3 hours. Allow to cool at room temp.
12. Sausage is now ready or can be dried for 3-4 days at 12C or in the fridge.
User avatar
so_not_rad
Beginner
Beginner
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2020 06:37
Location: Bangkok
Contact:

Re: [b][size=150]Kiełbasa Krakowska -Kraków Sausage[/size][/b]

Post by so_not_rad » Thu Apr 08, 2021 07:03

That looks absolutely stunning! I cannot wait to try this myself.
User avatar
DanMcG
Frequent User
Frequent User
Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2010 23:32
Location: Central NY

Re: Kiełbasa Krakowska -Kraków Sausage

Post by DanMcG » Thu Apr 08, 2021 10:01

That's a great looking product Red, I guess I need to buy some 75mm casings.
jens49
User
User
Posts: 66
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 15:41
Location: Jylland

Re: Kiełbasa Krakowska -Kraków Sausage

Post by jens49 » Thu Apr 08, 2021 16:45

Looking great. I never can achieve that beautiful color. Mine always turns out much paler.
Do you add approx. 20 % water?
User avatar
Scogar
Passionate
Passionate
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2019 23:28
Location: Atlanta GA

Re: Kiełbasa Krakowska -Kraków Sausage

Post by Scogar » Thu Apr 08, 2021 19:26

Is it the beef giving a deeper red? Looks great!!
User avatar
redzed
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3852
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 06:29
Location: Vancouver Island

Re: Kiełbasa Krakowska -Kraków Sausage

Post by redzed » Sun Apr 11, 2021 17:52

jens49 wrote:
Thu Apr 08, 2021 16:45
Looking great. I never can achieve that beautiful color. Mine always turns out much paler.
Do you add approx. 20 % water?
Scogar wrote:
Thu Apr 08, 2021 19:26
Is it the beef giving a deeper red? Looks great!!
The darker red colour comes from the portion of the ham that I used. A while back I bought several green hams and cut out the larger portions for smoked hams and a culatello. The parts of the lower leg and the part that you could make fiocco from, I left for sausage. Those parts are from the more active parts of the leg muscle and are darker red in colour.

I added 10% water. 40% of that amount went into the Class III pork and beef. The remaining 60% was added gradually to the mixture containing all the meats.
jens49
User
User
Posts: 66
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 15:41
Location: Jylland

Re: Kiełbasa Krakowska -Kraków Sausage

Post by jens49 » Mon Apr 12, 2021 11:18

Thanks.
I will have your info in mind next time. It will probably lend a nice color to a Salame Rosa also.
Post Reply