Without a doubt, the word Kielbasa has worldwide recognition, but it is also often misunderstood. Kielbasa is the general Polish name for the sausage. You can’t walk into a Polish shop and say, please give me a pound of kielbasa. The saleswoman, surrounded by 50 different types of kielbasa, will inevitably answer: yes, but which one? There are over 100 types of kielbasa, and the word itself is meaningless unless followed by the proper name: Kielbasa Rzeszowska, Kielbasa Krakowska, Kielbasa Tuchowska, Kielbasa Mysliwska, etc. It’s like walking into a deli and asking for some cheese. Sure, but which one: American, provolone, Swiss, gorgonzola, gouda, muenster; you need to provide some details. There is no specific sausage called kielbasa, but there are many sausages that have the word kielbasa as part of the name.
We know of only one sausage that has the word “Polish” in its name and that is the Polish Smoked Sausage (Polska Kielbasa Wedzona). This is probably what the first immigrants brought to America. The problem we’re dealing with here is that you can find Polish smoked sausage in almost every supermarket in the US, and no two are made the same. However, Polish smoked sausage has been well defined for centuries and everyone in Poland knows what’s inside. We do not intend to become the judge in this matter, but rather rely on the Polish Government’s standards for Polish Smoked Sausage. These rules have remained unchanged for the last 60 years.
Before you anger the many people who have been making Polish smoked sausages their own way for years, let’s get one more thing straight. It’s perfectly fine to add an ingredient that you or your kids like to your sausage. You still have every right to say that you made a better sausage than the famous Polish smoked sausage. You can say that your grandfather, who came from Poland, made the best Polish sausage in the world and we honor him. He maybe he used chicken broth instead of water or maybe he added something else. What we’re trying to say is that he was making his own version of the well-known classic or some other Polish sausage and it might have tasted better for you and his family. We do not dispute that fact. You can of course add anything you want to your sausage, but it will no longer be the original Polish smoked sausage (Polska Kielbasa Wedzona) or any other brand name sausage. Once you start changing the ingredients, you create your own recipe and you can also create your own name.
1. For centuries, Polish smoked sausage was made with pork, salt, pepper, garlic, and marjoram (optional). Then, in 1964, the Polish government introduced a second version of the sausage that was made from 80% pork and 20% beef. All other ingredients: salt, pepper, sugar, garlic, and marjoram remain the same in both recipes. Marjoram is optional but garlic is a must.
2. The meat is cured before being mixed with spices. In the US Cure #1 (sodium nitrite plus salt) is used, in Europe Peklosol (sodium nitrite plus salt) is common.
3. The sausage is stuffed into a large pork casing: 36 – 38mm and formed into 12″ (35cm) links.
4. The traditional way was to cold smoke it for 1-1.5 days (it had to last a long time).
5. In most cases today it is smoked hot
A small test was conducted to see how big American manufacturers make Polish sausage. Four sausages called Polish Kielbasa or Polish Sausage were purchased at the local grocery store in Florida and each was produced by a large, well-known meat plant. The number of ingredients and chemicals used ranged from 10 to 20 and different combinations of meats were used: pork-beef-turkey, beef-only, pork-beef. Except for the name, none of the sausages had anything to do with the original.
It seems that to manufacturers, any sausage that is smoked (or has liquid smoke added to it) and stuffed into a foot-long 36mm casing may be called Polish Smoked Sausage or Polish Kielbasa. It is made quite clear that manufacturers put the ingredients they like inside the wrapper and the name Polish Kielbasa is used only for credibility and to gain consumer trust.
The problem is further magnified by various sites on the Internet offering countless recipes for making Polish sausages. However, the mystery Polish smoked sausage is embarrassingly simple to make and all you need is pork, salt, pepper, and garlic.
