Polish Kiełbasa Sausage (Biała Kielbasa) Recipe

A tray of Polish sausage
Nadine Greeff/Stocksy United
Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 50 mins
Chill Time: 2 hrs
Total: 3 hrs 20 mins
Servings: 16 servings

Every Polish family has its own recipe for Biała Kiełbasa (BEEYAH-wah keeyehw-BAH-sah) or white sausage. This is the way my family likes it.

You can adjust it as you see fit -- more garlic, less salt, more pepper, whatever. Just fry up a small patty before you stuff to make sure you have the flavor balance that pleases you most. 

Freeze uncooked or cooked sausage for up to 6 months. Also, don't throw away the cooking liquid. Save it to make a soup known as white barszcz or żurek.

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds boneless, well-marbled pork shoulder, sliced into 1-inch-wide strips

  • 1/2 cup cold water

  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed

  • 4 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

  • 1 teaspoon leaf marjoram

  • 14 feet hog casings, rinsed 3 times and refrigerated

  • Cooking spray

Steps to Make It

Grinding the Meat

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Cold meat grinds more easily, so keep meat refrigerated until ready to grind. Grind strips of meat in a hand-cranked or electric grinder, using medium plate. Place meat in large bowl.

  3. In a small bowl, mix water, garlic, salt, pepper, and marjoram and combine with ground meat until thoroughly incorporated.

  4. To make sure seasonings are right, fry a small patty and taste. Store ground meat mixture in refrigerator for at least two hours or overnight before stuffing.

Stuffing the Sausage

  1. Remove casings from refrigerator and knot one end. Lightly coat the stuffing funnel with cooking spray. Slip other end of casing over mouth of funnel, making sure it is not twisted, and opening is centered around funnel. Continue to push remainder of casing up onto funnel until you have reached the knot.

  2. Begin to force meat into stuffer with one hand, while using other hand to control the thickness of the sausage as it is extruded.

  3. Remember, sausage will shrink when it cooks, so you want a nice plump sausage. But be careful you don't overstuff, or the casing will burst.

  4. Keep extruding until casing is used up. Tie a knot in that end. You can either leave sausage in a large coil or twist it at 5- to 6-inch intervals to make links. Store refrigerated and covered up to two days until ready to cook.

Cooking and Serving the Sausage

  1. Before cooking, prick sausage along length of link to allow air bubbles to escape. Otherwise, it will explode in cooking water.

  2. Place sausage in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 F.

  3. You can then brown sausage in a 350 F oven, in a pan for 15 to 20 minutes, or grill it for 4 to 6 minutes per side if desired.

  4. Remove to a serving platter and enjoy with homemade horseradish known as chrzan. When horseradish is flavored with beets, it's called cwikła.

Tips

  • Sausage should be made with a 70% to 30% ratio of meat to fat. Most pork shoulders you buy in supermarkets today are pre-trimmed, so don't cut off any excess fat. You will need it to achieve that perfect ratio that makes for succulent sausage.
  • Everything must be COLD. In fact, I like to have my meat so cold; it's slightly frozen when I grind it. I have used both KitchenAid and Cuisinart grinder/stuffers, and they both call for meat sliced into long 1-inch-wide strips, and this works very well. 
  • Also, make sure your rinsed casings are cold and wet. And, most of all, make sure the ground meat that you are stuffing into the casings is COLD. If necessary, work with small batches of meat at a time, while keeping the remainder in the refrigerator. When the meat is at room temperature, it won't stuff into the casings easily, and the casings will split.
  • View these step-by-step instructions for making Polish white kiełbasa.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
332 Calories
24g Fat
0g Carbs
26g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories 332
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 24g 31%
Saturated Fat 9g 45%
Cholesterol 102mg 34%
Sodium 392mg 17%
Total Carbohydrate 0g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 26g
Vitamin C 1mg 4%
Calcium 29mg 2%
Iron 2mg 8%
Potassium 377mg 8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)