| Without a doubt the word Kielbasa has worldwide | | | | dispute that fact. You can of course add anything you |
| recognition, yet it is also often misunderstood. Kielbasa | | | | like to your sausage, but it will no longer be the original |
| is the general Polish name for sausage. You cannot | | | | Polish Smoked Sausage (Polska Kielbasa Wedzona) |
| walk into a Polish store and say: please give me a | | | | or any other brand named sausage. Once you start |
| pound of kielbasa. The sales lady, surrounded by 50 | | | | changing ingredients, you create your own recipe and |
| different kinds of kielbasa, will inevitably reply: yes, but | | | | you may as well come up with your own name. |
| which one? There are well over 100 types of kielbasa, | | | | 1. For centuries Polish Smoked Sausage was made of |
| and the word itself is meaningless unless followed up | | | | pork, salt, pepper, garlic and marjoram (optional). Then |
| with the proper name: Kielbasa Rzeszowska, Kielbasa | | | | in 1964 the Polish Government introduced a second |
| Krakowska, Kielbasa Tuchowska, Kielbasa Mysliwska, | | | | version of the sausage that was made of 80% pork |
| etc. It is like going into a deli and asking for some | | | | and 20% beef. All other ingredients: salt, pepper, sugar, |
| cheese. Sure, but which one: American, Provolone, | | | | garlic, and marjoram remain the same in both recipes. |
| Swiss, Gorgonzola, Gouda, Muenster - you have to | | | | The marjoram is optional but the garlic is a must. |
| provide some details. There is no specific sausage | | | | 2. The meat is cured before it is mixed with spices. In |
| called kielbasa but there are many sausages that | | | | the US Cure #1 (sodium nitrite plus salt) is used, in |
| carry the word kielbasa as part of the name. | | | | Europe Peklosol (sodium nitrite plus salt) is common. |
| We know of only one sausage that carries the word | | | | 3. The sausage is stuffed into a large hog casing: 36 - |
| "Polish" in its name and that is the Polish Smoked | | | | 38 mm and formed into 12" (35 cm) links. |
| Sausage (Polska Kielbasa Wedzona). This is probably | | | | 4. The traditional way was to cold smoke it for 1 to 1.5 |
| what the first immigrants brought with them to | | | | days (it had to last for long time). |
| America. The problem we face here is that you can | | | | 5. In most cases it is hot smoked today |
| find Polish Smoked Sausage in almost every | | | | A little test was performed to see how large |
| supermarket in the US, and no two are made the | | | | American manufacturers make Polish Sausage. Four |
| same way. Yet Polish Smoked Sausage has been | | | | sausages called Polish Kielbasa or Polish Sausage |
| well defined for centuries and everybody in Poland | | | | were bought at the local supermarket in Florida and |
| knows what goes inside. We do not intend to become | | | | each of them was produced by a large and well |
| judges in this matter, but instead rely on Polish | | | | known meat plant. The number of ingredients and |
| Government Standards for Polish Smoked Sausage. | | | | chemicals used varied from 10 to 20 and different |
| These rules have remained unchanged for the last 60 | | | | combinations of meats were used: pork-beef-turkey, |
| years. | | | | beef only, pork-beef. Except the name, none of the |
| Before we anger many people who have been | | | | sausages had anything to do with the original. |
| making Polish Smoked Sausage in their own way for | | | | It seems that for the manufacturers any sausage that |
| years, let's clarify something further. It's perfectly fine to | | | | is smoked (or have liquid smoke added) and stuffed |
| add an ingredient that you or your children like into your | | | | into a 36 mm one foot long casing can be called Polish |
| sausage. You still have the full right to say that you | | | | Smoked Sausage or Polish Kielbasa. It becomes quite |
| made a better sausage than the famous Polish | | | | clear that manufacturers put any ingredients they like |
| Smoked Sausage. You may say that your | | | | inside of the casing and the name Polish Kielbasa is |
| grandfather who came from Poland made the best | | | | used just for credibility and to gain the trust of the |
| Polish sausage in the world and we honor that. Maybe | | | | consumer. |
| he used chicken stock instead of water or maybe he | | | | The problem is futher magnified by various sites on the |
| added something else. What we are trying to say is | | | | Internet that provide countless recipes for making |
| that he was making his own version of the known | | | | Polish sausages. Yet the mysterious Polish Smoked |
| classic or some other Polish sausage and it could have | | | | Sausage is embarrassingly simple to make and all it |
| tasted better for you and your family. We do not | | | | needs is pork, salt, pepper and garlic. |