I searched the web looking at recipes and decided on this one, and will, no doubt, tweak it in the future if it is any good. How could it not be! Kielbasa is a fav of my husband unit, so I am hoping that this turns out ok. I have made kielbasa in the past, but it turned out that I ground it too fine. I used the coarsest disc I had at the time, and subsequently, have invested in a coarser one that I used today.
Click on the link above to get the recipe I used. I pretty much followed his recipe, but adjusted my seasonings and cure powder #1 according to the weight of the meat and water that I was using.
This is a time consuming enterprise, (see what I did there) plan accordingly.
Suggested Tools
1. Meat grinder
You will need to cut the meat up into chunks that will fit in the feed tube of your grinder. I strongly urge you NOT to use your KitchenAid as your grinder. It is not powerful enough and will smear the fat rather than grind it up. Also make sure your meat and fat is very cold, even on the verge of freezing. This will prevent the above mentioned fat smear.
2. Stand mixer, or use your impeccably clean hands to mix to bind
3. Sausage stuffer
Again, your KitchenAid will heat up the meat and produce less than desirable results.
If you start out with using your KitchenAid, that's ok, but if you get serious about making sausage and charcuterie then invest in a good grinder.
Soak your casings and don't forget to run water through them to flush out residual salt. Set aside.
I cut the meat and fat up into about 3/4 inch cubes, which fit easily into the grinder feeder tube.
Prior to grinding add all the spices and cure to the meat cubes to infuse more flavor into the meat. When I was grinding the meat, I put the "dump" bowl inside another one that was half full of ice to keep the meat cold and prevent fat melt.
I then returned the grind to the fridge and cleaned up, as the article stated. I used the stand mixer to mix the ice water into the meat. This was a bit problematic as the meat rose over the top of the bowl and coated all exposed parts of the mixer arm. In the future, I will do it by hand. The purpose of this mixing is to get the meat "sticky" so that it will hold together in the casing and not be crumbly.
I got out the sausage stuffer and proceeded to stuff 5 lengths of casings. I had 2 blow outs, so in all it was probably 4, 4-foot lengths that got stuffed. I have a hand crank stuffer that I really like. It works well, breaks down for cleaning easily and goes back together quickly,
I let the sausages rest on the counter with the AC cranked for about 40 minutes. Then onto the smoker they went. Since they should not touch each other as that interferes with the smoking, so I used a jerky rack that I bought. Worked like a charm.
They will be hanging out on the smoker for 4 hours. The internal temp needs to come up to 154-155°F and then they get plunged into an ice bath to quickly cool them down. Into the fridge and we feast tomorrow!
After 2 hours at 200 degrees, the sausages were up over 155, so off of the smoker they came and into the ice bath they went.
They had nice color, not a deep red, but a nice brownish blush.
Addenda
The proof is definitely in the pudding. The kielbasas were f*ing fantastic. They were perfectly spiced, juicy, flavorful, great texture, and with a delightful snap. Two opposable thumbs up and looking forward to the next time I make them. All the work and steps were worth it.
Grilled off a few links. The flavor was even better and the snap of the casing, sooooo satisfying. I'm already planning next foray into sausages!
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