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Kielbasa is a Polish smoked sausage made with pork, garlic, marjoram, salt, and pepper. It is traditionally served with vegetables and can be used in place of other sausages in dishes like spaghetti sauce or red beans and rice. Authentic kielbasa is made with the finest cuts of pork and is hot smoked for several hours.
Kielbasa is literally the Polish word for sausage, although native Poles consider it a generic term, much like asking for a non-specific soda in a restaurant. There are dozens of varieties available, so buyers should know the specific name of the sausage they want. In the United States, however, the term “Polish smoked sausage” has almost become synonymous with kielbasa in describing a precooked smoked sausage made with pork, garlic, marjoram, salt, and pepper.
Many varieties of sausage sold in grocery stores are of the raw German variety, but a true kielbasa is sold pre-cooked in a large pork casing. It is the smoking process that separates it from other pork sausages. Kielbasa is also seasoned with spices such as garlic and marjoram, not sage or Italian spices often found in raw sausages.
Kielbasa is traditionally served with hearty vegetables such as onions, cabbage and red potatoes. It can also be used in conjunction with or in place of the smoked andouille sausage often found in Cajun cooking. Gumbo recipes may call for cooked smoked sausage, and kielbasa is a good addition to the traditional Cajun side dish of red beans and rice.
There are other dishes where kielbasa can be an acceptable addition or substitute. Some cooks use it in place of meatballs or ground beef in spaghetti sauce, for example. When boiled or grilled, it can be cut into sandwich-sized portions and served over hot dog buns like bratwurst or Italian sausage. Sliced kielbasa can be combined with sauerkraut in a large pot and heated on a stovetop. Because this sausage is precooked, it can be boiled, fried, broiled, or grilled without worrying about undercooked or undercooked pork.
The product sold as Polish sausage or kielbasa in many grocery stores is not necessarily the authentic variety created in Poland and other Eastern European countries. Sometimes cheaper cuts of pork, beef and chicken are combined with sodium nitrites and liquid smoke to create a more commercially viable form, but the ingredients in authentic kielbasa are simply the finest cuts of pork seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and maybe marjoram. It used to be “cold smoked” for a few days, but is now “hot smoked” by placing the stuffed sausage casings in a smoker for several hours.
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