Homemade Kielbasa

Step 1

Chill all your grinding equipment.

Step 2

Weigh your pork and multiply its weight by the required percentages in the recipe formula to determine the amount of seasoning needed.

Step 3

Cut the pork into about 1″ cubes and chill it well in the freezer. You want it firm, but not frozen.

Step 4

Measure out all the seasonings, combine them in a bowl. If your pickling spice is too chunky, you can grind it in a spice grinder.

Step 5

Combine the meat cubes with the spices, coating well.

Step 6

Grind the spiced meat through a medium grinder plate into a chilled bowl.

Step 7

Add some water to the meat (use it to rinse any remaining spices in any bowls). Mix the meat well until it becomes sticky and somewhat fibrous. It will be able to clump to your hand when it’s ready.

Step 8

Stuff the sausage into casings using a stuffer press or your grinder equipment. Don’t overfill the casings or they’ll burst when you try to twist them into links.

Step 9

Twist the sausages into links about 10″ long.

Step 10

Cut the links into pairs and hang the pairs to dry (about 1 hour).

Step 11

Preheat your smoker to 250°F (121°C) while the sausages dry. Use the air probe from your Smoke X2 to monitor the heat.

Step 12

Move the sausages to the smoker. If you can hang them, do so; if not, lay them on the rack. Insert a leave-in probe into the center of one of the sausages and set the high-temp alarm for 150°F (66°C).

Step 13

Smoke the sausages.

Step 14

When the alarm sounds, check a few of the kielbasas with your Thermapen Mk4 to be sure they are all done.

Step 15

Remove the sausages from heat and spritz them with cool water to bloom them.

Step 16

They are now ready to eat, cook as part of a dish, or wrap and freeze.