Name: Homemade Krakowska Sausage
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 100 min
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: Polish
Ingredients: 900 g Pork shoulder; 300 g Beef chuck, cubed; 25 g Fine sea salt; 1 tsp Caster sugar; 2 tsp Ground black pepper; 0.5 tsp Ground allspice; 4 cloves Garlic cloves; 100 ml Water; 100 g Natural hog casings

About this dish

Krakowska is named for the Polish city of Kraków and became a staple of Polish and Ukrainian delis, where it is sold dry-cured or hot-smoked. Unlike the fine Doktorska, it is cut and ground coarsely so that the slice shows distinct pieces of meat, with garlic, black pepper and a little allspice carrying the flavour. Without a smokehouse, a slow oven gives the same dense, sliceable result and a lightly roasted skin.

Gluten-free
Lactose-free
Not vegetarian because of Pork shoulder, Beef chuck, cubed, Natural hog casings

Ingredients

10servings

900gPork shoulder
300gBeef chuck, cubed
25gFine sea salt
1tspCaster sugar
2tspGround black pepper
½tspGround allspice
4clovesGarlic cloves
100mlWater
100gNatural hog casings

Instructions

Cut two thirds of the pork and all the beef into 1 cm cubes, and grind the remaining pork through the coarse plate. Chill everything until very cold.
25 min
Tip: Mixing cubes with ground meat gives the sausage both bite and cohesion. Cold meat keeps the fat from smearing.
Mix the meat with the salt, sugar, pepper, allspice, crushed garlic and cold water until sticky, then cover and rest in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight.
480 min
Tip: Resting lets the salt dissolve proteins that bind the meat and carries the garlic through the whole sausage.
Rinse the casings, stuff the mixture firmly but not tightly, prick out air pockets and tie into 30 cm rings or lengths.
25 min
Tip: Fill evenly so the sausage cooks at the same rate end to end, and prick air pockets so the casing does not balloon.
Hang or lay the sausages on a rack and dry at room temperature for 30 minutes. Bake at 90°C for 1 hour, then raise the oven to 140°C for 30 to 40 minutes, until the core reaches 72°C and the skin is amber.
100 min
Tip: The low start cooks the sausage gently and keeps the fat in; the higher finish browns the skin. Check the core temperature, not the colour.
Let the sausages cool on the rack, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing.
60 min
Tip: Cooling lets the juices set so the slice holds together. Without curing salt the sausage is brown rather than pink, and is best eaten within 3 to 4 days.