Homemade Sausage Kielbasa
Rustic homemade sausage (kielbasa-style) made with chilled beef and pork, seasoned with mustard seed, salt, pepper, and salt-free seasoning, then stuffed into natural hog casings and baked, grilled, or sautéed.
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Natashas Kitchen- •4 lbs Beefreally cold; part of mixed meat (with pork), chilled in freezer about 1 1/2 hours
- •Porkpart of the 4 lbs mixed meat with beef; really cold, chilled in freezer about 1 1/2 hours
- •6 to 12 oz Bacon(optional)add if meat is leaner; for higher fat content
- •1 tbsp Whole yellow mustard seed
- •3 tsp Salt
- •1 teaspoon Black pepper
- •1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash seasoning(optional)or favorite salt-free seasoning
- •1 cup Iced cold water
- •Natural hog casingwell rinsed; soak in warm (about 90°F) water for 1 hour; rinse through with warm water
- •Oil(optional)for lightly oiling the sausage-stuffer tube
- •Kitchen string(optional)to tie off casing when dividing a long casing
- •Mustard(optional)for serving; grainy mustard suggested
- 1
Chill meat until very cold (about 1 1/2 hours in the freezer).
1h 30m
- 2
Dice about 1/3 of the leaner meat for a rustic texture; place in a large mixing bowl. Cut remaining meat into about 2-inch pieces.
5 min
- 3
If the meat is lean, add bacon (for fat). Grind the 2-inch meat pieces and bacon through a meat grinder. Combine with the diced meat.
10 min
- 4
Season the meat mixture with whole yellow mustard seed, salt, black pepper, and Mrs. Dash (or another salt-free seasoning). Toss by hand about 30 seconds.
1 min
- 5
Add iced cold water and mix about 1 minute (by hand or with a stand mixer paddle on low). Cover and refrigerate while preparing casings.
1 min
- 6
Prepare casings: rinse and soak natural hog casings in warm water (about 90°F) for 1 hour, then rinse each casing through with warm water.
1h 0m
- 7
Set up sausage-stuffer attachment and lightly oil the tube. Thread casing onto the tube, leaving about a 6-inch tail. Do not tie the end yet so trapped air can escape.
5 min
- 8
Stuff sausage: remove meat from refrigerator. Feed meat into the stuffer (stand mixer around speed 4 if using that setup), pushing with plunger and adding meat continuously to avoid air gaps. If air pockets form, prick casing to release air.
15 min
- 9
Form links: leave about 6 inches of casing at the end. Tie off one end, then pinch, twist, and spin to make individual links. Tie off the back end and trim excess casing.
10 min
- 10
To divide an extra-long casing: pinch and twist where you want to cut, tie kitchen string on both sides, then snip between ties.
3 min
- 11
Prick sausages about every 2 inches and anywhere you see air bubbles to prevent bursting during cooking.
3 min
- 12
Cook as desired (bake, grill, or sauté). For baking: bake at 350°F for 1 hour, drain excess liquid, flip and broil 5 minutes; flip again and broil another 5 minutes or until browned.
1h 10m
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