Polish Sausage ~ A Tradition and Heritage.

Polish Sausage

Heritage and Tradition

There is something magnetic between those who find pleasure in food,  be it a tasting, sharing a recipe, or maybe conversing.   For me it can be a new recipe, learning a new spice, setting a beautiful table with guests or enjoying another dietary platform or ethnic foods.  You can "bond" with a new friend you meet in text and may never meet physically.  My newest friend is MJ Essenmacher of Tuscon AZ.  MJ is owner of Creative Catering Corp,  (www.Creative Catering.com)  I have gone to MJ's blog, https://thekitchenimpossible.blogspot.com/2021/09/de-liber-september-and-october-marks.html to find two more photos showing her creative catering talents.  

  

I am so grateful to MJ for sharing her family recipe, the same recipe used by her late father. MJ stated she does not sell the meat or use it  with her catering but makes it to keep the tradition and heritage alive within her family. Thank you MJ and with your permission, I will share your family recipe with my followers. 

Polish Sausage.

Ingredients:

17 pounds pork butt, double ground

15 garlic cloves

1 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

6 tablespoons salt

6 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper

2 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons marjoram

Directions:

Clean pork casings and keep in bowl of water to prevent drying.

Blend spices and seasonings in another bowl, set aside.  

 

Double grind pork and place in a large bowl.  Sprinkle the seasonngs over the pork with occasional mixing.  When all seasonings have been sprinkled in the meat, mix lightly making sure not to pack down the meat.   Add 6 cups ice cubes and mix well.  Mixture will be loose or maybe "sloppy".  Refrigerate in a covered bowl overnight.

After stuffing sausage, let dry on a rack overnight in the refrigerator.

To cook; Cover with 2" of water on top of stove for 20 minutes, then place in an 325*F oven for aboout an hour to make the skin crispy. 

Pork Butt Roast

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients:
1 four-pound boneless pork butt (from a butcher you know, well-marbled, and with a good layer of fat on top)
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon ground chipotle (plus more to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Directions:
2. Tie the pork butt with twine in several places so that it cooks evenly. Salt it generously all over and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour.
3. In the meantime, combine the maple syrup, brown sugar, mustard, thyme, garlic and chipotle powder in a small bowl. Add a few pinches of salt and several grinds of pepper. 
4. Heat the oven to 475 degrees. When the pork is at room temperature and the oven is hot, smear the sugar, mustard and garlic mixture all over the pork, concentrating a good amount of it on the top of the roast, where the fat is. Nestle the pork (fat-side-up) into a roasting pan or cast iron baking dish just big enough to hold it, and put it in the oven. When you start to smell garlic and sugar burning, and after no longer than 15 minutes, turn the heat down to 200 degrees. (Do not open the oven door to peek!) 
5. Leave the pork in the oven overnight, for at least 6 hours and up to 8. When you wake up in the morning your house will smell intoxicating, and the pork will be ready to shred and pack up for lunches for the whole family -- all you need is a soft roll and some coleslaw or pickled fennel, or a big pile of mashed potatoes.

Porchette - Italian Style Pork Roast With Fennel

Porchetta - Italian Style 

Pork Roast With Fennel

                                     serves 8 to 10

Trust me, this is the most delicious pork roast you will ever taste.  Absolutely, it is worth the time and effort or ingredients.  According to our instructor, the roast is so prized by the Italian people, they all lay claim to their community being the originator of the recipe.

*

Ingredients:

2 1/2 tablespoons fennel seeds

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons black peppercorns

1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes

1 5 1/2 to 6 pound boneless pork shoulder (Boston

   Butt) - excess fat trimmed with thin layer left  

   intact.

8 large garlic cloves minced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil - additional for

   brushing

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

***

Directions:

Toast fennel seeds in a small skillet  over medium-high heat until darker in color and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes.  Shaking pan constantly  Crush seeds in a small grinder and cool.  Add kosher salt, peppercorns, and chili pepper flakes.   Grind to medium fine - not powder.

Rub garlic all over pork butt, then rub on the spice mixture.  Place pork in a baking dish loosely covered with waxed paper.  (Never used plastic wrap.)  Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Oil baking sheet and place roast fat side up, in center of sheet.  Drizzle evenly with olive oil.  Roast pork 30 minutes.  Reduce oven to 300 degrees.  Roast pork until very tender and thermometer inserted into center of roast registers 185 degrees, about 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Transsfer roast to cutting board, let pork rest 30 minutes.  Pour all pan juices into a 2 cup measuring cup , spoon off fat.  Bring chicken stock and wine to a boil, reduce by half.  Add pan juices and whisk to blend, sauce will be thin.  Thinly slice roast, serve with sauce.

Served best as a sandwich, porchetta on bread! 

Tips shared by Mary Ann Vitalle:

Land O'Lakes butter has the least water content.  Plugra butter is second

For long term cooking a yellow or brown skinned onion is best.

San Marzano tomatoes are best NOT San Marzono style tomatoes.  Always buy whole tomatoes not crushed. 

Adding garlic as a whole clove creates a mellow flavor.  Garlic sliced thin adds enhanced garlic flavor.

Kosher salt has less sodium than all other salts.

Fond = the brown bits in the skillet with browning or

frying.

Swanson Chicken Broth is the chef's first choice or the Trader Joe's brand is second.

When using stone fruit in a recipe, treat with regular Sprite, not diet.  It prevents the fruit from turning brown.

Always toast nuts in a dry skillet before adding to a recipe.