This one comes closest to what is generally known in America as Polish sausage. Nowadays, many big-name meat packers across America offer a product called kielbasa, but it is usually a far cry from the real thing. Our Polish country-style sausage is the kind dziadek (grandpa) used to make. Only the choicest cuts of tender pork were used, and often a little beef or veal was added to improve its body and character. The sausage was seasoned with the freshest herbs and spices and then gently smoked in the backyard smoke-house, just long enough to achieve the right color, flavor and aroma. Today you can enjoy the same kind of quality kielbasa from Polana. It is good for breakfast or supper as a cold cut with horseradish or mustard. It can also be served hot: boiled, baked or grilled. It can be cooked in soups such as bialy barszcz, kapusniak or grochówka, baked with sauerkraut or added to bean dishes, stews and casseroles.

Poaching is not the same as boiling. Put the sausages in a pot with water or other liquid, (beer can add flavor) that is just simmering. Poach the sausages for about 10 minutes. Grilling adds a wonderful flavor to sausages and is a favorite cooking method especially in the summer. Do not pierce the skins. This will release the fat and juices and create flame flare-ups that will burn the sausage and dry out the inside. Cook over a low flame using a gas grill, and cook slowly to prevent the skins from bursting. For a charcoal grill, wait until the charcoal has some white ash and is not too hot. You can cook with your grill’s lid closed to heat the sausages through.