Boiled Kielbasa with Potatoes

Most people are familiar with smoked Kielbasa. It is already cooked, smoked, and ready to eat. Just slice and serve with a simple dip of ketchup mixed with shredded, fresh horseradish. It can be sliced into pieces or chunks and quick fried to serve warm. Great for quick hors d'oeuvres with pickles and deli rye.

I am fortunate to have access to a grocery store that sells authentic, hand-crafted smoked kielbasa. In other words, it is not packaged in plastic sleeves or tubes. Once purchased, it is wrapped in paper. Fresh. If placed in the car with you while driving home, it will scent the entire car with its earthy herby scents.

And then there is regular uncooked Polish Sausage or Kielbasa. Growing up, it came in a large coil and was usually Easter dinner. Visually, it is immediately different. It has a white/beige hue--kind of like Bratwurst.  This is what households of old would use piled with sauerkraut, onions, and new potatoes, baked in a low oven for several hours until it is one lovely-flavored meal. 

Or

Just boil it. 

Boiled food gets a bad rap, but that is once how most food was once prepared. I use it quite a bit since it is easy, and clean up is a snap. Really, it is more of a simmer.

My grandmother and mother coiled this in their large roasters along
with sauerkraut and potatoes for a long, slow braise in the oven. For
a large feast, a ham was also featured! Those days, sadly, are long gone.

Again, this is for RAW Kielbasa, not cooked and smoked.

This is more of a procedure than a recipe. What you add to the water to "boil" your sausage depends on the quality of ingredients added to the sausage. A good sausage does not need much. Why mask the taste? 

Yes, you can use beer--but not all beer... go about half-and-half and don't use a strong stout or bitter beer. A mild American lager is fine. 

Try not to cut or pierce the skin of the sausage. To do so allows the fats to escape. Fat keeps the sausage moist and flavorful. If you do, you can prepare the "gravy" below.

Finding unsmoked kielbasa is not easy unless you live near an ethnic deli. My grandmother, who took the train daily from northwest Indiana to Chicago for work at Sears, bought hers back from somewhere in the city. Where? I have no idea. Nor do I have any idea where my mother who lived in the Indiana suburbs purchased hers. I've yet to find any that compare as well in taste. The closest was Boar's Head. Now I buy it from Publix. Both are good but, in my mind, a bit too mild. Something is missing. It is possible to order on-line. I've just never done it.

Per one pound fresh kielbasa:

Place sausages in a high-sided frying pan that has a lid

Add about one small-medium onion, quartered.

Add 1/2 teaspoon black whole peppercorns

Add 1-2 dried bay leaves, torn or one fresh, bruised

Add 1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled, slightly smashed

Some people add whole, dried marjoram leaves and/or whole juniper berries. I don't

But I do add about one or two (it's all you will need) whole allspice berries.

Cover with water just until sausages are submerged. Bring to a quick boil. Immediately lower heat and SIMMER on low for about 30 or minutes until they reach 160 F degrees.

The beauty of the stove-top method is cooking slow and allowing the water and steam to do the work. It can go for a long time like this. Just try to avoid a boil to prevent a "tough, dry" sausage.

If desired, during the last 15 minutes or so, add some canned small new potatoes. 

Traditionally served with potatoes, cabbage, beets and sauerkraut and always a side of horseradish along with authentic deli rye bread.

GRAVY

Yes, it is possible to make a simple gravy from the liquid. Remove about one cup, being sure to include the fat that has risen to the top.  Add a bit of butter to a small pan. Melt, add a bit flour to make a quick roux. Mix in cooking liquid until a thin gravy forms. Taste for seasoning and spoon over potatoes and sausages.