Cast Iron Kielbasa
Anyone can slice a kielbasa, throw it in a pan and call it a day, well not today! This is how this is going down. Deep crosshatch scoring, cast iron skillet, bloomed kielbasa basted with bacon fat and charred under the broiler.
BATHTUB VODKA
One of the first times I went to Poland we traveled to Łódź to visit Kasia’s aunt and uncle. We had a great night — talking, drinking, eating, the whole thing. Her uncle had been out hunting wild boar and made kielbasa from it. He brought some out and it was genuinely delicious — the kind of thing you do not forget
The next morning breakfast was served and out came more kielbasa. Fine by me. What I wasn’t prepared for was the homemade vodka he and his friends had made — which he very much wanted me to chase it down with.
At 10am.
I did not partake in the vodka. But the kielbasa? That I have been thinking about ever since. This is my version – which is better than being hit in the face with a cast iron skillet called bathtub vodka.
TIME TO GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY, CAST IRON KIELBASA STYLE
You will typically see kielbasa scored with straight cuts running down the length — it works, but crosshatching the whole thing is the move. The entire inside blooms open, it cooks through more evenly and every one of those little diamond points chars under the broiler giving you that crispy edge against the smoky meat underneath. Just pull it when it looks right — if you leave it too long, it dries out.
ONLY A SOLID CAST IRON PAN WILL DO
Listen, to get that beautiful blistered char you need to hold some serious heat. For this recipe, I’m using my 10-inch Lodge cast iron skillet. You could hammer nails with this thing; it is one solid piece of American craftsmanship.
ALL THE DELICIOUS THINGS INSIDE
- Kielbasa: Get a good one — this is the whole point of the dish so the quality of the sausage matters. For this post I used a whole Sikorski Garlic Sausage which I found at Costco. You want to look for a kielbasa with a natural casing and a deep red colour. If you have a Polish deli near you, go there. In the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) where I live you can find some great choices at Starsky Fine Foods or check out delis in Polish town in Toronto’s Roncesvalles Village (Roncy).
- Bacon fat: Save your bacon fat. I keep a jar of it in the fridge at all times and this is exactly the kind of moment it exists for. It keeps the kielbasa from drying out and adds a depth of flavour that butter or oil just can’t replicate. If you don’t have any you can always render down and cook a few strips of bacon first and use what’s left in the pan.
- Good mustard: A sharp Polish, German or French Dijon mustard in a small dish on the side. Mustard cuts through the fat and pulls the whole thing together.
- Rye or Sourdough…or Sourdough rye! Bread. You want something sturdy enough to soak up all that fat and toast nicely — wonder bread has no place here. Toast it until it has real colour and, if I were you, use it to mop up everything left in the pan.
Serve it alongside Rustic Potato Salad with Fresh Dill (Above)
or some Leek and Corn salad (below).
Or perhaps some Polish Vegetable Salad (Sałatka Jarzynowa)
Cast Iron Kielbasa
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat your oven to (375f). Place your ring of kielbasa on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, score the top surface with alternating diagonal cuts to create a clean diamond cross-hatch pattern. Ensure you cut about halfway through the thickness of the sausage ring; be careful not to slice all the way through.
- Place the scored kielbasa ring onto the cold cast iron pan and baste it with a little leftover bacon fat, clarified butter or oil. Place in the oven on the middle rack for 20 minutes.
- When you start to see the beautiful opening, baste its inside and outside with the kielbasa drippings. Don't drown it: we're just trying to lightly coat everything again so it doesn't dry out during the broil.
- Turn your broiler on high and put it on the second rack from the highest for 7 minutes so it chars and doesn't burn. This is where the magic happens, so keep an eye on things just in case!
- Transfer to a plate or wire rack and let it sleep for 5 mins.
- Now take some rye or sourdough bread, soak up all the fat from the pan on both sides and toast it directly on the pan for a few mins. These drippings are liquid gold and will taste amazing on the toast.
- Serve with the toast, mustard, or whatever other Polish side you like. I recommend Rustic Potato salad with fresh dill or Polish Vegetable Salad (Sałatka Jarzynowa) and a cold Tyskie or Żywiec!
Notes
- If your cast iron is not seasoned properly, be sure to add a little oil in the pan so it doesn’t stick.
- Use a basting brush for the fat.
