There are different types of kiełbasa (polish sausage), this recipe uses biała kiełbasa (white polish sausage). Biała kiełbasa is seasoned with garlic and a touch of marjoram giving it a nice rich flavor. Tim’s grandmother would make this sauerkraut and kiełbasa every Christmas. It is large batch but can easily be cut down (or increased) to fit your needs.
Sauerkraut and Kiełbasa
Servings: 15 – 30
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb Biała Kiełbasa white polish sausage
- 1 lb Bacon
- 2 Sweet Onion
- 6 lb Sauerkraut
- ¼ c Brown Sugar
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Place kiełbasa links in a large pot and add just enough water to cover. Bring water to a low boil and cook for 25 minutes.
- Remove the sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces, and set aside. Do not discard the water.
- Cut bacon into pieces and fry until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and add to a container for future use. (The bacon is not needed for this recipe, only the grease)
- Add all but a few tbsp of the grease to the sausage water.
- Thinly slice the onions and fry in the pan with the remaining bacon grease until soft. Add to the water.
- Drain and rinse the sauerkraut and add to the water.
- Add brown sugar and stir to combine.
- Add salt & pepper to taste.
- Cook on a medium-low heat for 45 minutes.
- Add the sausage to the sauerkraut and simmer for 30 minutes.
Notes
- This makes a fairly large amount of sauerkraut, feel free to cut it down to what you need.
- This works well in a slow cooker, after cooking the sausage, add everything to the crock pot and cook on low for a few hours to allow the flavors to meld.
- The longer the sauerkraut simmers or sits in the slow cooker the better the flavor.