For all of your summer get-togethers, smoked Kielbasa makes a delicious meal or starter. You don’t need to visit a restaurant to enjoy its juicy, savory, and bursting with intense smokey tastes.
In this article, Health’s Kitchen will show you the requirements and guidelines on smoking store-bought Kielbasa. Let’s scroll down to discover them in detail!
Smoked Store Bought Kielbasa Overview
The Polish sausage is known as Kielbasa. It is usually smokey and is produced from beef, hog, or turkey.
A typical Polish supper will frequently include it. It goes exceptionally nicely with traditional Polish dishes like pierogies.
Everybody enjoys this smoky, tasty meat, as evidenced by the sale of these sausages in supermarkets and convenience stores in different countries.
You can serve this sausage as a side dish or the main one. Besides, it tastes fantastic as a snack or an appetizer at a gathering.
It’s vital to remember that you can prepare Kielbasa ahead of time or eat it raw when you go through the various cooking techniques.
Different types of meat require different amounts of cooking duration.
Precooked Kielbasa
This kind is common in supermarkets, boasts a pink hue, and frequently has a smoky scent.
“Precooked” or “fully cooked” descriptors will be on the packaging. It only requires vigorous heating to cook.
Raw Kielbasa
Butcher shops and specialized markets are the most common places to get fresh white sausages.
It would be best to cook this type until the internal temperature gets 168 – 174°F to ensure food safety before using other cooking methods like grilling or roasting.
Kielbasa sausage
Smoking Store Bought Kielbasa Options
When it comes to smoking store-bought Kielbasa, you can consider the following options:
Electric
Electric smokers are activated by being plugged into a wall outlet. An ideal option for smoking Kielbasa is a vertical electric smoker.
When smoking store-bought sausages, this equipment allows for precise temperature control.
Electric smokers also include internal wood chip compartments that smoke during cooking.
Electric smokers
Pellets
Pellet smokers offer a practical operation and a fuel working as a fuel source and a smoke source.
These smokers are perfect for smoking sausages since they can be set up horizontally or vertically.
Before feeding pellets into an auger for the burning chamber, separate hoppers are filled to avoid heat loss.
You can learn more about the benefits of this technique in this video:
Charcoal
The fuel for your cooking will be charcoal, whether you use a grill adjusted to smoke or a smoker.
When the charcoal is hot, scatter wood bits over the coals to give it a delicious smoky flavor.
Charcoal smokers
Gas
You can consider using gas if you use a smoker or a grill to smoke Kielbasa.
However, it’s better to have a smoker box filled with timber chips to give the meats a smoky flavor before you smoke them.
How To Smoke Store Bought Kielbasa?
If it’s your first-time smoking store-bought Kielbasa, it’s best to follow the instructions below:
Preparation:
- Kielbasa sausage
- A smoker
- A smoker rack
Step-by-step Instructions:
Step 1: On a rack in a smoker, arrange the sausages close to one another.
Ensure there is space between the sausages because they shouldn’t overlap. You have to space them out by 1/2 inch.
Step 2: Use wood briquettes to ignite the smoker.
Hickory is the most excellent choice since it works well with all types of meat, including this sausage. Keep waiting until the heat reaches 250°F.
Step 3: Start the smoker and add the sausages.
Keep cooking the meat until its internal temperature reaches 160°F.
The sausages will typically need to smoke for 1-4 hours, depending on the thickness and size of the rolls.
Below are some tips to bear in mind when smoking these sausages:
- Ensure to turn links in at least every 30 – 45 minutes.
- You may turn your smoker’s temperature up to 300°F if you’re in a hurry while carefully checking them.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature.
- Use hickory, apple, or cherry for the smoking wood.
- Don’t smoke sausages next to other smokers to keep their unique taste.
Smoke sausages
How To Cook Store Bought Kielbasa?
Apart from smoking, you can cook your Kielbasa using various methods, as shown below:
Baking
When preparing different side courses for your supper, baking sausages in an oven is a suitable technique.
Set your oven to 350°F to bake sausages. Arrange the meat rolls on a baking dish or tray.
If it’s precooked sausages, bake them for around 20 minutes. However, raw meat requires more prolonged cooking, approximately 40 to 50 minutes.
Boiling
Boiling is one of the most common methods of cooking Kielbasa. However, be careful as boiling might cause a few of the mouthwatering tastes to lose.
Adding tastes to your meats using spices like marjoram, salt, bay leaves, or peppercorns is a terrific method to ensure it boasts more flavor.
Add the meat rolls and approximately a half inch of water to a pan. Bring to a boil on moderate heat, and simmer with a cover for 5 to 10 minutes.
Remember to check the internal temperature. Make sure it reaches 175°F.
Grilling
Nothing compares to grilled meat rolls in terms of flavor and taste! You may chop the meat rolls in 1/2 lengthwise or leave it whole before cooking.
Precooked meat will require 4 to 6 minutes to get done.
For Kielbasa, you need to check the internal temperature from 168-174°F to ensure they are fully cooked.
Air Frying
Before cooking the sausages, preheat the temperature of your air fryer to 350°F. Cut the meat rolls into 1/2 length or small 1-inch pieces.
Arrange slices in the fryer basket—air fry precooked meat for 8 minutes.
For fresh meat, it’s best to use a thermometer to ensure the internal temperature gets 168 – 174°F.
Frying
The excellent smokey taste of the sausage is preserved by the frying method.
Cut the meat rolls into 1-inch chunks-Fry sausage pieces for about 4 to 6 minutes over medium heat.
Ensure the core temp reaches 168 – 174°before consumption.
Various cooking methods
The Bottom Line
This article has provided detailed guides on smoking store-bought Kielbasa.
Besides smoking, you can consider other cooking techniques to prepare this dish, like boiling, baking, or grilling.
Hopefully, you will find our instructions helpful for cooking your dish. If you have further questions, please feel free to comment below. Thanks for reading!
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