Kielbasa

In case anyone likes this type of food, I thought I'd mention this on the list.

I've been hoping to find a good German butcher who would offer a homemade sausage which would be similar to the one my mother would make every year for holiday brunches - it was truly oustanding! But that was in another state, far away, and I have not been able to find that butcher's shop online. He may very well have retired or sold his shop, as he was way older than me.

Anyway, in the course of my quest, I came across this butcher: https://schmalzs.com

Their smoked kielbasy looked similar to be one my mom would get, and had good reviews. I found it locally and bought one to try. It is good as far as kielbasa goes - flavorful, better than standard supermarket kielbasa offerings. It is definitely not the same and not as amazing as the sausage I remember, but it is still good. I switched out my lunch to try it today. It is fully cooked, but I suggest cooking it first anyway, and having it hot. I had 3 ounces, which My Fitness Pal states contained 195 calories, 15 grams of protein, 15 grams of fat, no sugar and 690 mg of sodium. So it's not the best protein wise but not too terrible either if you like this type of thing. I found it very satisfying and it took away the hunger I've recently been experiencing. It was a bit fatty but maybe that is what I actually was craving - a little more fat? it could be! Here are the ingredients:

Pork, water, beef, sodium lactate, salt, spices, garlic powder, dextrose*, monosodium glutamate, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite.

* I figured that since dextrose was the 8th ingredient listed, it couldn't be a very large amount.

Obviously this is a cured meat with nitrites etc. and therefore not the poster child for really clean eating, but for once in a while it's quite tasty. It's an enormous link - a hefty 2 pounds! That's the only liability for me - it's sheer size! It would be good cooked in some sauerkraut, stewed with a little apple and a few caraway seeds - that's a central European/Austrian/German combo. I found the version with the little paper label wrapped around it - at my cool little local European deli (Babushka International deli in Marysville), it was $6.50 or so, which surprised me, as I figured it would be more expensive there. Looks like WinCo supermarkets up here also carry it.

I love the name of the deli, I would go there just because of it.

I know, right?! I felt the same way!

I'm jealous! I love a good sausage with sauerkraut!

It's good, but not as good as what I hoped for - my childhood Christmas and Easter brunch sausage - which remains elusive. But that wasn't really kielbasa, while this truly is. And it's a good kielbasa. Don't be jealous: they ship all over!