In the build up to Christmas I made sausages for the first time in over eight months. I made some smoked kielbasa. The escapade involving the leg and five operations later, has meant it has not been an optimal year for sausage making. I made a kielbasa using a recipe from the book Home Sausage Making. I then used the Aussie Smoke Bloke – a cold smoker to enhance the flavour with smoke. This was the first time I had cold smoked sausages. When I removed the snarlers from the smoker – an old wine box, they had a patchy patina and I wondered if they had been smoked unevenly.
We went to our friends place for a Christmas Eve meal. Five families gathered for an annual Christmas soiree. The smoked kielbasa was made with ground pork shoulder, nutmeg, coriander, garlic, pepper, sage, brown sugar and smoked paprika. The smoked kielbasa was cooked on a barbecue. Also served at the meal was roast beef, potatoes, asparagus, capsicum and capers, and a green salad.
The feedback I received was great, my daughter thought they should get 10/10 and they were the best sausages she had eaten that have been made by her dad. Other very positive comments involved the complexity of the flavour, elements of smoke, the combination of sweetness and spice. I did note that all the snarlers were eaten, while a small amount of beef remained at the end of the meal. I was very pleased with how the smoked kielbasa tasted and will definitely be making these again.
My wife made an exquisite dessert, a trifle, for the meal. This had a champagne jelly at the bottom, chocolate sponge, vanilla custard layered with strawberries soaked in champagne and topped with shaved chocolate. It went down a treat.
The adults put the children to shame and great embarrassment by singing raucously along to great music of our time. The kids responded with rapping to Kayne West. Their horror escalated as they spotted the mothers dancing along. I show my age by considering that the music we adults enjoy and appreciate as having greater musical merit.
Christmas is a time for family and friends. Fine food, great comarderie and conversation is enjoyed. What better way to enhance this experience than with some delectable smoked kielbasa? The Christmas Eve meal with friends is followed by Christmas day with whanau, this year we went to my parents-in-law. The meal at their place is more traditional, the barbecue is not used and no snarlers were requested. At the end of Christmas Day I was replete with food, conversation and the joy of life.
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