Saturday, July 6, 2013
Sometimes it is the simple things...Kielbasa with Onions and Poblanos
Do you ever see recipes and think,"hmmm that is weird, I think I need to try it?" Well that is exactly what I thought when I read about melding Polish sausage, German Sauerkraut, Jewish rye bread and Mexican peppers, but let me just say it works. This multi-cultural dish had a lot of great flavors that sound so odd together, but truly blend so nicely that I was completely happy with the outcome. I loved the spice of the sausage, the tang of the vinegar and mustard and the smoky flavor of onions/peppers roasted in smoked olive oil. It was incredible that a dish so simple, could truly be so satisfying. But I guess that is what cooking is all about.
Now if you are unfamiliar with Kielbasa, let me tell you what I know about the sausage:
Now if you are unfamiliar with Kielbasa, let me tell you what I know about the sausage:
- In Poland the sausage has a great deal of restrictions such as type of meat, production and size.
- In the U.S. kielbasa refers to a smoked sausage that can be made with beef, pork, chicken, turkey, veal or lamb and well it doesn't have many restrictions.
- In Poland kielbasa can be found smoked or uncooked
- Kielbasa is a traditional Polish wedding food.
- Kielbasa is normally found in links or rings and it is usually 1-2" in diameter
- Tenacious D also has a song titled Kielbasa....um but it isn't really talking about cooking so much
So I haven't done much cooking with packets, but I really had a lot of success with the technique for this recipe. Packet cooking is usually done with parchment paper or foil and it allows you to roast food and maintain moisture and flavor. The ingredients are folded into a "packet," kind of like a food envelope and then roasted or grilled in an oven or bbq. Although there are several techniques for creating packets, basically as long as you seal the food into the packet the technique works. So for this recipe I put the onions, peppers and sausage in a foil packet and roasted in the oven for 25 minutes and the peppers and onions were cooked perfectly.
I then cut open the foil packet and broiled the ingredients for 5 minutes in the broiler just to give the sausage that crisp exterior.
According to this recipe, a bbq works just as well, but I opted for the oven. I just added some additional salt and pepper after the ingredients were done cooking and served the pepper/onion/sausage mixture with some spicy hot mustard, sauerkraut and dark rye bread. With a cold beer this was seriously the perfect meal!
Here is the actual recipe if you want exact measurements:
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 poblano chiles or green bell peppers, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch strips
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds kielbasa sausages, cut on a diagonal into 4-inch pieces, halved lengthwise
Mustard, sauerkraut, and crusty bread
Preparation
Place a 16x12" sheet of heavy-duty foil on a large rimmed baking sheet. Toss onion and chiles with oil in a large bowl; season generously with salt and pepper. Mound vegetables in center of prepared baking sheet; top with sausages. Place another large sheet of foil over. Fold and crimp all edges tightly to form a sealed packet. DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Chill. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before continuing.
Preheat oven to 350°. Alternatively, build a medium fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to medium-high. Bake or transfer packet to grill and cook until onions and peppers are softened (open the packet carefully to check; steam will escape), about 25 minutes.
If using an oven, turn on broiler. Carefully cut open packet. Arrange sausages on top if necessary. Broil until sausages are browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. If grilling, remove sausages from packet and grill until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Serve with mustard, sauerkraut, and bread alongside.
Hope you are all having a wonderful 4th of July weekend. Cheers!
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