In this article, you will learn how to make your own Rohpolnische. With a little effort, you can achieve a delicious result.
Rohpolnische is a classic Polish raw sausage that is preserved by curing, maturing, and cold smoking. Cold smoking in particular gives Rohpolnische its typical smoky flavor, firm consistency, and long shelf life. You will therefore need a smoker for my recipe.
Now it’s time to get started…
Here you can find the complete Rohpolnische recipe as a video or to read through.
Have fun and good luck making it!
Table of Contents
Rohpolnische – What do you need to make it?
With the right ingredients and a little patience, you can whip up this specialty in no time.
Ingredients per 1 kg
- 50% streaky pork (500 g)
- 30% pork back fat (300 g)
- 20% lean beef (200 g)
Spices per kg
- 27.5 g salt
- 2.5 Cure #1
- 3 g sugar mixture (1.5 g dextrose / 1.5 g sugar)
- 2.5 g black pepper
- 1 g caraway seeds
- 2 g mustard seeds
- 0.75 g garlic powder
- 0.5 g marjoram
The equipment to make Rohpolnische
You need a meat grinder to “grind” the meat. The meat is chopped into small chunks and can then be mixed.
Sausage stuffer / Grinder attachment / Funnel
You need this to get your sausage mass into the casing. If you do not have one, you can also use a filling attachment for your meat grinder or a hand filling funnel.
Place to dry and mature the sausage
To age this raw sausage, you need an environment where both humidity and temperature are relatively constant. There are several possibilities for this. I have already matured cured sausages in the fridge or cellar without any problems.
Optional: If you want to be on the safe side, then a ripening cabinet is the best choice. My recommendation: Dry Ager DX 500
Smoker oven
You need the smoker to smoke your Rohpolnische.
Smoking auger and smoking flour
The smoking auger burns for approx. 12 hours. This saves you having to constantly refill the smoking flour.
Natural casings
The Rohpolnische is stuffed into natural casings. I recommend you to use pork casing caliber 28/30.
Make Rohpolnische yourself – Step-By-Step Instructions
These instructions will guide you step by step to the perfect Rohpolnische.
1. Cut your pork, beef, and pork back fat into pieces suitable for mincing. You can vary the size depending on how big your meat grinder is.
2. Place the ingredients in the freezer for 1–2 hours. This will help you when mincing later and ensure that the mixture does not get too warm.
3. Now mince the meat and fat. Depending on how coarse you want your final sausage meat to be, you can use different mincing plates. I use the medium mincing plate (5 mm).
4. Add the spices to the mixture and mix well for about 3–5 minutes. The sausage meat should have a good consistency.
5. You can now fill the mixture into casings. Which casings you use is up to you. I use pork casings caliber 28/30.
Book recommendation: The Full Guide On Making Sausages Easily At Home – Step-by-step instructions & 37 delicious recipes
6. Now it’s time to twist. You can decide for yourself how big you want your Rohpolnische sausage to be. To do this, press the sausage to the desired length with two fingers on each hand and rotate it forward a few times. Then skip one sausage length and repeat the process. If air pockets have formed, you can pierce them with a needle or sausage picker
7. Hang the Rohpolnische to ferment for 48 hours at approx. 25 degrees Celsius (77.0°F) . The humidity should be approx. 90%. This is best achieved by placing a damp cloth nearby. The Rohpolnische should be able to dry, but not lose moisture too quickly, otherwise a dry edge may form. After 48 hours, leave your Rohpolnische to mature for a week at approx. 15 degrees Celsius (59.0°F) and approx. 75% humidity.
8. You can now hang it in the smoker and cold smoke it. I did 4 rounds here. That means 8 hours of smoke and 8 hours without smoke. The temperature should ideally be between 15 and 20 degrees Celsius (59.0°F – 68.0°F)
9. Your Rohpolnische is now ready. You can either eat it straight away or leave it to mature further in the cellar/maturing cabinet (< 15 degrees / 59.0°F). The firmer you want it, the longer you need to leave it to mature. Enjoy! 😄
Frequently asked questions
How long does your Rohpolnische keep?
Thanks to the curing and smoking process, Rohpolnische has a longer shelf life. To prevent the sausages from drying out or losing their flavor, it is best to store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Vacuum-sealed, they will keep for a particularly long time. As always, the rule is: look, smell, taste!
What is Rohpolnische?
Rohpolnische is a classic Polish raw sausage made from coarsely minced pork and often beef. It is seasoned, cured, and cold-smoked. It is typically firm in consistency and has a strong, spicy flavor.
Does Rohpolnische have to be smoked?
No, it can also be air-dried. However, cold smoking is very common, as it significantly improves the taste, shelf life, and typical aroma of Rohpolnische.
How long does Rohpolnische need to mature?
The maturing time is 1 to 3 weeks, depending on the casing and room temperature. It is ready when it has become significantly firmer and has lost about a third of its weight.
Can Rohpolnische be frozen?
Yes, preferably after maturing. When frozen, it can be kept for several months without any significant loss of flavor.
Why is Rohpolnische called “roh / raw”?
Because it is not cooked or boiled. Its shelf life is achieved exclusively through curing, drying, and smoking.