Polska: Kielbasa, Onion & Kraut w/ Pierogi

We’re definitely throwing out the “BBQ” part of ForensicBBQ with this one. But I did cook outside. I did use the Blackstone, and it turned out far too good to just let this one slide. Recipe probably won’t be a shocker to much of y’all here, but you know I put them on here as my own cook log, so here we go.

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Recipe

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The Prep Table

Any good Polish pierogi meal needs some of that good onion. Soft, but not too soft and carmelized. You need to have a little bit of texture to accompany the kraut. Sauerkraut took a long bit of life for me to come around to. Won’t have the impact that coming around to onions did on my culinary trajectory, but it’s still worth throwing into a polish meal.

I’ve had this kielbasa link in the freezer for awhile, so it was time to cook her up. Now, next time I bring you a pierogi dish, better believe I’m coming at it homemade. Until then, Mrs. T’s frozen is going to have to do the job. Drain the kraut and get a nice long slice on the kielbasa. We’re going to butter cook the diced onion with of course some garlic thrown in there. Weren’t my favorite pierogi’s on the planet, but for a frozen dumpling, I’ll let it slide. The star of the show, honestly, was going to be the sausage/onion/kraut flavor.

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The Process

It sure was chilly cold, but it was time to get after it. I opted to Blackstone at the garage entry and deal with MrsForensicBBQ’s eventual displeasure of a smoky garage. She’s tolerant of my behavior, so I didn’t hear about it at all – it was mostly onions after all. (Love you!). My typical Blackstone behavior is hot cook left, warm side right .. today remains the same. Get a nice hard cook on the sliced kielbasa and then prepare the rest.

Took that picture of the hefty tablespoon of butter at the front working its way to the onion. Uneven driveway like any typical blue collar American, so let it work to your advantage. We’re going to cook these onions down until they look something like this:

That’s what we want. I just came off cooking another onion-side for an upcoming post – so I’m becoming quite the saute aficionado. I know what I want out of a side of onion, and this color was exactly what I was looking for. Diced for a slight crunch, no slice that will soften too quickly. Because I’ll be combining the onion with the kraut, I wanted differing textures.

That’s why I did what I did. That right side of the blackstone was ready to go. I’m not going to spend too much time on Pierogi talk, so take in that kraut/onion/basa. I’m going to take it all in, but let’s plate it first.

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The Result

Ain’t as good as Mom’s, but how many times can we all say that. Pierogi’s weren’t anything to write a blog about (as I’m writing a blog about it) – but the rest brought me back to family dinners. Now that the reminiscing is complete, time to wing it – leftovers ForensicBBQ-style.

The Result – Part Two

So you know from my prep, this idea was baked into the cake. I was going to make it it’s own post, but the search on our homepage works pretty well, so it’s easily findable. Anyway, MrsForensicBBQ and I love ourselves some of that Tillamook cheese, so I bought a loaf of it.. and a loaf of Onion Rye bread. Let’s do a Polish Grilled Cheese Sandwich.. a kanapka if you will

I don’t know where half my ideas come from.. but know if it’s a good one, it’s showing up here. For some reason, I thought throwing that kraut/onion/basa mix on a grilled cheese was a great idea. And it was. That Onion rye bread was flippin delicious. Just pile on the leftovers like I did here and get it til that bread is cooked. In a butter melt, of course.

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If you want to American-ize your polish leftovers, do it! This was way better than I had expected. Healthier, not so much, but while I’m on this Earth, I’m making the most of it! See you next week!

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The Recipe