Unless you count wieners as sausage, Polish are my favorite smoked sausage product. My mother’s idea of a barbecue was a combo of two sets of links on the grill (which my father manned), bratwurst and something called “dinner franks.” I liked the latter, never cared for the former. Bratwurst to me are kinda like English bangers. Really nothing distinguishable as far as flavor.
Polish are made with high quality pork shoulder, and fairly simple seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic and marjoram. There’s enough seasoning to be distinctive, and the smoking process brings out the flavor. I like this product, it has the right snap, flavor and grind to suit my personal palate.
Old Wisconsin’s wieners and Polish are natural casing sausages, and that’s always my preference. Old Wisconsin has been around for more than fifty years and is based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. There’s a company store at the plant, if you’re ever in the neighborhood. old Wisconsin is part of Carl Buddig these days, a Chicago area meat processor that dates back nearly 130 years.