I love sausage. Smoked. Cured. Uncured. From Chicago. China. Spain. Louisiana. France. Italy. Poland. Anywhere. Sokolow is a major meat processor in Poland, dating back to 1899.
They sell under the brand names of Gold, Sokoliki, Uczta Qulinarna, Naturrino and Darz Bór. Lucky for me, some of these are imported to the states, and in Chicago, there are numerous, many, many, Polish groceries and delis who stock imported foods.
So I picked up a pack of their “Hunter’s Sausage,” a dry cured product, lightly smoked, made from pork, salt, pepper, and juniper. No matter who the manufacturer is, these are the standard ingredients for “Hunter’s Sausage.” One company in Poland makes a beef version for export to the UK.
(Sidebar). I was literally amazed at my first trip to Poland. It wasn’t long after the divorce from the Soviet’s, so “western style” businesses hadn’t really sprung up yet. I stayed in a creaky old Soviet style hotel, heated by coal, I can still remember the smell of that furnace. I spent my days and nights with my local colleague, a former shipyard co-worker with Walesa – turned journalist – who had fascinating tales and was more than willing, eager to accommodate my desires to “be local.”
Restaurants were limited to “private meal houses” wherein a citizen would cook lunch or dinner in their house, and have seating for four or six, and you’d know about these places and eat there. And he took me way out in the country to experience a local sausage haven, including sour sausage soup. Man oh man.
So Sokolow Hunters Sausage. Very dry, very smokey, not sure I can taste the juniper and have never seen that as an ingredient outside of gin. Kind of fatty, but that’s where the flavor comes from, eh? Best used as a snack stick or on an app tray I suspect, too dense for sandwiches.
Check it out if you run into it. Sokolow makes bacon, hams, and other sausages. I’ll keep my eye out for more of their products. The company has a promotional video on YouTube.
Hunter’s Sausage / Cross Section
Sokolow Hunters Sausage Review