Klarinet Archive - Posting 001000.txt from 2004/10

From: Ed Wojtowicz <ewoj@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] kishka and polkas
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 21:51:29 -0500

My understanding as a good Pole, is that kishka is made from pork and
is often described by many as blood sausage. I was actually able to
find about a half dozen authentic recipes, all which are made from
pork. As Dan describes, the Scots eat Haggis, the Irish have black
pudding and so forth. One has to remember that in a farming culture,
once the slaughtering took place, every last bit was used in some way
or another. Sausages of one type or another were a customary way to use
odds and ends, the intestines were cleaned and used as casings.

Ed

On Oct 31, 2004, at 7:02 PM, dnleeson wrote:

> David, a "kishka" is a Polish dish made from the large intestine
> of a cow. The word translates to "hose." One of the cheapest
> pieces of a cow was the intestines, first because there are a lot
> of them, and second because it was not necessary to clean them.
> That was left to the housewife and the task was awful. One
> bought intestine by the yard. Once well cleaned it could be
> stuffed with a variety of things, baked, and sliced.
>
> The eating of the kishka never meant that one ate the intestine.
> In fact, it was tougher than shoe leather. It was the filling
> that one went for.
>
> And "Who Stole The Kishka," was, after "The Clarinet Polka,"
> absolutely manadatory at any polka job.
>
> I am not going to go in to what was used to stuff the kishka
> because my arteries harden just thinking about it, but it was
> delicious. I would sometimes eat six inches of the stuff in one
> inch slices. When you got done, there were the rings of
> intestine on the plate.
>
> Before anyone complains about the dish, be aware that almost
> every culture has such a dish. With the Scots it is Haggis, for
> example, and that is sheep's stomach. And any good sausage
> factory uses small intestines by the cow-load. The large
> intestine is less frequently used.
>
> Dan Leeson
> DNLeeson@-----.net

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