The Maxwell Street Polish sausage is a true Chicago classic, a sort of hybridization of the classic hot dog and the kielbasa. It’s the closest thing to street food we have in this overly-regulated town, minus a couple elotes stands in the neighborhoods.

According to various stories I’ve heard slurred from bar stools over the years, the Polish wasn’t invented by a Polish guy at all, but a Macedonian immigrant named Jimmy. Now it’s got a place in the Chicago food pantheon along with Italian beef, Chicago-style dogs, and deep dish.

Since UIC’s push outward has relocated most of the original Polish purveyors, it’s as good a time as any to start a Polish sausage tradition of your own. This comes straight from Death Toll Scholl, who may not be Macedonian, but definitely isn’t Polish either.

Man B Que Maxwell Street Polish

3 lbs pork shoulder – cubed
1 lb bacon – cut into 1″ pieces
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
2 med onion – 1 finely chopped; 1 cubed
1 tsp ground mustard
1 bottle yellow mustard

1. Place all utensils and sausage making tools in freezer for at least 1 hour prior to beginning the grinding process. You don’t want any of the fat getting warm and mushy – that will screw with your sausage-making in a powerful fashion. So everything must be as cold as possible. Some people just keep their meat grinders in the freezer at all times – if you’ve got the space, it might be a good idea to do so.

2. Cube pork and cut bacon and arrange on a cookie sheet; put in
freezer for at least 30 minutes.

3. While meat chills, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and prepare onions.

4. Take cookie sheet out of freezer and add the cubed onion to the meat.

5. Grind meat/onion mixture into a cold bowl set on ice.

6. Using a Kitchenaid or other type of mixer, mix chopped onion, dry ingredients and mustard

7. Prepare sausage casing. There are various types of both organic (hog, lamb) and synthetic casings to use.

8. Stuff casing, as pictured.

9. Hang casing for 1 hour. Heat the grill while practicing your Macedonian-American accent (whatever that is).