This is The World According to Buchs - Keepin’ it moving since 2003!

(Happy Kuchina, everyone!)Yesterday was what is known as “High Kuchina”, which is the rare occasion of Easter Sunday and the Kuchina Feast falling on the same day. Coincidentally, the final round of the Masters tournament also happened to take place on the same day. The Chuck (mostly Polish) and I had a wonderful feast with my Mom (mostly Polish), Grandmother (all Polish), Dad (not Polish), and my brother Barry (mostly Polish). I’ll post a little more about the history of Kuchina later, but today I would like to share with you the story of “the sausage guy”.

There’s a little old man on the sout’ side of Milwaukee (exact location will remain a secret, lest he be overwhelmed by your requests for sausage). The little old man hand-crafts the finest polish sausage I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. However, his customers are forced to follow 2 very strict rules when placing and receiving their order. First, you must swear to the little old man that you will, in fact, be preparing and serving the sausage within the next 24 hours. If not, you get no sausage - no exceptions. Secondly, when placing the order, you must state a preferred time for pickup of the sausage. You are to arrive at “the location” no more then 3 minutes before your stated time. The sausage is a very delicate thing, and must have the proper time to “rest” before changing hands. If you arrive early, you will receive a stern lecture, and then be offered a beer or other beverage of your choice while you wait. If there were a third rule that involved a criminal or otherwise immoral act, I would gladly follow it to the letter, in order to receive this glorious sausage. You may have seen a package of frozen “polish sausage” in the grocery store, next to the bratwurst or italian sausages. I can assure you that is not a true polish sausage.

The sausage itself can be prepared one of two ways: boiled or broiled (grilling is not an option). There is a very contentious division between the two camps - you most definately have a preference, and view the other choice as silly. I prefer the sausage to be broiled, leaving the natural juices intact inside the sausage. My grandmother, on the other hand, prefers to boil the sausage - clearly wrong. I’ll still eat it her way, it’s just not quite the same. The polish sausage is traditionally served on its own - it is not to be eaten on a bun, such as a bratwurst.