Kaszanka is Polish blood sausage — pig's blood and buckwheat groats stuffed into casings, with onions and marjoram. Grilled or pan-fried until the casing is crisp.
Kaszanka (also called kiszka) belongs to the universal European tradition of blood sausages — every country that slaughters pigs has one. The Polish version uses buckwheat groats (kasza gryczana) as the grain, which distinguishes it from French 血肠 (which uses cream) or British 血肠 (which uses oatmeal).
A slice of grilled blood sausage with a crisp, split casing. Inside is dark, crumbly, with visible buckwheat grains. The taste is earthy, metallic (from the blood), savory (from the fat), with a nutty buckwheat undertone. Eaten with mustard and pickles.
Buckwheat groats absorb the blood's moisture and provide structural body. During cooking, the blood's proteins coagulate (at ~75°C), turning from liquid to solid — this is what gives the sausage its sliceable texture. The buckwheat remains slightly chewy, providing textural contrast.
Variations
Some add liver or lungs; served with potatoes, sauerkraut, or apples.
On the Palate
Where Kaszanka sits in the Polish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
6 steps · 30 min active + 15 min waiting
- 120 min
Cook buckwheat groats; cool.
- 210 min
Mix with pig's blood, diced onion, marjoram, salt, pepper.
- 315 min
Stuff into casings; tie off into links.
- 430 min
Simmer in water at 80°C for 30 min (do not boil — casing will burst).
Watch outHold the water at a bare shiver, never a rolling boil — a hard boil bursts the casing and the blood filling bleeds out; the sausage is set when it feels firm.
- 510 min
Grill or pan-fry until the casing is crisp.
Watch outFry only until the casing crisps and darkens — the inside is already cooked, so you're just chasing a crackly skin.
- 61 min
Serve with mustard and pickles.
Archive tool suggestions — not reviewed
These legacy suggestions have not been evidence-reviewed and are not presented as required tools.
