Kielbasa Lisiecka

Kielbasa lisiecka is made in the communes of Liszki and Czernichow, west of Krakow, and has been produced there since at least the 1930s, when butchers from the villages supplied the Krakow market and built a reputation. It received EU Protected Geographical Indication in 2010, and the specification is unusually specific: coarsely cut ham and shoulder pork with a limited proportion of fat, seasoned with pepper and garlic only, packed into thick casings and smoked over hardwood, so the cut pieces of meat are visible in the slice. That visible coarse cut is the identifying feature. It is eaten cold, sliced, or fried. The name is protected, so sausage sold as lisiecka should come from the defined area, though enforcement is patchy. It is sold in the village butchers and in Krakow's markets, notably Stary Kleparz, along with the other Malopolska sausages.

What you actually see

• Visible coarse-cut meat - ham and shoulder, with limited fat, in the slice.
• Pepper and garlic only - the whole seasoning under the specification.
• Hardwood smoking - in thick casings, after packing.
• A protected name - EU geographical indication tied to Liszki and Czernichow.

When to go

All year. An hour.

Honest expectations

Sausage sold under the name outside the area is common and not the protected product. Village butchers keep short hours and close on Sundays. It is a fatty, salty food, whatever the specification says about proportions.

Nearby

Krakow is fifteen kilometres east; Tyniec abbey is close.