Kishka is a traditional Eastern European sausage. Like other types of sausage, several recipes from across the region exist, and the only way to find out which you like best is to taste a lot of them. You can cook it on the stove top, but cooking it in the oven is less messy and more convenient. Since the kishka will produce a lot of juice as it cooks, try using that juice to make a nice pan gravy to serve with your sausage. It's not much more effort, but it will make your meal taste that much better.
Baking the Kishka
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the kishka in a baking pan or casserole dish. Any oven-safe pan with sides will work; do not use a cookie sheet, since the sausage will produce juices as it cooks, which will run.
Poke the kishka several times with a fork, then cover the pan with aluminum foil.
Bake the covered kishka in your oven for 30 minutes. Serve while hot. Reserve the juices that run off the kishka as you bake it, to make a pan gravy.
Related LeafTv Articles
Pan Gravy for Kishka
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of flour and stir until the flour is absorbed.
Scrape the pan juices from cooked kishka into the skillet. Pour 1 cup of water into the mix.
Stir it with a whisk until the sauce begins to boil and thicken. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve alongside, or drizzled on top of the kishka.
Tips
-
Kishka, like many sausages, already contains quite a bit of fat. It's not necessary to grease the pan when you bake your kishka for this reason.
-
Whisking your pan gravy helps break up clumps of flour, so your pan gravy is smooth. However, if lumps persist, strain your gravy through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth before serving.