Andy's Polish Deli + Rib/Sausage on the Smoker [Pictures]

LTH,

I'm a fan of Andy's Polish Deli with a preference, of the three Andy's, for the recently remodeled store on the 5400 block of Milwaukee Ave. It's not that the quality varies, but that particular Andy's is larger, has a greater selection of prepared products, and is easier to navigate.

I've always been a fan of Andy's fresh Polish sausage for the smoker, but as of late I find myself buying some of their 'dinner ready' items. Unfortunately, most of what I enjoy gives even a Nothing says Excess like Excess fellow like myself, pause. Polish sausage split down the middle, stuffed with sauteed mushrooms/sauerkraut and bacon wrapped springs to mind, though as they did not have that today I opted for bacon wrapped pork tenderloin.



I passed on my favorite slow roasted bone-on pork belly. Rib attached, incredibly succulent, rich, melt-in-your-mouth pork goodness, instead, bought Chicken Kiev, which discharged about an ounce of butter when cut.


Chicken Kiev was ok, but not in the same league as pork belly. I picked up a few other items for lunch including, 100% due to Wade R's post, chicken livers.

Top to R, Prune filled pork tenderloin, sliced green pepper/daikon, red cabbage, pan fried potato dumplings, bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, chicken kiev and, in the middle/sauteed chicken liver. I did not buy the green pepper/daikon at Andy's, just felt I needed a little something healthy on the plate.



Andy's also has an incredible selection of fresh sausage, cooked sausage, fresh and deli meats In addition they have bread, dry goods, produce and milk. While not a full-service grocery, such as Wally's, what they carry is good quality.

My actual purpose for going to Andy's today was to pick up fresh Polish to smoke on the WSM. Andy's also had really nice looking baby back ribs for the very reasonable price of $3.19. These were true baby backs, i.e. loin back ribs that weigh less than 1-3/4 pound.



Ribs have an hour + to go, sausage less.


Andy's fresh Polish after a couple of hours on the smoker.


I don't know exactly why, but I was in the mood for sauce tonight, Blues Hog, to be exact.


I'm not much for bottled sauce, normally make my own, if I even use sauce, but there are a few I like. Speed Queen hot mustard based, Arthur Bryant's, Original Open Pit, more out of nostalgia than any other reason, and Blues Hog, though straight from the bottle I find Blues Hog too sweet, I cut by 1/3 with cider vinegar.



I should mention I know the fellow who makes Blues Hog, hell of a BBQ man, has three cute little daughters and makes some of the best commercial rubs and sauces.

Enjoy,
Gary

Andy's Deli
5442 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60630
773-631-7304

Gwiv wrote:(Andy's) bacon wrapped pork tenderloin.

I assume this is a smoked product from what appears to be a smoke ring in your pictures. Correct?

Regards,

Andy's Polish Deli + Rib/Sausage on the Smoker [Pictures]

Cathy wrote:I assume this is a smoked product from what appears to be a smoke ring in your pictures. Correct?

Cathy,

Good question, though no, the bacon wrapped pork does not taste smoked. The pork has a very light cure flavor, which would impart the pink/reddish color as well.

This was my first, and probably last, time buying the bacon wrapped pork. From now on I'll stick to the full-on heart attack goodness of the bacon wrapped, stuffed Polish sausage.

Enjoy,
Gary

LTH,

Saturday Andy's Deli was busy as the ChapStick booth at the Iditarod, I was 28 numbers out on the deli/sausage wait at 10am, though it moved fast. My mission 3-4 pounds of fresh Polish sausage, at $1.99 per a good deal as well as delicious, house-cured pickles and something light for lunch as the evenings BBQ was shaping up to be a tad over the top.

Light lunch ruled out some of my favorites from the extensive prepared food selection, succulent slow roasted bone-in pork belly, potato dumplings and an over the top Franchize style Polish sausage split down the middle stuffed with sauteed mushrooms, sauerkraut and bacon wrapped. Andy's typically has a good selection of house-made ready to go soups in pints my bride being particularly fond of both the pickle and mushroom soups.

Beet soup looked particularly appealing, deep bloody red with cubes of beet, add a tablespoon of sour cream and borscht heaven. Imagine my pleasant surprise when the cubes turned out to be both beet and small triangular beet tinted dumplings with a peppery beef filling. Delicious and very filling, so much for a light lunch.

Prepared tuna salad was a pleasant surprise as well, light on the mayo, bit of sweet from pickle relish and a subtle nutty crunch from, what I am guessing was, a fine dice of pecans. My wife and I both agreed it was the best prepared tuna salad we'd encountered in quite a while.

Andy's on Milwaukee is a gem of a store, huge selection of prepared sausage, fresh meats, Polish centric dry goods, dairy case, beer and water, there is even a small eat-in area. And the kicker, prices are very reasonable.

Enjoy,
Gary

5442 N. Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60630
773-631-7304

I soooo miss the Andy's on Division.

However, when traveling into the city from Niles, you must AT ALL COSTS avoid the right lane near Andy's. People lose the ability to parallel park when they go to that place!!!!! As a homemaker I am able to go there early on weekdays so there are never crowds. Best fresh Polish for sure! I just bake it in my oven and it comes out pretty good with some Polish rye.yummmmmm

Jazzfood wrote:I soooo miss the Andy's on Division.

You and me both. I went in every morning for years. It did very well until the end, feeding the same Polish contractors who built the condos leading to Andy's demise. So many other things that would be better lost on that stretch of Division.

G Wiv wrote:Andy's on Milwaukee is a gem of a store, huge selection of prepared sausage, fresh meats, Polish centric dry goods, dairy case, beer and water, there is even a small eat-in area. And the kicker, prices are very reasonable.

In the midst of stocking up on pickle soup and Polish sausage the headcheeses caught my eye, specifically Pork Ears Headcheese, stunning in appearance, impossible to resist.

Pork Ears Headcheese



Texturally interesting, ear cartilage provides a distinct crunch, somewhat bland in flavor. I typically dress headcheese with vinegar though horseradish, as per the attractive counter girl at Andy's, worked well with the pig ear version.

Interestingly watching Anthony Bourdain in Washington DC on the Travel Channel later that evening Bourdain opines to columnist Tim Carman, while eating Banh Mi at the Eden Center, pork belly/fat is flavor trend is waining and skin/cartilage is the next big thing, a trend I completely embrace.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

G Wiv wrote:Andy's on Milwaukee is a gem of a store, huge selection of prepared sausage, fresh meats, Polish centric dry goods, dairy case, beer and water, there is even a small eat-in area. And the kicker, prices are very reasonable.

In the midst of stocking up on pickle soup and Polish sausage the headcheeses caught my eye, specifically Pork Ears Headcheese, stunning in appearance, impossible to resist.

Pork Ears Headcheese



Texturally interesting, ear cartilage provides a distinct crunch, somewhat bland in flavor. I typically dress headcheese with vinegar though horseradish, as per the attractive counter girl at Andy's, worked well with the pig ear version.

Interestingly watching Anthony Bourdain in Washington DC on the Travel Channel later that evening Bourdain opines to columnist Tim Carman, while eating Banh Mi at the Eden Center, pork belly/fat is flavor trend is waining and skin/cartilage is the next big thing, a trend I completely embrace.

Enjoy,
Gary

Probably the crappy monitor in my office, but as delicious as that sounds, I have no idea what I'm looking at in the picture. Hard to tell where plate/platter ends and headcheese begins. Is the headcheese just the small reddish strips? Are the white squiggles on what appears to be a clear glass plate part of what you eat? I'll have to take another look on the monitor at home. Either way, sounds like a trip to Andy's is in order this weekend.

Kennyz wrote:Hard to tell where plate/platter ends and headcheese begins. Is the headcheese just the small reddish strips? Are the white squiggles on what appears to be a clear glass plate part of what you eat?

Kenny,

Plate is clear glass, headcheese aspic is virtually the same color and the tablecloth is white, which might cause an odd effect on your monitor. Reddish strips piggy flesh, white squiggles ear cartilage.

Picture was taken at Custom House where I bought a sample of Pork Ears Headcheese for my $5 Burger lunch companions to taste.

This picture may give slightly better perspective.



Enjoy,
Gary

I see now. Thanks, Gary. I think it was the clear aspic that was throwing me off. Looked like another plate before - a clear round plate on top of a clear square plate, which seemed odd. This makes much more sense.

That looks really interesting Gary. I'm a big fan of Andy's country-style headcheese; I'll have to branch out and try that one. Also interesting to hear about Bourdain mentioning a trend toward more cartilage and crunch while eating a banh mi; I recently tried Nhu Lan's headcheese and noticed that it was a much firmer headcheese with more crunchy bits than I expected. I recommend that also if you haven't tried it, porky and garlicky and very good.

What is the proper way to eat head cheese?

teatpuller wrote:What is the proper way to eat head cheese?

I don't know if it's "proper" or not, but my Polish-born parents would eat salceson as an open-faced sandwich on Polish rye bread. It usually gets served on a platter with other sliced deli meats (ham, pork loin, etc.) Condiments (mustard, horseradish, etc.) to taste. This is served differently than galareta which is another type of aspic, though softer and more Jello-like, which is served on a plate or in a small bowl/ramekin with vinegar drizzled over it and bread on the side.

I have never seen the pork ears headcheese before. Looks intriguing.

Thanks. My grandparents never ate it for some reason. I'll buy some next time I go to Andy's.

For those of you missing the Andy's on Division. There is always Kasia's Deli on Chicago. Alot smaller, but great sausage, kabanozy (smaller, thinner garlicky smoked sausage) and soups, sandwiches etc. Easier if you're in the neighborhood and don't want to drive all the way down Milwaukee. Get some of there fresh rye and you got a perfect lunch or snack.


Kasia's Deli
2101 W Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622

G Wiv wrote:
This picture may give slightly better perspective.

That looks great - reminds me of pig ear at Katy's though I wish that had a bit more meat

pig ear at Katy's


I've had some excellent head cheese - I still remember it after a few years - at Saravale meat market. Not as spectacular looking but soft meaty garlicky. I just eat it plain. Saravale other sausage offerings (many smoked in house) are great too.

Saravale Meat Market & European Deli
5254 W. Irving Park Road
(773) 685-5126

LTH,

Andy's Deli on Milwaukee Ave is quickly becoming my go to place for a multitude of items, lightly sweet prepared tuna fish salad with a distinct nutty crunch, multiple types of Polish sausage, perogies, dumplings, beet salad with onion or horseradish, barrel sauerkraut, pickles, numerous types of quality butter, fresh meats, smoked meats, prepared meats...........the list goes on, all reasonably priced and delicious.

Today Andy's had two types of fresh in-house smoked fish, salmon and whole four(ish) pound smoked sturgeon. I did not have my camera with me, much to my dismay, as the prehistoric appearing sturgeon were incredibly photogenic. Smoked salmon is delicious, moist, rich, flaky, really lovely.

Andy's Deli Smoked Salmon





Enjoy,
Gary

Happened by last week and spent the better part of an hour trolling the aisles and drooling over the sausages in the back. Ended up buying only a couple of the sausages (the mysliwska--hunter's--and the jalowcowa--a juniper-spiced sausage (from jalowiec, for juniper). Golly gee whiz! Good stuff. Really good stuff. Also picked up a variety of other imported items that tend not to be available in my 'hood.

Then, I happened to mention my visit to the Polish woman in our office who I often compare food notes with. She lives in Orland Park and her face brightened instantly when I mentioned Andy's. We discussed sausages for a while and her parting comment was, "Bobak's? Pfui!" She and her (also Polish-born) husband trek up to this outpost when they want the real thing. Now, I'm not enough of a maven to adjudicate a "whither authentic Polish sausage?" But for her at least (she was raised in western Poland in a small town outside Bialystok) there was no question.

As for me, I'll be back. Soon and often.

As I've noted previously in the "Best thing I've eaten lately" thread:

mrsm wrote:Braised pork shank (Golonka Strzalka) with onions and carrots from the prepared food counter at Andy's Deli. Tender, juicy, needed only a fork to separate the meat from the bone.

A few days earlier, we had prepared a ham at home. Some parts were a tad dry and my husband remarked that it would be great if we "could find a ham that is all juicy dark meat". That is the best description I can think of for Andy's pork shanks: they are the juicy dark meat of pork.

Andy's Deli
5442 N.Milwaukee
Chicago, IL
773-631-7304
http://www.andysdeli.com

A quick stop at Andy's prepared food counter this morning revealed that they had the slightly smoked, small braised pork shanks (Golonka Strzalka) with onions and carrots today. These skinless "small" pork shanks are my favorite. I think they are actually meatier than the larger, more traditional skin on pork shanks that are also served up at Andy's. I could not identify all of the seasonings, but I think one was a spicy/hot paprika.

As GWiv mentioned up thread, they also usually have a nice assortment of ready to eat salads. Today I picked up a sauerkraut salad, a carrot and celery root salad, and a "Greek" style salad of zucchini, bell peppers, red onions, two kinds of olives and crumbled feta. It is nice to have ready to eat cold salads in the fridge on hot days.

Mike Sula again demonstrates why he's unquestionably the best in town, with this detailed and very instructive guide . . .

at chicagoreader.com, Mike Sula wrote:The end of Lent, when everybody's anxious to satisfy their nagging meat tooth, is a particularly busy time of year for Empire Andy's, but [general manager Simon] Kolasa still found time to walk me through the plant last week—a labyrinthine sausage forest—and give me a short course in Polish sausageology, which led, along with additional guidance from special correspondents Dziemian and Patryk Carwinski, to the following, not-comprehensive kielbasa cheat sheet, which you can refer to the next time you feel like you deserve some sausage.

A guide to Polish sausage

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Mike Sula again demonstrates why he's unquestionably the best in town, with this detailed and very instructive guide . . .
A guide to Polish sausage

As someone who has stood staring like a drunken monkey at the seemingly infinite array of Polish sausage at both Andy's and other shops this is a most welcome guide.