Irving Park · Chicago

Housemade kielbasa, the old way.

Housemade Polish kielbasa, grilled and served with kraut, pierogi and potato pancake at Wurst Behavior, Chicago

The kielbasa: cured, cased by hand, pecan-smoked daily at 4009 N Elston Ave.

If you're looking for real housemade kielbasa in Chicago — not the shrink-wrapped kind, but Polish smoked sausage made from scratch the same day you eat it — it's made here, in Irving Park, from a recipe that crossed the Atlantic in one family's hands.

Chef Artur Wnorowski spent childhood summers on his grandparents' farm in Poland, butchering pigs and learning kielbasa at his grandfather's side. Decades later in Chicago, he pushed the recipe one step further: curing the pork before the smoke. "I noticed when I started curing the meat it gave it a little bit of a different texture and feel, and it just tasted better," he told WTTW. The result is a kielbasa with a deeper savor and a snap the fresh-only stuff can't match.

How it's made

Every morning: hormone- and antibiotic-free Midwestern pork shoulder from Fulton Market, coarse-ground and seasoned with garlic and pepper, cured, cased by hand in natural casing, and smoked over pecan wood out back. Nothing arrives pre-made. When a batch sells out, that's the day's kielbasa gone.

"It's important to preserve the culture — we might be the last generation that could do it."Chef Artur Wnorowski — Chicago Sun-Times, Dishin' on the Dish

On the menu

Kielbasa $12

Pork shoulder, garlic, pepper, pecan smoked — caramelized onions, sport peppers, hazy IPA mustard on a toasted bun.

Hot Kielbasa $13

The same sausage with cayenne in the grind — onions, jalapeños, hot honey.

Smoked Platters $26–43

Kielbasa and hot kielbasa alongside jalapeño cheddar sausage, pulled pork, ribs and more — with fries, pickles, coleslaw, bread and mustard.

"The kielbasa-and-onion platter pretty much stole the show… Granddad would be proud."Windy City Times — SAVOR Review

What the city says

The Chicago Sun-Times devoted a Dishin' on the Dish feature to this kielbasa. Eater Chicago told the family-farm story. The Infatuation rated Wurst Behavior an 8.0 — "worth crossing town for" — and lists it among the best Polish restaurants in Chicago. WTTW called it the new sausage house Chicago has been waiting for since Hot Doug's closed.

One family, one kielbasa, four kitchens. Wurst Behavior is part of Na Zdrowie Hospitality — the same kielbasa tradition runs through the Pierogi Kitchen Kielbasa Platter in Wicker Park (Chicago Magazine's Top 25 Best Dishes of 2024), gets smoked out back at Spoko in Lincoln Park, and shares the smoker heritage of Earl's BBQ in Jefferson Park.

Come try it

4009 N Elston Ave, Irving Park, Chicago · Mon–Thu 11am–9pm, Fri–Sat 11am–10pm, Sun 11am–8pm · 773-654-3122 · Beer garden in season.

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