Is Dickey's BBQ Pit Polish Smoked Sausage any good?
Sadly, we have to say no. The sausage lacks smoke flavor which is odd considering the title brand is a chain BBQ restaurant. The sausage casing is unpleasingly tough too.
I can’t be the only one that sheepishly glances at certain restaurant chain’s grocery products. A shameful glance and a hurried push of the cart along and away from temptation. The promise is the same: restaurant quality food in the comfort of your home, usually cheaper too. You know the type of product: a PF Chang’s Frozen Dinner, White Castle Burgers or Red Lobster rolls.
Well, I recently succumbed to an impulse buy with this Dickey’s BBQ Pit Polish Smoked Sausage; I love sausage, I love BBQ, realistically how bad could this be. And anyway bad sausage, is like bad pizza – its still pizza! For under three bucks, I’d get at least two if not three meals out of the huge link, in the cart it went.
Initial impressions were great, my dog wouldn’t leave me alone as soon as the exterior casing came off – lots of garlic and paprika notes. That’s usually a good sign. Sadly that’s where things started to deteriorate. The predominant flavor on the polish sausage was one of pepper, lacking any real smoked taste to my palate.
Texturally things were slightly worse again. The exterior sausage casing was tough and rubbery, with a displeasing snap. My initial plan to make three meals made it 2/3 of the way. By the time I got to using the sausage for a third time, I simply tossed it in the garbage, it didn’t seem worth the calories. This one was a miss for me.
What else is out there?
If you’re looking to bring the BBQ to your home, I recently discovered Southside Market & BBQ out of Texas. Here’s some of their rope sausage I tasted – they also offer a range of smoked meats delivered to your door too. In the grocery store my current favorite is the Niman Ranch pulled pork product.
What’s a fair price?
I paid $2.98 for this pack.
Dickey’s BBQ Pit Polish Smoked Sausage cooking nutrition
Excuse the weird plastic wrap overlay, this was the only way I could get the packaging safely into the scanner; since the reverse of the label is covered in adhesive.
Dickey’s BBQ Pit Polish Smoked Sausage ingredients and cooking instructions
Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC – Utah’s biggest and oldest online food magazine; I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV shows.
I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have covered the Utah dining scene for the better part of fifteen years. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. I started Shop Smart to catalogue my adventures in the grocery store and kitchen. Follow along on Instagram too!