Polish Easter Brunch

Growing up, the holidays each had their own flavor. Thanksgiving was the traditional American feast. Christmas was Italian and Easter was Polish. Two weeks ago when I wrote about The Broadway Market, I made mention of this. I often speak of my Italian Heritage when discussing my culinary influences because I learned to cook from my little Italian Grandma, and that side of the family was very engaged in their culture. But the fact is, I am also half Polish.

The Polish side of my family was not engaged in their culture. So despite growing up in a predominantly Polish neighborhood, there were no Polkas playing or Polish language spoken at home. I never even participated in any Dingus Day celebrations until my early 30s. The one and only Polish custom in which we partook was, the Polish Easter breakfast [Wielkanocne śniadanie].

The traditional components of this meal are bread, meat, salt, eggs, horseradish, cheese and an Easter Lamb (typically made of butter in our region), and some sweets. All of these components are religious symbols however, this side of the family was not religious so these were never discussed. Yet, this tradition lived on until my early teens when the family grew and started doing separate things for the holidays.

Back in 2014, I decided to revive this lost tradition, at least on a personal level. Since then, I have made this meal every Easter and shared with friends, roommates, and this year with Jeff. He had not experienced this meal previously.

I have however made a few adaptations from the meal we shared as child. First, I have moved the meal from breakfast to a brunch. Another change that I made has been to add cheese pierogi to the meal instead of “snacking cheese”. There is a traditional Slovak cheese that is part of the Easter table but I don’t recall if that is what we had growing up as I vehemently rejected cheese as a child! I also did not and still do not care for horseradish. So that is an item I have removed.

What I have kept the same is the ham and Polish Sausage for the meats, the hard boiled eggs, the Placek, and the butter lamb. This year, I had the esteemed privilege of introducing a remote co-worker to this popular WNY tradition. I could tell you more about the butter lamb but I think that Visit Buffalo Niagara has already done a fine job here: https://www.visitbuffaloniagara.com/buffalos-butter-lamb/.

My ham and eggs are purchased at the grocery store. But my Polish Sausage and Placek MUST come from very specific local businesses. This year, my pierogi were purchased at the Broadway Market from Babcia’s Pierogi, and I suspect they will be again next year as these pierogi were excellent! The dough to filling ratio was perfect, they held together well while boiling, and cooked up beautifully in a pan with both butter AND oil—a tip we received from the vendor.

My Polish Sausage must be the Traditional Homemade Polish Sausage from Camillo’s Sloan Super Market. Camillo’s also operates out of the Broadway Market but they did not have this specific sausage when we visited, one week too early. But that was OK, because every year I make the trip to their original location at 494 Reiman Street in Sloan. The “Sloan Store” as it was referred to back then, was my old bus stop back in high school. Back then, it was under different ownership. Under the new ownership, the store expanded it’s inventory while keeping the Polish mainstays. When picking up Polish Sausage each year, I also purchase my butter lamb.

Placek means cake in Polish. Technically, it is a coffee cake with crumb topping but it is shaped like a loaf of bread and we always ate it spread with butter. Like my Polish Sausage, I have opinions on who offers the best Placek. That would be Chrusciki Bakery. While Chrusciki Bakery has operated out of the Broadway market since 1987, I actually discovered their Placek when they operated a location in Kenmore which is no longer there. Since then, they have opened locations in Lancaster at 80 W Drullard Avenue and inside Simply Pierogi at the Eastern Hills Mall (4475 Transit Road). I find their Placek softer and more buttery than others.

What are some of the traditional items on your Easter table? Do you have a different, favorite place to procure your favorite featured items? Tell me about it in the comments!