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Some people say we Germans eat sausage all the time. Sounds boring? Not at all, because, if we did, we would have more than 1,500 types to select from. Call that a choice!
Sausages have a tradition that is chiliads old. The word “wurst” dates back to pre-Germanic times. About 5,000 years ago, the Sumerians made sausages, the Celts had them with beans, the Romans enjoyed them and medieval minstrels praised the “pratwurst.” Following ancient recipes, German butchers have brought this dish to worldwide fame.
A sausage is a very practical thing. The sausage is loved in summer months and is also a perfect hot snack during the winter. Sausages can be eaten cold or hot, during anytime of the day and for each and every taste. Workers eat it with a roll for a hearty lunch. Stressed out mothers use it to feed hungry kids. Even toddlers with their first teeth can have a bit. And what would barbecue time be without it?
There is no denying it, the “wurst” is a pillar of German society. Quite logically, the sausage makes up 60 percent of the German meat consumption. So get acquainted with the No. 1 dish in Germany.
The sausage you will meet most often is the Frankfurter, Wiener or bock würstchen. It was invented in 1889 and is one of the most popular meat dishes in Germany.
Traditionally made of ground veal and pork, it is also available with pork, lamb, turkey or chicken. It often comes with french fries or is eaten in a sliced bun — always with mustard! However, easy to chew, it is also very popular for little children. Usually the bock würstchen is carefully heated but not cooked, otherwise the casing splits and the flavor flows into the cooking water. For that reason, too, it is unwise to put it on a grill.
Next, there is the bratwurst, made from minced meat. It is the perfect barbecue sausage and is often served with a roll and mustard.
Bratwurst comes in many regional variations. The most famous one is the little Nürnberger rostbratwurst from Franconia or the Thüringer rostbratwurst from Thuringia. Rote wurst (red sausage) is a favorite dish of the Stuttgart area. The queen of grilled sausages, however, is the curry wurst — sliced into little pieces and served with its spicy curry sauce and powder. Songs have been dedicated to this most loved sausage and aficionados have even founded the first German bratwurst museum. For more information, check out www.bratwurstmuseum.net.
A Bavarian specialty is the famous Weißwurst, a cooked sausage with veal and bacon. Eating the weißwurst is a tradition mostly celebrated in Munich and follows certain rules: It must be eaten before noon, without the skin and always with sweet mustard and a weißbier. Another dish originating in Bavaria is the leberkäse (despite the name “liver cheese,” it contains neither cheese nor liver). It can be consumed cold or pan-fried, as a proper meal with side dishes such as sauerkraut, or just with a bun.
It is very typical for the German cuisine to eat sliced bread for dinner. Consequently, the butchers developed a whole selection of special sausage types that are not heated or grilled. In the food department of German stores you will find variations of Italian sausages like salami or mortadella, but also German classics like “blutwurst,” or blood sausage. It is made from cow or pig meat with meat or oatmeal added.
Due to its ingredients, some people love it passionately, others dread it. On the other hand, you can hardly go wrong with “gelbwurst,” or yellow sausage, which is so mildly spiced that butchers usually offer a free slice to children. Also part of the sausage selection is the spreadable wurst: leberwurst, which is actually made of liver and pork and comes with fried onions. Another delight is teewurst (again, despite the name “tea sausage,” there is absolutely no tea in it), which is a very mild spreadable wurst popular with children.
Having listed just a few types, it becomes evident that eating sausages is by no means boring — there is the right one for every taste.
