World of Sausage – German Sausages

One of the most versatile foods that we could commonly access on the shelves of grocery stores would be the sausage. Sausages are very versatile as they could become the main star of a dish, serve as a snack, and supplement other food as a part of a dish.

Sausages from breakfast to supper could serve for any type of purposes. The term ‘Sausage’ is believed to have originated from the Latin term ‘Salsus’ which means ‘salted’.

 

 

Sausage itself is a cooking technique and a type of food itself. Production of sausage requires filling a ‘casing’ which is an edible (some might be inedible) wrapping that holds the fillings.

Casings may be made from starch, animal intestines, collagen, or other sources. Filling of sausage could be any type of meat even including fish along with vegetables, spices, and other flavorings within.

 

 

Sausages, even though they may have not been necessarily named as sausages, have prevailed since ancient times in many parts of the world. Thus, there are all kinds of sausages to enjoy that we should have a try throughout life.

Germany which is the hometown of the sausages have various sausages which one should try during the famous Oktoberfest along with a beer.

 

 

Frankfurter – Frankfurt, Germany

Along with the wiener sausage (Vienna sausage), the frankfurter sausage is the most common type of sausage we could access in the market. Originating from the current finance center of Germany, Frankfurt, an authentic frankfurter is made with a sheep intestine casing with pure pork.

 

 

The frankfurter became the most common sausage as it started to become the main component of hot dogs in the United States.

German immigrants brought the Frankfurter along and helped contribute to the famous American cuisine. A law in Germany referred to wouldban cities not close to Frankfurt from using the word ‘Frankfurt’ in sausages produced elsewhere.

 

 

Wiener – Vien, Austria

The wiener is also one of the most common types of sausage. Sources suggest that wiener sausages are relatively shorter than Frankfurters and authentic Wiener sausage is made by a sheep intestine casing with mixed meat but there isn’t a definitive distinction between Frankfurters or Wiener sausage.

 

 

‘Wiener’ means the capital of Austria ‘Vien’(Vienna) in German which gave it the name. Although sources may contradict each other. Without a doubt Vien, Austria holds one of the longest legacies of sausage production among the world.

 

 

Bratwurst – Germany

The Bratwurst is a German sausage that is thick enough so it wouldn’t burst while pan-fried or roasted, which is how it is often served. Authentic Bratwurst is usually made from only pork while non authentic bratwurst may accompany other types of meat.

 

 

Brätwurst in German translates as “Brät'' which means ‘fine diced meat’ and ‘wurst’ which is a common indicator for sausage.

Some would argue that it is associated with the German ‘braten’ which means ‘pan fried’ or ‘pan roasted’ which is how Bratwurst is often served. Germans may have developed a variety of sausages as a method to preserve their meat during the cold winters.

 

 

Ahle Wurst – Hesse, Germany

Hesse is the German district that includes the city Frankfurt.The Ahle Wurst of Hesse is a premium sausage that is made right after a heavy swine is slaughtered.

 

 

Only treated with salt or salt petre(saltpeter also known as potassium nitrate) as a preservative with some spices, the sausage is fermented and matured over several months.

The Ahle wurst is a premium and traditional sausage of the North region of Hesse.

 

 

Kasekrainer - Austria

The Kasekrainer is an Austrian sausage that is filled with chunks of cheese that are usually Swiss Emmental cheese. An authentic  kasekrainer would be smoked with apple wood which gives it a unique smoky flavor and cheese fillings.

 

 

Knackwurst

Also known as a knockwurst, is a thick and short sausage that originates from Northern Germany. ‘Knack’ would refer to ‘Crack’ in German and the Knackwurst was given its name as it would make a cracking sound when taken a bite or when it is cooked.

The Knackwurst is also iconic as it has a fair number of garlic within the stuffing that gives it a rich garlic flavor per every bit one would take of this thick sausage.

 

 

Debereziner - Hungarian (Austro-Hungarian Empire)

Although not entirely a German variant as the Debreziner or the Debrecener originated from the city of Debrecen, Hungary, the debreziner is a unique sausage with its iconic red color.

The Debreziner has a lot of smoked paprika within its filling which gives it the bright reddish color and unique smoky flavor. Usually, Debreziner are made in thin but long forms.

 

 

Weisswurst – Bavaria, Germany (Weißwurst) Yes it is the Weiss that is in the edelweiss)

Bavaria or also known as Bayern where Munich is located. Bavaria which is one of the wealthiest regions of Germany is the hometown of the weisswurst which is also known as the ‘white sausage’. The name itself is ‘weiss’ which means ‘white’ in German and ‘wurst’ which is sausage in German.

Oftentimes nitrogen sources such as nitrite, nitrate are added to preserve the appealing reddish color of meat during curing or processing Weisswurst is a type of sausage where neither nitrogen sources nor reddish colored flavorings are used that makes its iconic white color.

 

 

Even though Weisswurst isn’t made from white meat such as chicken or turkey, it has a white appearance. This should be odd if you think about it.

Lore says that an innkeeper accidently ran out of ingredients so the keeper used a pork casing which has a much chewy texture than other animals stuffed with finely diced veal and back bacon.

The sausage would be made without preserves such as nitrates and boiled to prevent it from bursting which made its iconic white weisswurst. Authentic weisswurst is made from pork intestine casing which may be too chewy for some veal meat.

 

 

Landjager – Southern Germany

JÄGER means ‘hunter’ in German and the ‘LAND’ is a dialect in the Southern parts of Germany meaning ‘smoked or cured for a long time’.

This sausage serves as an MRE(Meal Ready to Eat) for hikers and hunters that roam among the mountains. It also actually was a MRE for the military because the sausage was produced by drying up almost like a jerky which made its expiration period much longer than other types of sausages.Even today, it serves as a popular snack that is convenient to take out.

 

 

Rohwürste

Rohwürste are fermented sausages often treated with lactic acid with sugars that would make an acidic environment to allow only certain bacteria to help fermentation while preventing contamination by other bacteria.

Rohwürste is smoked so it is difficult. It is a completely raw sausage but it is often considered ‘raw’ and served cold as well.

 

 

Spreadable Rohwürste

As types of Rohwürste, Teewurst and spreadable Mettwurst are variants that relatively have a high fat content and often consumed as bread spread as it could be thinly spread out.

Along with its fatty and acidic taste and rich meat flavor, these are a unique style of sausage with the fun of eating in a different method.

 

 

Thüringer - Thüringen traditional sausage

The Thüringer sausage is a sausage that is protected by EU law. The EU approves its authenticity and allows sausages only produced in the Thüringer region to use the name.

 

 

‘Thüringer’. The sausage is made from pork, beef or veal but only from the lean parts of the meat. Thus, the Thüringer sausage has much less fat than any other types of sausages

. Also authentic Thüringer includes salt, caraway, marjoram, garlic and pepper spice blend which gives its unique flavor and distinguishes itself from other sausages.

 

 left : caraway seed , right: marjoram