Bratwurst is a German sausage made from pork and veal. Beef is used as a substitute, at times. The German term meaning, chopped meat (brat) and sausage (wurst) is a conventionally grilled sausage. It also refers to sausage occasionally cooked in broth or beer. The term is not associated with the German word braten, which means pan frying or roasting.
Preparation of Bratwurst
The first step in preparing bratwurst is to grind the meat finely. The seasonings generally used with variations are salt, onion salt, ground white pepper, marjoram, nutmeg, parsley, celery seeds, ginger, mace, cardamom and red wine. The meat is seasoned and chilled. The mixture is grinded further and stuffed into pork or sheep casings. The casings are air-dried and preserved chilled till used.
Bratwurst Recipes
A number of Bratwurst recipes are made in different regions of Germany. The Thuringian bratwurst consists of a bread roll with mustard seasonings and the South German bratwurst, somewhat similar to the American hot dogs in buns, is a popular fast food of the region.
Variants of Bratwurst
The German cuisine, the mother of the bratwurst, has come up with a lot of variants in different regions of the country. Coburger, Fränkische, Kulmbacher, Nürnberger Rostbratwurst, Nordhessische, Rote Wurst, Thüringer Rostbratwurst and Würzburger Bratwurst are different versions of bratwurst cooked according to regional culinary traditions.
