Ingredients
Sausage meat
- 800 gpork shoulder, cubed and well chilled
- 400 gpork belly or back fat, cubed and well chilled
- 200 gveal shoulder, cubed, for the Thuringian style
- 150 mlice-cold water
Seasoning
- 22 gfine salt
- 4 gground white pepper
- 5 gdried marjoram, rubbed between the palms
- 2 gground caraway
- 1 ggrated nutmeg
- 1garlic clove, crushed to a paste
- Zest of half a lemon, optional
Casings and serving
- 3m natural hog casings, 26–28 mm, soaked and flushed
- 8crusty Brötchen
- Medium-hot German mustard, such as Bautzner
Directions
- Chill the meat and fat to just below freezing, until the cubes are stiff at the edges. Cold meat is the difference between a juicy sausage and a greasy one.
- Mince through a 4.5 mm plate straight into a bowl set over ice. A true Thüringer Rostbratwurst is coarse, so do not go finer.
- Scatter over the salt, pepper, marjoram, caraway, nutmeg, garlic and lemon zest, add the ice water and mix by hand for 2–3 minutes until the mass turns sticky and clings to your palm when you turn it over.
- Fry a teaspoon of the mix in a pan and taste. Adjust salt and marjoram now; the marjoram should be clearly present, it is the signature of the sausage.
- Soak the casings 30 minutes in warm water, flush them through, then slide onto the stuffing horn and fill steadily without air pockets, keeping the fill medium-firm.
- Twist into 8 links of 18–20 cm, alternating the direction of the twist so they do not unwind, and prick any trapped air with a fine needle.
- Hang the sausages uncovered in the fridge overnight so the seasoning marries and the casing dries to a slight sheen.
- Burn beechwood charcoal down to grey embers. Grill the sausages 12–15 minutes over medium heat, turning every 2 minutes, until the casing is blistered brown and taut and the centre reaches 72°C (160°F).
- Serve immediately in a split Brötchen, with a stripe of mustard and nothing else. In Thuringia the roll is a handle, not a bun.
Technique
- Everything must stay under 12°C (55°F) during mixing. Above that the fat smears, the emulsion breaks and the grilled sausage weeps fat and turns mealy.
- Thüringer Rostbratwurst is a protected regional name and is marjoram-led; Nürnberger Rostbratwurst are little 7–9 cm sausages, also marjoram-heavy, sold in threes in a roll.
- Never boil a raw Bratwurst before grilling. It leaches flavour and slackens the casing; if the fire is fierce, move the sausages to the cooler side instead.
- A brown, unbroken casing means the heat was right. Split casings mean the grill was too hot or the sausage went on straight from the freezer.
Substitutions
- No sausage stuffer: shape the mix into 20 cm cylinders in cling film, chill hard, then grill unwrapped in a heavy pan; you lose the snap of the casing.
- For the Nürnberger version cut the batch into 7 cm links in sheep casings and add an extra gram of marjoram.
Variations
- Thüringer Rostbratwurst, coarse and marjoram-scented, grilled over beechwood.
- Nürnberger Rostbratwurst, finger-sized, served drei im Weckla.
- Fränkische Bratwurst, fatter and often simmered in onion and vinegar broth as Blaue Zipfel.
History
The oldest surviving German sausage regulation is a Nuremberg statute of 1313; the city still fixes the size and content of its Rostbratwurst.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bratwurst?
Bratwurst is a street food from Germany: grilled pork sausage eaten in a roll with mustard. The oldest surviving German sausage regulation is a Nuremberg statute of 1313; the city still fixes the size and content of its Rostbratwurst.
How long does Bratwurst take to make?
Bratwurst takes 1 hr of preparation and 20 min, plus overnight resting of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings (8 sausages). It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Bratwurst?
Yes, within limits. No sausage stuffer: shape the mix into 20 cm cylinders in cling film, chill hard, then grill unwrapped in a heavy pan; you lose the snap of the casing. For the Nürnberger version cut the batch into 7 cm links in sheep casings and add an extra gram of marjoram.
What is the most important thing to get right in Bratwurst?
Chill the meat and fat to just below freezing, until the cubes are stiff at the edges. Cold meat is the difference between a juicy sausage and a greasy one.
