What is a Mettwurst?
Mettwurst is a type of Rohwurst, or uncooked sausage, which was first recorded as existing around 500 years ago. It’s made from ground pork and finely chopped beef and, much like salami, is cured and cold smoked or air-dried. Mettwürste are usually formed long and thin, though this varies between regions, and their casings generally made from either pork or cow intestines.
There are also regional variations in their meat content and preparation. The lean pork might be ground finely or coarsely, mixed in varying ratios with the beef and/or pork belly, bacon or even turkey; the sausages smoked for varying lengths of time. Smoked for longer, as is common in the north of Germany, Mettwürste are harder, with a skin that snaps satisfyingly between the teeth when you bite one. In southern parts of the country, Mettwürste are often smoked for a much shorter period of time, resulting a sausage that’s so soft it’s spreadable*.
The smoking process gives Mettwürste a very strong flavour, one that’s complemented by regionally diverse seasonings. They can be flavoured not just with the usual garlic, pepper and spices such as caraway, marjoram or mace but also alcohol, from rum (Braunschweiger Mettwurst) to cognac (the version from Saxony).
How to eat a Mettwurst
Mettwürste are very popular as a snack, eaten as they are with a slice of bread. The firmer sausage variations are also used in soups and stews, or cooked and served with cabbage or kale.
*Not to be confused with the raw, spreadable Mett, to which I’ll dedicate another post another time.
So, these sound wonderful. This is not a common wurst that we can buy in the USA. Is there any recipe to make this delectable treat. I am sure that most hobby sausage makers would have the ingredients and equipment. A link to a recipe (even in german would be greatly appreciated).
Hi Dave, thanks for your comment. I’m afraid I don’t have a specific recipe to recommend as I’ve never made Mettwurst myself, however a quick google threw up plenty in both German and English – and a couple of great videos, too. There’s a chap called Michael Grabowsky who seems to know what he’s doing! He has the ingredients lists in both languages. Good luck with your sausage-making – let us know how you get on 😀
Mettwurst is a very tasty German sausage – as a German living in London I miss German food every now and then! Reading this made me seriously hungry 🙂
I hadn’t realized you were from Germany! 🙂 It seems like there’s a quite the variety of German restaurants and delis popping up around London now, but I suppose none of them are purveyors of Mettwurst 😉
We made the northern variation tonight with the sausage prepared by our local butcher and we cooked over a low fire. Had some fantastic local potatoes, onions and mushrooms with it. Cooked in a Dutch oven on our kettle grill. It was amazing and we will be having it again. Don’t think I’ll be able to convince my Pennsylvania Dutch wife to try the southern version, but Im intrigued. Absolutely a delicious sausage.
That sounds delicious! I’ll have to look up what a kettle grill is, I’m not familiar with that…
Kettle grill sounds like an old school Weber charcoal grill, without the lid it looks like a kettle.