Think of Germany, and many a stereotypical image – probably of beer, Lederhosen and Schnitzel – springs to mind. But there’s another image that probably gets there before the rest, and that’s of a lovingly grilled, mustard-slathered sausage. And not without good reason: the Germans each consume an average of 60kg of sausages per year, some 18kg more than the rest of the us (source). Boiled for breakfast, curried for lunch, sliced for supper, there’s almost nothing they won’t do with a Wurst.
There’s estimated to be over 1500 different types of sausages in Germany which is, of course, far beyond the number I will probably ever quite get round to listing here, but from now on, I’ll be introducing a sausage to you every now and then, and hope to slowly build up a comprehensive series. I’ll share many of the classics as well as some traditional ones that you may well never have heard of. I hope it will help you to decipher the odd menu and provide some assistance when you’re overwhelmed by choice at the butcher’s counter.
To start the series off, here’s a brief explanation of how German sausages are categorised, since they fall broadly into three main groups based on how they’re produced. If you’re vegan, you may wish to leave off here.

Kochwürste
Literally translated as “cooked sausages”, Kochwürste are those that contain meat or offal that is cooked, cured or smoked during their preparation; some also contain cereals such as oats or barley.
This type of German sausage can be further categorised by which additional ingredient is used to hold the meat together in its casing (or jar or tin): pâté-like liver sausages made with fat, which makes them good for spreading on bread; those that contain gelatin, such as corned meats or aspic terrines; and those that are held together with coagulated blood. Bar the blood sausages (Blutwürste), Kochwürste don’t take well to reheating because all these binding substances melt when they’re warmed up.
The most important thing to remember when buying and serving this type of sausage is that because of the nature of the ingredients, they don’t stay fresh for long, so you should eat them up within a couple of days of purchase.

Rohwürste
Rohwürste (raw sausages) are sausages that consist of raw meat – usually pork or beef – plus bacon, curing agents and spices and are smoked and/or fermented to preserve and flavour them.
Rohwürste are available either as soft, spreadable sausages to be served with bread, such as Teewurst and Mettwurst (the latter of which is also, slightly confusingly, used as a synonym for Rohwurst); or as firm sausages such as Salami, that are easy to slice.

Brühwürste
The word Brühwürste comes from the German word brühen, meaning to scald or blanch, though they are in fact produced using any method that involves heat. Brühwürste have a very firm consistency (think of a Wiener) and are compact enough to slice, making them ideal for serving as Aufschnitt (cold cuts) at, in the German tradition, breakfast or dinner.
Chunks of certain types of Brühwürste can also be added to soups, stews and potato or pasta salads; and strips of them used to create a rich, meaty salad of their very own. Brühwürste can also be served whole, warmed through in water, and some of them taste best fried or grilled.
So, before we begin, are there any requests? Let me know in the comments below if there’s a particular type of German sausage you’d like to know more about or learn what to do with…
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my favorites are the fleischwurst, remebering when my kids were younger or myself as a child , if you went to a deli counter or a butcher you would get a chunk of it to chew on while you are waiting, love the smell and the taste
That still happens 🙂 My husband has very happy memories of that as well, so he loves that our son is offered a piece every time we go to the butcher. And my son loves it, too 😉
All is good.
Hahaha! I’ll do my best! Could make for a very long series 😉
You forgot the Streichwurst! That is my favorite. I really miss Teewurst and Hackepeter in England! I love this post and cannot wait to learn more about German Sauasages!
Oh no… but Streichwurst is what I meant by “spreading sausages”?! Sorry! 😉 I haven’t heard of Hackepeter, I’ll have to look that up.
And thanks! 🙂
Hackepeter is fresh ground pork, often with onions and seasoned with salt and pepper. Yes, eaten raw, so like steak tartare minus the egg. I learned when I tried ordering it from a butcher cart at a weekly market that you can only buy it in the butcher (store or in supermarket), not from the carts. Good stuff when very fresh.
I’ve never eaten it, although it is possible to get it from one of the butchers I like at the Wiesbaden Wochenmarkt – I bought some to use for meatballs when I was after some Kalbsbrat (for salsify stew) but they didn’t have that or minced pork, so I got Hackepeter instead – though it’s known as Schweinemett round here 🙂 Wasn’t a good substitute for Kalbsbrat though, much too strong a flavour!
AMAZING!!
Hehe… THANK YOU!! 😉
Love this, and I look forward to being educated in all matters sausage! I am at times partial to the odd weisswurst down this way, but only if they are of extremely high quality, otherwise forget it! 😀
I totally agree with you, and in all honesty, because I can’t eat Brezeln I can sometimes only just make it through a pair of them. But don’t tell anyone 😉
Alles klar… Interesting. Will be re-reading this again.
Haha good! Glad it’s of use 🙂 I hope to build up a good catalogue of them eventually 🙂
We visited our Children staying in Munchen and experienced the different sausages in various towns and eating places while touring the country. Not forgetting a wonderful Oktoberfest
How fantastic! I hope you enjoyed all the different sausages 🙂
Have you ever heard of Renderwurst? I remember years ago my Germany relatives made it with beef and barley. I tried to find a recipe, but can’t seem to find anything called Renderwurst.
Hi Sandy, I haven’t heard of Renderwurst, but I had a look for you and amongst the various types of German beef (Rind) sausages there’s one specific to Westphalia – Westfälische Rinderwurst – made with beef, dripping, vegetables and pearl barley, which sounds like it might be what you’re thinking of? Is that of any help? (Apologies, the only English language link I could find was for a very brief Wikipedia entry!)