One of the more surprising findings for me on this trip has been James’ growing love of Bavarian White Sausage, or Bayerischer Weißwurst (pronounced VICE-vurst). Almost every time we go out for lunch, he asks if they have it, and will easily take down two of these sausages without batting an eye. Of course he always has to share with his little brother, Henry, who loves it, too.
Weißwurst is a mild-flavored sausage that, so I’ve heard, is one of the first sausages that Bavarians will feed to young children because of its mild taste. I’m not sure, but I think it’s mostly veal and pork with very few seasonings. And it has as distinct white color which gives its name. It is mostly a morning food, not to be eaten after noon. It is usually served with a pretzel and a Weißbeer (for the adults, anyway).
But more interesting is that there is clearly a right way, and a wrong way, to eat this particular sausage. And not only is the right way the socially approved way, but it may ensure that you actually enjoy the sausage, rather than hate it, like I originally did.
The issue is the sausage casing. Unlike the brats and hot dogs that we are used to in America, Weißwurst has a tough, thick casing that is unpleasant to eat, and tough to chew (though some Bavarians do eat it this way, it is not the norm). The casing should be peeled off, by hand, and the meat eaten with sweet mustard (preferably “Händelmaier’s süßer Hausmachersenf“) using only your fingers, no fork. Alternatively, a hole in the casing can be made at one end, and the meat “sucked out” through the hole.
When I visited Germany right out of college with my friend, Will. I remember sitting in the Marienplatz in old town Munich and ordering a weißwurst for lunch since I had never had one before. Not knowing much about it, other than it looked like a white brat, I starting cutting it with a knife and fork, thinking that this particular dining establishement had messed up the sausage since the skin was so tough. I choked down half of the sausage before I couldn’t stand eating it anymore (solely because of the skin) and thought it was a big bust. I probably offended everyone around me with my clear breach of weißwurst etiquette.
But now, I have to admit, James is right. Bayerischer Weißwurst is pretty darn good, once you know how to eat it. While it is not common to find in the U.S., there is a great Bavarian sausage maker outside of Madison who makes traditional weißwurst, as well as other traditional German foods. You can check out their website here. And they ship anywhere in the U.S.!
And if you want to learn more, or just like watching videos of moderately goofy Germans who don’t speak terribly good english, check out the video below of Mr. Perkins showing you how to prepare and eat, weißwurst. Prost!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW-J84hYMfc