Thüringer Rostbratwurst

Appearance & taste

The Rostbratwurst is at least 15 to 20 cm long and weighs 100 to 150 g. It is in a narrow natural casing, either pork casing or sheep casing, and is sold raw or scalded. The filling is medium-fine and not cured to a red colour; the taste is hearty and well seasoned.

The fat content is 20 %, with a margin of 5 percentage points either way. The share of collagen-free meat protein is at least 8.5 %.

Production

The sausage consists of roughly defatted pork and pork cheeks without rind; trimmed veal or beef may also be used for the sausage meat. The spice mixtures differ according to traditional recipe and region. Besides salt and pepper they include above all caraway, marjoram and garlic.

The entire production takes place in Thuringia. According to the specification, the sausage’s reputation rests on the skill and experience of Thuringian butchers and on the traditional recipes.

Origin & history

The first documented mention dates from 1404: an account of the Arnstadt convent of nuns, now in the State Archives in Rudolstadt, contains an item “darme czu bratwurstin”, that is, casings for bratwurst. According to the specification, the oldest known recipe is held in the State Archives in Weimar. It is in the “Ordnung für das Fleischerhandwerk zu Weimar, Jena und Buttstädt” (regulations for the butchers’ trade in Weimar, Jena and Buttstädt) of 2 July 1613. Another recipe is contained in the “Thüringisch-Erfurtisches Kochbuch” of 1797.

Martin Luther and Goethe were fond of the sausage, and in 1669 Grimmelshausen mentioned it favourably in “Simplicissimus”. In the GDR the name was used only as a genuine indication of origin, so it kept its link with Thuringia. Today almost all Thuringian meat and sausage producers make Rostbratwurst, and it is sold at grill stands of its own all over Thuringia.