Thüringer Rostbratwurst

The Thuringian grilling sausage of finely minced pork seasoned with marjoram, caraway, and garlic, cooked over charcoal and eaten in a roll with mustard

Origin: Erfurt & Thuringia

From the journey of Marjoram.

German calls marjoram Wurstkraut, the sausage herb, and the Thuringian bratwurst is the reason. It is a long, thin sausage of finely minced pork, sometimes with a little veal or beef, seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic and, above all, with marjoram and caraway, and it is grilled over charcoal and eaten in a crusty roll with a stripe of mustard. Within Thuringia itself the proportions are argued over by region: the east leans on caraway and the north on marjoram, and every butcher's mix is a matter of local pride. It is an old sausage. A document of 1404 in the archives of Arnstadt, recording money paid out for sausage casings, is usually cited as the earliest mention of the Thuringian bratwurst, and there is now a museum devoted to it near the town. The name Thüringer Rostbratwurst is protected in the European Union as a geographical indication, and sausages sold under it must be made in the state. The marjoram in it is increasingly German too. The Aschersleben district of Saxony-Anhalt, on the northern edge of the Harz, has grown the herb since 1890 and is now the largest marjoram-growing area in Europe, and packets are sold as Thüringer Majoran for exactly this purpose.

Ingredients

Sausage

1 kg pork shoulder with some fat (about 25 per cent), well chilled and diced
18 g salt
2 tsp dried marjoram, rubbed fine
1 tsp caraway seeds, lightly crushed
1 tsp white pepper, finely ground
2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
0.25 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
100 ml ice-cold water
3 m natural pork or sheep casings, soaked

To Serve

6 crusty bread rolls
6 tbsp medium-hot mustard

Method

Mix the diced pork with the salt, marjoram, caraway, pepper, garlic, and nutmeg, cover, and chill for an hour.
Mince twice through the fine plate of a mincer, then work in the ice-cold water with your hands for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture turns sticky.
Fill the casings loosely and twist into sausages about 20 cm long. Rest them in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or overnight.
Grill over medium charcoal for 12 to 15 minutes, turning often, until browned and cooked through.
Serve in a split roll with mustard.

Notes

Rub dried marjoram between the palms before it goes into the mix; it releases far more of its oil. Ketchup is regarded in Thuringia as a mistake.

The Gastrographer

Name: Thüringer Rostbratwurst
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 2 h 55 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Erfurt & Thuringia
Ingredients: 1 kg pork shoulder with some fat (about 25 per cent), well chilled and diced; 18 g salt; 2 tsp dried marjoram, rubbed fine; 1 tsp caraway seeds, lightly crushed; 1 tsp white pepper, finely ground; 2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste; 0.25 tsp freshly grated nutmeg; 100 ml ice-cold water; 3 m natural pork or sheep casings, soaked; 6 crusty bread rolls; 6 tbsp medium-hot mustard

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control