Germany—Sausages (Wurst)

German Entree

German Sausages
Wurst

Put the wurst of the year behind you with these delectable German  sausages.

From the deli in your local grocery store or a specialty food store, select a variety of German wurst (see sidebar). Prick them with a fork first to release fat. Then boil, grill or fry them.

Serve on a large platter, surrounded with warm sauerkraut and accompanied by different varieties of mustards (sweet, hot, coarse-grained, smooth), black bread, rye with caraway seeds, and white rolls. Add a bowl of German Potato Salad. Oh, and don’t forget the beer.

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Tips & Glossary

Beets: how to peel and cook beets is a matter of personal preference. You can cut off the tops, peel them with a vegetable peeler and boil them. Another method: leave on about 1" of the tops, wrap them in foil, and bake for 1 hour in a 350 oven. Cool and use rubber gloves, or handle with a paper towel, to prevent hands from turning...well, beet-red. The skins will slip right off. Most cooks say baking- then-peeling is the tastiest way to cook beets.

Ginger: dried ground ginger is far more potent than freshly-grated from the root Sweet dessert recipes call for ground powder. If you wish to use freshly grated ginger, use 6 times the amount of ground called for in the recipe.

Nutmeg: use small whole nuts and store them, tightly covered, in a dry dark area. Grate what you need using the smallest grating edge or grind in a food processor. What a difference from store bought ground nutmeg!

Wurst: German sausages— more types than you can shake a stick at. Here are several:
• Bockwurst: smoked; with veal, chives & parsley.
• Bratwurst: pale; with veal, pork, ginger & nutmeg.
• Knockwurst: short & plump, smoked; with pork, beef & garlic.
• Weisswurst: "white"; with veal, pork, cream & eggs.
• Wienerwurst: with beef, pork, coriander & garlic.
• Frankfurter: smoked; with lean pork & bacon fat.