Nuremberg Rostbratwursts
Ingredients and production

A good recipe is typically quite simple. It’s all about the quality of the ingredients and careful preparation. Premium quality meat, aromatic herbs and spices, and the skill in sausage-making passed on from generation to generation are what makes the Nuremberg Bratwurst into a mouth-watering morsel.

OFFICIAL RECIPE

“Alle sweinen lentpraten sol man in die wurste hacken. Swer si anders verkoufft, der gibt zwên schilling, als dicke und er daz tůt” (“Only prime pork cuts shall be used in the sausages. Anyone selling sausages made differently shall pay two shillings for each offense.”)

The official recipe for the Nuremberg Bratwurst is stated in the Record Book of the Nuremberg Butchers’ Guild and forms the basis for the quality classification of the sausage for its Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). The official recipe is as follows:

Base ingredient:

  • Pork meat, roughly trimmed of fat
  • Natural herbs and spices with marjoram clearly visible

Special features:

  • Medium-chopped
  • No filler
  • Not cured
  • In a tight sheep’s casing, twisted into 7–9 cm links
  • Unit weight raw: 20–25 g
  • Typical marjoram seasoning

Analytical values:

  • Meat protein free of connective tissue: not less than 12%
  • Absolute fat content: max. 35% 

 

ARTISANAL PRODUCTION

  • 1

    Natural ingredients

    The basic ingredients for the Nuremberg Bratwurst are pork meat, salt, pepper, and marjoram. Each butcher may also introduce subtle flavor notes – a pinch of allspice, a little mace, a touch of lemon – as they see fit.

  • 2

    Mincing, seasoning, and mixing

    The raw meat ingredients are first processed unseasoned in the meat grinder. The meat is minced until it has achieved a “medium” coarseness. The herbs and spices are then added, and mixed evenly with the sausage meat.

  • 3

    Filling

    The sausage mixture is now added to the filler. At the filler outlet, the soaked sheep’s casings are pulled onto a nozzle. The portion weight is set accordingly and the mixture is then filled through the nozzle into the casings. Whether a “Wörschdla” ends up shorter or longer depends on the casing quality: as a natural product, this can be thinner or thicker and therefore more or less elastic.

  • 4

    Separation and preparation for sale

    The Nuremberg Bratwurst links are still connected, so they are now separated from one another and carefully stacked in layers for presentation at the butcher shop’s counter.

    Even in large production facilities, the bratwursts are still filled by hand, with a machine then used for separation. To ensure a longer shelf life, Nuremberg Bratwursts are blanched before being packaged.