First, we have different kinds of Bratwurst everywhere in Germany. Some of the main differences are
- is the sausage raw or precooked (raw is usually the better quality),
- is the sausage finely, medium-finely or coarsely ground (coarsely is better),
- is it in a casing or not,
- which kind of meat is used, just pork (standard) or poultry, beef, venison, veal or even horse meat,
- how is the seasoning (e.g. with herbs or with chili),
- has it additional ingredients (e.g. cheese or wrapped with bacon)?
Second, there are regional specialties.
The most famous German region for Bratwurst is Thüringen. The Thüringer Bratwurst is made from the Boston butt, so it is less fatty than regular Bratwurst. The kind of seasoning varies even within Thüringen:
- In East Thüringen the sausage is seasoned with caraway.
- In North Thüringen people love majoram.
- Middle Thüringen has garlic.
- In Southern Thüringen only salt and pepper are used.
Franken is also famous for its Bratwurst, especially Nürnberg. The Nürnberg Bratwurst is in a sheep casing and hence, it is very small - just 9 cm long while regular Bratwurst is 20 cm long. Also, in Nürnberg marjoram is used for seasoning, but also pepper, chervil, cardamom, ginger and lemon.
Berlin has Bratwurst without casings, due to a lack of casings after WW II. But the people got used to it and like it better today.
I also like the Bratwurst from the Black Forest, which is rather coarse, meaty and typically served with brown gravy and roasted onions.
Here a few pictures:
Raw Bratwurst:
Venison Bratwurst (raw):
Beef Bratwurst (taw):
Bratwurst with cheese and chili (precooked):
Bratwurst “snail”:
Bratwurst from Thüringen (raw):
Thüringer Bratwurst, grilled:
Bratwurst from Nürnberg:
Bratwurst Black Forest style:
Berlin Bratwurst without casing:
Bratwurst from Franken with Sauerkraut:
Regular Bratwurst in a roll with mustard:
Currywurst: Bratwurst with ketchup and curry powder:
