Bratwurst

A bratwurst (German: Bratwurst, /ˈbʁaːtvʊɐ̯st/) is a sausage usually composed of,  or. The plural in German is Bratwürste.

The name is, derived from Brätwurst, from brät-, which is finely chopped meat and Wurst, or sausage. Though the brat in bratwurst described the way the sausages are made, nowadays Germans associate it with German verb “braten”, which means to pan fry or roast. Bratwurst is usually or, and sometimes cooked in broth or.

History
The first documented evidence of the Bratwurst in Germany dates back to 1313, and can be found in the Franconian city of, which is still an internationally renowned centre for the production of grill sausages.

Germany
Recipes for the sausage vary by region and even locality; some sources list over 40 different varieties of German bratwurst, many of the best known originating in (today for the most part situated in northern, but still culturally quite distinct), its northern neighbour  and adjacent areas. How the sausages are served is also locally different, but most commonly they are regarded as a snack served with or in a Brötchen (white made from  flour) and eaten with hot German. As a pub dish, it is often accompanied by or  and sometimes served with dark, crusty country bread made predominantly from  flour, less commonly with a. It is a very popular form of in German-speaking countries, often cooked and sold by street vendors from small stands.

Fränkische Bratwurst
The Franconian sausage is a relatively long (10–20cm), thick, coarse sausage, common to the whole Franconian region with slight variations. It dates back to 1573. With as a characteristic ingredient, it is close in taste to the Nürnberger Bratwurst but juicier, due to its size and coarseness. The Fränkische Bratwurst is traditionally served with or, but with no  — although many customers disregard this tradition and demand plenty of it.

Coburger Bratwurst
Bratwurst originating in the city of in Franconia was first documented there in 1498. It is made from a minimum of 15% veal or beef, and its seasonings include only, , , and. It is coarse in texture and measures about 25cm in length. Traditionally, it is grilled over pinecones and served in a bread roll (Brötchen).

Kulmbacher Bratwurst
The Kulmbacher Bratwurst, from the city of in Franconia, made mainly from finely ground veal, is long and thin.

Nürnberger Rostbratwurst
The small, thin bratwurst from Franconia's largest city, Nuremberg, was first documented in 1313; it is surprisingly small, being only 7 to 9cm in length and weighing between 20 and 25 g. Perhaps the most popular sausage in Germany, the denominations Nürnberger Bratwurst and Nürnberger Rostbratwurst (Rost refers to the cooking grate above the flames) are under EU law since 2003, and may therefore only be produced in the city of Nürnberg, where an "Association for the Protection of Nürnberger Bratwürste" was established in 1997.

-based and typically seasoned with fresh marjoram which gives them their distinctive flavour, these sausages are traditionally grilled over a beechwood fire. As a main dish, they are served in sets of six, eight, 10 or 12 on a plate (round but also frequently heart- or bell-shaped) with either sauerkraut or potato salad, and accompanied by a dollop of horseradish or mustard. They are also sold as a snack by street vendors as Drei im Weckla (three in a bun; the spelling Drei im Weggla is also common, Weggla/Weckla being the Nuremberg slang for Brötchen), with mustard being offered to spice them up to personal taste.

A particular way of preparing Nuremberg sausages without grilling them is to cook them in a spiced vinegar and onion stock; this variety is called Blaue Zipfel (blue lobes).

Würzburger Bratwurst
The Würzburger Bratwurst, also known as the Winzerbratwurst, comes from the city of in Franconia. Its size is similar to the Thüringer Rostbratwurst, but its ingredients include white.

Thüringer Rostbratwurst
The Thüringer Rostbratwurst is a spicy sausage from Thuringia. It is 15–20cm long and thin in shape, traditionally grilled over a charcoal fire and eaten with mustard and bread. The name Thüringer Rostbratwurst is also recognised as a PGI under EU law.

Triggered by the discovery in 2000 of an account entry of 1404 first mentioning the Bratwurst in Thuringia in the town of, the association "Friends of the Thuringian Bratwurst" was founded in 2006. In the same year, the association established the Erste Deutsches Bratwurstmuseum (First German Bratwurst Museum) in the village of. A two-metre-high wooden monument of a Bratwurst in a bun on a local traffic roundabout advertises the museum.

Nordhessische Bratwurst
The Nordhessische Bratwurst (from northern ) is similar to the Thüringer Rostbratwurst in taste. It is made from coarsely ground pork and is heavily seasoned. It measures around 20cm in length. Traditionally, it is grilled over a wood fire and served on a cut-open roll with mustard.

Rote Wurst
The Rote Wurst (red sausage) is a favorite Bratwurst of the region. It is similar to the Bockwurst, and is made from finely ground pork and bacon. Its taste is spicy. To prevent splitting during grilling or pan frying, an X is cut into the ends of the sausage. The ends open during cooking, but the rest of the sausage remains intact, giving it its traditional shape.

United States
Bratwurst is a common type of sausage in the, especially in the state of , where the largest ancestry group is German. Originally brought to North America by German immigrants, it is a common sight at summer cookouts, alongside the more famous hot dog. Wisconsin is also the origin of the "beer brat", a regional favorite where the bratwurst are poached in (generally a mixture of a pilsner style beer with  and )  prior to grilling over charcoal.

The bratwurst was popularized in in the 1920s. In general, each local butcher shop would take orders and hand make bratwurst fresh to be picked up on a particular day. The fat content of the sausages was substantial, making daily pick up necessary to avoid spoilage. Much of the fat was removed during the cooking over charcoal. Usually one kept a pan of cold water handy to the grill, so it was easy to dip one's fingers in and fling the water onto the flames caused by the burning of the excess fat. The bratwurst (or "brat") also became popular as a mainstay of sports stadiums after Bill Sperling introduced bratwurst to in  in 1953. The bratwurst were such a hit, Sperling said, that of the  took a case back to New York. Currently in  is the only baseball stadium that sells more bratwurst than hot dogs.

The town of (known as the "Bratwurst Capital of America") has held the three-day Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival annually since 1967.