Mettwurst


 * This article is about the German sausage, for the similarly named Dutch sausage see Metworst



Mettwurst is a strongly flavoured sausage made from raw minced, which is preserved by  and smoking. The southern German variety is soft and similar to Teewurst. Braunschweiger mettwurst is smoked somewhat but still soft and spreadable, while other northern German varieties such as the Holsteiner are harder and more akin to salami, due to longer smoking. The word mett, meaning minced pork without bacon, is derived from the  word meti (meaning food), and is related to the  word 'meat'. Mettwurst can be cooked or fried or spread on with onions and eaten raw.

Due to the large German immigration to (for example, the town of ), mettwurst (sometimes spelled metwurst) is very common and is created in the North German style. It is often used in school lunches and for snacks during parties. Well-known South Australian brands include Linke's, Steiney's, Kalleske, Wintulich, Smallgoods of the Riverland and Barossa Fine Foods.

The town of, which was settled almost exclusively by immigrants from , hosts an annual heritage dinner with "Schoening-style" cold-smoked Mettwurst known in the dialect as "Metvuss".

It is important that high quality, fresh ingredients are used otherwise deadly microrganisms and toxins can develop. In January 1995, 23 children became very ill, one of whom died, which the coroner found was a result of eating garlic mettwurst on 20 January 1995 made by Garibaldi Smallgoods Pty Ltd of Adelaide, South Australia.

meetvursti resembles the Dutch metworst or salami: it is dry, hard, strong-flavored and dense, and is eaten as a cold cut on bread.