What is your favorite kind of sausage? There are so many different kinds! Here are some of the main types:
Cooked sausages are made with fresh meats, and then fully cooked. They are either eaten immediately after cooking or must be refrigerated. Examples include hot dogs, Braunschweiger, and liver sausage.
Cooked smoked sausages are cooked and then smoked or smoke-cooked. They are eaten hot or cold, but need to be refrigerated. Examples include kielbasa and mortadella. Some are slow cooked while smoking, in which case the process takes several days or longer, such as the case for Gyulai kolbász.
Fresh sausages are made from meats that have not been previously cured. They must be refrigerated and thoroughly cooked before eating. Examples include Boerewors, Italian pork sausage, siskonmakkara, and breakfast sausage.
Fresh smoked sausages are fresh sausages that are smoked and cured. They do not normally require refrigeration and do not require any further cooking before eating. Examples include Mettwurst and Teewurst which are meat preparations packed in sausage casing but squeezed out of it (just like any other spread from a tube).
Dry sausages are cured sausages that are fermented and dried. Some are smoked as well at the beginning of the drying process. They are generally eaten cold and will keep for a long time. Examples include salami, Droë wors, Finnish meetvursti, Sucuk, Landjäger (smoked), Slim Jim, and summer sausage.
Bulk sausage, or sometimes sausage meat, refers to raw, ground, spiced meat, usually sold without any casing.
Vegetarian sausage refers to sausages made without meat, for example, with soya protein or with tofu or with herbs and spices.