Thuringer Sausage – A Delicious Regional German Classic

You want a regional specialty from Thuringia? Then I have just the right thing for you today!

I’ll show you how you can make a “Thüringer Bratwurst” -> German for “Thuringer Sausage”  yourself. Delicious!

You will find a complete list of ingredients, materials and a simple recipe that you can copy immediately.

Thüringer Bratwurst is easy and quick to make. So perfect for beginners. The preparation takes about 45 minutes. 

But enough talking now. You can watch the complete instructions either via video or read them here. I wish you a lot of fun and good luck!

Thuringer Sausage – What do you need to make it?

Important: Thüringer Rostbratwurst is a regional Thuringian specialty and protected by EU regulation.

According to this regulation, it is at least 15 cm long, medium-fine and in a narrow natural casing (pork or sheep gut), raw (for immediate consumption) or scalded and has a hearty, savory taste.

The ingredients are described as follows: coarsely defatted pork, pork cheeks without rind, possibly stretched veal or beef for the sausage meat, not reddened; the spice mixtures vary according to the handed-down recipe or regional characteristics; in addition to salt and pepper, caraway, marjoram and garlic are used in particular.

Because there are so many different recipes, I have added 3 more recipes at the end of the article.

But now to my recipe…

The equipment to make Thuringer sausage

Meat Grinder

You need a meat grinder to “grind” the meat. The grinder chops the meat into small chunks which then can then be mixed.

Spice Grinder: 

If you want to grind your spices The spice mill grinds the spices while the mortar crushes or grinds the spices. 

Food Processor / Thermomix / Sausage Cutter

The texture of this sausage is very fine. Therefore, you need a food processor or dedicated machine to cut the meat mixture as fine as possible.

Sausage stuffer

You need a sausage stuffer to get your meat mass into the casing. If you are starting out you can also add an attachment to your grinder or use a modified plastic bottle or funnel.

Sausage casings

Thuringer Sausage is traditionally filled into natural casings.

I recommend hog casings caliber 28 / 30. If you like to make thinner sausages, sheep casings caliber 20/22 are very good.

If you would like to prepare the sausages without casing: You can just form the mass into patties and fry them out without a casing or preserve them in a jar.

Step-By-Step Instructions

1

Cut the meat

Cut the pork shoulder and belly into pieces that fit your grinder.

2

Grind the spices

Grind the spices finely so they distribute evenly through the mixture.

3

Season and chill the meat

Mix the spices thoroughly into the meat. Chill in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Cold meat grinds better and produces a finer mixture.

4

Grind the meat

Grind the chilled meat through the smallest plate (3 mm). Thüringer is a medium-fine sausage; use a 4.5 mm plate if you prefer it coarser.

5

Make the sausage mixture in the food processor

Put the ground meat, cutter aid and crushed ice in the food processor. Process at medium speed until the mixture binds and looks sticky and slightly glossy.

6

Put on the casing

Put hog casings caliber 28/30 onto your stuffer or grinder attachment. A sausage stuffer makes this fine mixture much easier to fill.

7

Prepare the sausage stuffer

Put the mixture in the stuffer and press slowly until the air has escaped and the mixture is visible. Tie a knot in the casing.

8

Fill the sausages

Fill carefully. Important: Don’t overfill the casings or they can burst on the grill.

9

Link the sausages

Link the sausages. The protected Thüringer Rostbratwurst is at least 15 cm long, but choose your own size at home. Turn neighboring links in opposite directions so they don’t unwind.

10

Your Thüringer bratwursts are ready

Your Thüringer sausages are ready. They taste best fresh from the grill with mustard, a roll or potato salad. Find more ideas in my sausage recipes. Enjoy!

3 additional Thuringer Sausage recipes

There is not THE ONE Thuringia and therefore I have added some more recipes here. 

The respective origins are also linked but are in German.

Thüringer Bratwurst – Otto Valten (Stadtilm)

Meat per kg:

• 30 % veal
• 20 % lean pork
• 10 % pork backfat
• 10 % pork cheek
• 10 % pork belly

In addition, 0.6 – 1 egg and 100 ml milk per kg

Spices per kg meat:

• 20 g salt
• 3 g pepper
• 1 g caraway
• 0.8 g nutmeg

Thüringer Bratwurst – Herbert Tatzel (Arnstadt)

Meat per kg:

• 50 % pork belly
• 50 % pork shoulder

Additional 2 eggs per kg and 100 ml milk. Breadcrumbs as required

Spices per kg meat:

• 18 g salt
• 2.5 g pepper
• 1 pinch of caraway
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• 1/4 clove garlic

Thüringer Rostbratwurst – Opa Jochen

Meat per kg:

• 35% pork shoulder
• 15% back fat
• 50% pork belly

Additional 14% crushed ice / ice water

Spices per kg meat:

• 18g salt
• 4g white pepper
• 1g ground caraway
• 3g caraway seeds crushed
• 2g nutmeg
• 4g cutter phosphate

Find more ideas in my bratwurst collection, or try bratwurst with beer and sauerkraut.