Make Wellwurst yourself – White or red both delicious
- Type
- Pre-cooked sausage
- Level
- Easy
- Rating
- Rate this recipe
In this post I’m going to show you how to make your own Wellwurst.
The Wellwurst is a Silesian cooked sausage specialty. There a white and a red Wellwurst. The red one is made with blood. I’ll show you both varieties in this post.
Traditionally, the Wellwurst is served with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. Personally, I like to eat it with a rustic farmhouse bread.
Here you can find the complete Wellwurst recipe as a video or to read through.
Have fun and good luck making it!
Table of Contents
Wellwurst – What do you need to make it?
Ingredients per 1 kg
| Ingredient | Grams | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| pork belly | 500 g | 50 % |
| pork liver | 250 g | 25 % |
| kaiser roll | 125 g | 12.5 % |
| rind | 125 g | 12.5 % |
Spices per 1 kg
| Ingredient | Grams |
|---|---|
| onions | 75 g |
| lard | 75 g |
| salt | 20 g |
| white pepper | 2 g |
| marjoram | 2 g |
| thyme | 1 g |
| nutmeg | 1 g |
The equipment to make Wellwurst
You need a meat grinder to “grind” the meat. The grinder chops the meat into small chunks which then can then be mixed.
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.
Spice grinder / mortar
To grind your spices, it is best to use a spice mill. Alternatively, a mortar is also suitable. Or you can use already ground spices. I recommend to grind them yourself.
Casings
You need casings for the sausage. The size is up to you. I recommend 28/30 caliber pork casings.
Alternatively, you can fill the sausage into jars and boil it down.
Make Wellwurst – Step-By-Step Instructions
Cut the rind into strips. It is important that they later fit into your meat grinder. I recommend here really sharp knife, because the rind is very difficult to cut.
Cook the rind for about 1 hour. The rind should be covered with water. It should not be mushy after an hour but soft. You should be able to easily push it through with a fork.
Cut the pork belly into strips. You can adjust the size depending on how big your grinder is.
Cook the pork belly for about 30 minutes in 80 degrees Celsius (176 F°) hot water. After 15 minutes you can add the liver and cook it.
Grind your spices to a fine powder.
Now soak your Kaiserroll with some broth water. You can use the water from the pot with the meat pieces and the liver.
Now grind the pork belly together with the onions, the rind and the Kaiserroll.
I use the finest perforated disc. But you can also put everything through the finest perforated disc if you want to make a finer sausage.
Add a little broth water and the spices to the mixture and mix. The consistency should be a little more liquid than you might think. It will firm up again during cooking.
Optional: for a red Wellwurst you can add 15% blood.
pull the casing onto a funnel or sausage filler.
Now fill your sausage meat. Alternatively, you can also fill the sausage into jars and boil it down.
Put the sausage in a pot and poach it at 75 C° (167 F°) for 1 minute per mm caliber. This means for pork casing caliber 28/30 for 30 minutes. When you have filled the sausage into jars, you can boil it at 100 C° (212 F°) for about 2 hours.
Your Wellwurst is ready 😄. Enjoy it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between white and red Wellwurst?
What is the difference between white and red Wellwurst?
Both start from the same mixture. Pork belly, liver, rind and the soaked Kaiser roll go into the grinder for either one, and everything up to step 9 is identical. The red Wellwurst then gets pig’s blood stirred into that mixture, which is what step 9 is there for.
The blood is the whole difference. It darkens the sausage and leaves a faintly mineral note behind it. The white one stays milder and tastes closest to a liverwurst, which is why it is usually the one people make first. Both are traditional, so this is a matter of taste and not a matter of getting it right.
Why is there a bread roll in the Wellwurst?
Why is there a bread roll in the Wellwurst?
The Kaiser roll is the filler, and it is also where the sausage gets its second name: in Silesia you will hear Semmelwurst, after the Semmel that goes into it. Step 6 soaks it in the broth from the pot the meat cooked in, so it reaches the mixture already carrying the liquid and the flavour.
That soaked roll is what makes the finished sausage velvety instead of grainy. It holds the liquid and the fat together while the sausage poaches, which is why step 8 tells you the mixture should look a little more liquid than you would expect. It firms up again in the pot.
How long is the shelf life of the Wellwurst?
How long is the shelf life of the Wellwurst?
Keep the jars in the fridge and use the sausage within 2–3 weeks. When opening, look, smell and taste! If you use a casing, you should store the Wellwurst in the refrigerator and consume within max. 10 days.
