Frankfurter Würstchen
The Frankfurter Würstchen (little Frankfurter sausage) is a thin, boiled sausage of pure pork in a casing of sheep's intestine. The special taste is acquired by a special method of smoking the pork. They are not normally cooked; they are traditionally heated in hot water for about eight minutes. Traditionally, they are served with bread, mustard, horseradish and/or potato salad.
Originally, they were made without nitrite curing salt. After the special ageing and smoking methods, the sausages, now of a golden colour, are put into wooden boxes with small parchment paper between layers. Therefore, the traditional sausages are square in shape but there are a few exeptions where the sausage is circular.
History
The name "Frankfurter Würstchen" has Protected Geographical Status in Germany since 1860, and since 1929 is only allowed to be used for sausages that are in fact produced in the area of Frankfurt am Main. There, this kind of sausage has been known since the 13th century.
Other countries
The name "Frankfurter" is mainly famous for the Frankfurter Würstel used in hot dogs and are called Wiener Würstchen in Germany. They were made by Johann Georg Lahner (1772-1845), a butcher trained in Frankfurt, who began to produce sausages in 1805 in Vienna from a mixture of pork and beef. They were successful in Austria, North America and other countries; though called "Frankfurters", they do not describe the "real" ones.
See also
References
- de:Frankfurter Würstchen| German article