Bavarian Weisswurst with Sweet Mustard and Pretzel

About This Recipe

Weisswurst is the most ritualised sausage in Germany — a pale, soft, parsley-flecked veal-and-pork-back-bacon sausage made in Munich since 1857, when the butcher Sepp Moser at the Gasthaus zum Ewigen Licht supposedly ran out of his usual lamb casings and improvised with thicker pork casings, producing a sausage that couldn't be browned because the casing was too thick. The accident became the rule: weisswurst must be poached in barely simmering water, never boiled or grilled, served immediately, and — crucially — eaten before noon. Munich tradition holds that the sausage should never hear the chiming of the Glockenspiel at the Marienplatz town hall at midday, because in the pre-refrigeration era it was made fresh in the morning and would spoil by afternoon. The accompaniments are non-negotiable: süßer senf (sweet Bavarian mustard, made with brown mustard seeds and caramel), a freshly baked laugenbrezel (lye pretzel) with a shattering brown crust and soft chewy interior, and a litre tankard of Weissbier — the cloudy wheat beer of southern Bavaria. The eating method itself is a Bavarian ritual: you can either zuzeln (suck the sausage out of its skin, the proper countryman's way) or cut it lengthways and peel back the casing with a knife and fork (the city manner). Either way the casing is never eaten. It is breakfast as theatre, lubricated with beer, taken slowly at long communal tables in beer halls or family kitchens across Bavaria.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 8fresh weisswurst sausages (look for Bavarian or proper veal-and-pork weisswurst from a German butcher)
• 1.5 Lwater
• 1 tspfine salt
• 1 smallyellow onion, halved (optional, for fragrance)
• 4 largefreshly baked Bavarian pretzels (laugenbrezeln)
• 1 jarsüßer Hausmacher senf (sweet Bavarian mustard, e.g. Händlmaier's)
• 4tall glasses or tankards of Weissbier (Erdinger, Schneider Weisse or Paulaner)
• 1 small bunchfresh chives, finely chopped (optional, for garnish)

Instructions

1. 1

   Bring the water to the right temperature

   Pour the water into a wide, shallow pot, add the salt and the optional halved onion. Heat over high heat until you see small bubbles forming at the bottom but the surface is not yet rolling — around 70–75°C/160°F. This is the most important step: never let the water reach a proper boil.

2. 2

   Add the weisswurst

   Once the water is at temperature, pull the pot off the heat for 30 seconds to drop the temperature slightly. Carefully slide in the weisswurst — they should sink, then gradually rise to the surface as they warm. Return to very low heat.

3. 3

   Poach gently — never boil

   Hold the water at 70–80°C for 10–12 minutes — barely trembling, with occasional small bubbles rising. If the water boils, the casing will burst and you will have ruined the wurst. Use a thermometer if you are unsure.

   A boiled weisswurst is an embarrassment in Bavaria; if it splits, the butcher would say you do not deserve weisswurst.

4. 4

   Warm the pretzels

   While the sausages poach, briefly warm the pretzels in a low oven (150°C/300°F) for 4 minutes to soften and freshen — they should be lukewarm with a glossy, slightly crisp crust.

5. 5

   Serve in the cooking liquid

   Use tongs to lift the weisswurst into deep individual bowls or one large bowl and pour over a ladleful of the hot poaching water to keep them warm at the table. The water should reach about a third of the way up the sausages.

6. 6

   Dress the table

   Place a small ramekin of sweet Bavarian mustard, a warmed pretzel, and a tall glass of Weissbier (poured with a tall, lazy foam crown) at each setting. Provide a small sharp knife and fork.

7. 7

   Eat traditionally

   Use the knife to slice the wurst lengthways down the centre. Peel back the casing with your knife. Cut the bare meat into bite-sized pieces, dip in mustard, and eat alternately with bites of pretzel and sips of beer. Or, properly, hold the wurst and suck (zuzeln) the meat directly out of the casing — the countryman's way.

Variations

• •

  Late Munich (post-noon) weisswurst — a 21st-century concession in beer halls catering to tourists, served all day. Bavarian purists disapprove.

• •

  Weisswurst-with-fried-egg — a modern Munich brunch interpretation, serving the sausage on a plate with a sunny-side-up egg and pretzel.

• •

  Mini cocktail weisswurst — small versions served at New Year's Eve parties, eaten with toothpicks and sweet mustard.

• •

  Käseweißwurst — variant containing small chunks of melted cheese, popular in Allgäu region of Bavaria.

Storage

Eat the same day. Uncooked weisswurst refrigerates 24 hours; cooked weisswurst should be eaten within 30 minutes of poaching. Do not refrigerate cooked sausages and reheat — the texture and food safety both suffer. Leftover pretzels keep 1 day, refresh in a low oven 3 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions