Mettwurst () is a strongly flavored
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
sausage
A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders.
...
made from raw minced pork preserved by
curing and
smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...
, often with
garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...
. The southern German variety is soft and similar to
Teewurst.
Braunschweiger Mettwurst is partially smoked but still soft and spreadable, while other northern German varieties such as Holsteiner are harder and more akin to
salami
Salami ( ; : ''salame'') is a ''salume'' consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature fo ...
, due to longer duration of smoking.
Etymology
The
Low German
Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...
word ''
mett'', meaning 'minced pork without bacon', is derived from the
Old Saxon
Old Saxon (), also known as Old Low German (), was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Eur ...
word ''meti'' (meaning 'food'), and is related to the
English word 'meat'.
Preparation and usage
Mettwurst can be prepared and eaten in a variety of ways, such as cooked or fried or spread on
rye bread with onions and eaten raw. When minced raw pork is prepared without curing or smoking, it is called simply
Mett. The skin is meant to be eaten and is typically not removed.
It is important that high-quality, fresh ingredients are used; otherwise, deadly microorganisms and toxins can develop. In January 1995, 23 children became very ill, one of whom died, which the coroner found was a result of eating garlic Mettwurst.
Outside of Germany
In
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
, due to large German immigration in the 19th century (to, for example, the town of
Hahndorf), Mettwurst (sometimes spelled "metwurst") is common: it is created in the northern German style and served as a
cold cut
Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, delicatessens, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in ...
. It is often consumed in school lunches and as a snack during parties.
In the United States, Mettwurst is most commonly associated with the city of
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, where it is regarded as a signature dish.
The town of
Mineola, Iowa, which was settled almost exclusively by immigrants from
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...
, hosts an annual heritage dinner with "Schoening-style" cold-smoked Mettwurst known in the
Low German
Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...
dialect as ''Metvuss''.
In Santa Catarina, Brazil, Mettwurst is known as Linguiça Blumenau. It is associated with the Vale do Itajaí region due to past German immigration.
Similar products
Finnish ''meetvursti'' resembles the Dutch
metworst or
salami
Salami ( ; : ''salame'') is a ''salume'' consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature fo ...
; it is dry, hard, strong-flavored and dense, and is eaten as a cold cut on bread.
See also
*
List of sausages
This is a list of notable sausages. Sausage is a food and usually made from ground meat with a skin around it. Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing (sausage), casing traditionally made from intestine, but sometimes synthetic. Some sausa ...
*
List of smoked foods
This is a list of smoked foods. Smoking (cooking), Smoking is the process of seasoning, flavoring, cooking, or food preservation, preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Foods have been smoke ...
References
{{Sausage
German sausages
Australian cuisine
Australian sausages
Cuisine of Cincinnati
Smoked meat
Raw sausages