My backyard is officially winter-dead. Not to be confused with dead-dead. I expect a full recovery in a few months.
Everywhere we go, we have the option to eat a bratwurst. The bratwurst is to Germany as the burger is the United States. Along with soft pretzels, schniztel, etc. Yeah, there’s a lot of amazing food in Germany.
I can’t get over how delicious German brats are. They are nothing like brats I have ever had. I always thought a brat was a brat was a brat with the only variable being the seasonings, but that’s absolutely positively not true. In Germany, we have many different flavors and types of brats. Veal, pork, beef, poultry…coburger, wurzburger, and my favorite, currywurst, just to name a few.
Remember that in German, “w” sounds like “v” so you say “brat-vurst.” Sehr gut!
Fun fact about the bratwurst: It was made popular in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin (shout-out to my WI cousins!) in the 1920s by the German immigrants. If you are ever in Madison, WI on Memorial Day, you can go to the Brat Fest, which is billed as the “world’s largest bratwurst festival.” Sounds…bratty.
I decided to try my hand at making the currywurst at home because a) they are so good and b) I want a recipe that I can share with you so you can try currywursts too! And guess what?
I think I nailed it.
Currywurst
adapted from my cranium with assistance from Fix-it-&-Forget it
- 8 bratwursts
- 12 oz beer
- 1 cup chili sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp paprika
Boil bratwursts in water in skillet for 10 minutes to remove fat. Drain brats and place in slow cooker. Mix together remaining ingredients in a medium sized bowl and pour over meat. Cook on LOW for 4-5 hours.
Ideally, you will want to serve these with straight up pommes frites or french fries. I didn’t have any in the freezer so I went with leftover mashed sweet potatoes. They are good, but to be honest with you, the fries are essential to this meal. You could also serve with with Brötchen (bread roll). The fries or bread are delicious dipped in the sauce.
Also, I used a hefeweizen which is a wheat beer. In Germany, the darker and chewier the beer, the closer it is to being a meal in and of itself. I thought the wheat beer would suit this recipe nicely. The sauce still tastes great, but it was slightly bitter and it smelled bad. I mostly blame the beer.
Now, the problem with you trying this recipe at home is that you don’t have access to the amazing bratwursts that we have available here, but make do with what you can find. Try to pick a plain brat, not one that has been pre-seasoned or anything fancy. You can use beef, pork, chicken, turkey…whatever kind of brat you fancy!
What makes this sausage so good is the sauce. I didn’t have any curry powder and I was too lazy to run to the store to grab some, so I made it without, but I think this recipe is very similar to what I was shooting for. If you’re feeling ambitious, please try adding a teaspoon or two of curry powder to the sauce and report back to me! I’m curious.
Stay tuned for a Glühwein post! I’m just giving you all kinds of reasons to be German for a day, aren’t I?
ENJOY!
World Traveller says
Currywurst was invented by Herta Heuwer in Berlin in 1949 as an affordable but filling meal for the people of Berlin at a time when food was in short supply.
When you order your Currywurst you can ask for it skin on “Currywurst mit Darm” or without skin “Currywurst ohne Darm”. Sausage casings were in short supply in the Soviet-controlled side of the city. If you grew up in East Berlin, you like sausage without skin; if you grew up in West Berlin, you probably prefer sausage with skin.
I’m not from Berlin, I prefer Currywurst without skin and in my opinion the best place to get it is from Fritz & Co (a Currywurst stall) on Wittenberg Platz in the Schöneberg area of Berlin.