Bratwurst is a dish ofGerman origin. It is a type ofsausage. It is composed ofpork orbeef, and sometimesveal.
Bratwurst is a sausage inGerman cuisines, fromOld High Germanbrätwurst, frombrät which is a derivative of the Old High German word "brato". "Brato" originally meanthacked meat,intestines. The other part of the word iswurst which means sausage.
Though originally Celtic in origin, the German "Bratwurst" comes fromFranconia, specificallyWeißenburg-Treuchtlingen.[1]
There are many different kinds of these sausages. All are special in their own way:
A "Bratwurst meal" often is eaten withsauerkraut, mashedpotatoes and roastedonions. Sometimes, it is also served with a potato sauce, or a potato salad.
Today, most kinds of Bratwurst are prepared by roasting them. Depending on the kind of Bratwurst, it may have been cooked beforehand. Sausages that use raw meat, and that are not roasted or cooked before they are eaten are usually not called Bratwurst.
The sausage is usually eaten with a hot or sweet Germanmustard or sliced and eaten asCurrywurst. Sometimes, some hotFrench mustard is served as well. Bratwurst is almost always served with a hard German roll and usually accompanied by abeer. It is a popularsnack in German-speaking countries, where it is sold at variousfast food outlets and is often consumed while standing.
In the United States, bratwurst are usually eaten with bread (ahot dogbun or a hardroll, for example) and topped with mustard and/or many of the othercondiments often eaten withhot dogs, including onions (grilled and/or raw), relish, sauerkraut, etc. The bratwurst is occasionally eaten with a pair of brat links nestled in a buttered hardroll with these same toppings, which is called a 'double brat'.
Within the US, bratwurst is strongly identified withMilwaukee,Wisconsin, and other areas in a band stretching from the north side ofChicago up throughMinnesota and scattered pockets elsewhere in theMidwest.
They are especially popular in areas of the US whereGerman-Americans settled in large numbers, likeSheboygan, Wisconsin, which is informally known as theBratwurst Capital of the World because of the city and county's very strong German roots and connections to bratwurst.Johnsonville Foods, the nation's largest bratwurst maker, is based in the nearby unincorporated village ofJohnsonville. The city also celebrates Sheboygan Bratwurst Days, a community festival held on the first Thursday-Saturday ofAugust each year that celebrates the bratwurst. Other traditional Wisconsin brat manufacturers includeKlement's Sausage Company and Usinger's, both of which are based in Milwaukee.
The city ofMadison, Wisconsin, holds an annual festival billed as the World's Largest Brat Fest. The four-day charity event sees tens of thousands of brats sold by "celebrity" cashiers, usually local television, radio, and government personalities. Brat Fest's self-proclaimed world record is 189,432 brats consumed during the 2004 event.
Another town with German-American roots associated with bratwurst isBucyrus, Ohio, which is known for its unique recipe incorporatingfennel. It holds a bratwurst festival annually in mid-August attracting over 100,000 visitors annually.[1]
Bratwurst(s) is/are often simply calledbrat(s).