By Isla Quinn
Finger-sized. Browned at the edges. Three of them in a split roll, mustard on top, and steam in the cold air. That is a Nuremberg sausage at the Christmas market, and it is smaller than you expect.
What it is
Wikipedia gives its size as about 20 grams, 7 to 9 cm long and 2 cm across. The Christkindlesmarkt website, the official market site, says 7 to 9 cm and 20 to 25 grams, so the weights differ a little. Wikipedia lists pork without tendons or rind plus bacon, flavoured with marjoram, pepper, chervil, cardamom, ginger, lemon and salt, in a sheep casing, and adds that mixtures vary by producer. The market site says only “marjoram-flavoured pork sausages”. We do not give a recipe. None of these pages does.
Three in a roll
The market site explains Drei im Weggla as three small sausages in a sliced hard roll with mustard. Wikipedia gives the same dish. The city tourism office says the sausages are typically served in groups of six, eight, ten or twelve, and the market site agrees. They come with mustard or horseradish, called Kren locally. Wikipedia names sauerkraut, potato salad or horseradish as sides for a main meal. The tourism office adds sauerkraut, potato salad and farmer’s rye bread.
Some restaurants serve them on pewter plates, some heart-shaped, rather than in a bun, according to the tourism office. It also mentions Saure Zipfel, sausages simmered slowly in a vinegar-and-onion broth that can turn them light bluish-grey, hence “blue tails”. It says the broth holds vinegar, onions, wine and spices.
What the protection says
The name is a protected geographical indication, registered by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1257/2003 (Official Journal L 177, 16 July 2003). The tourism office and the market site say it must be made inside Nuremberg’s city limits to an official traditional recipe, and can carry the EU seal and its own “Original” seal. Wikipedia says only producers in the city can sell products as Nürnberger Rostbratwurst within the EU.
In plain terms: if the package says Nürnberger Rostbratwurst with the EU seal, the sources say it was made in Nuremberg. If it says “Nuremberg-style”, we have no source on what that covers.
Dates in order
- About 1300: Wikipedia says historical sources date the recipe to this time.
- 1313: the tourism office says the city council first codified the recipe, calling for whole pork pieces (“sweinen lentpraten”, old German).
- 14th century: the same office dates the Bratwurstglöcklein tradition to this period. We have no source on what it was beyond the name.
- 1497: the market site says the standard size and content were first set down.
- 16 July 2003: EU registration, Regulation (EC) No 1257/2003.
Three dates for a very old recipe: 1300, 1313, 1497. They describe different acts, a recipe, a council rule and a standard, so they may not clash. We cannot tell from the pages.
The keyhole story
The market site records a legend: the sausages had to fit through the keyholes of the city gates and, after hours, the keyholes of pub doors. It is offered as a legend. Wikipedia adds that Goethe reportedly had the sausages mailed to Weimar. We have no document for either.
The grill
The tourism office says one restaurant, the Historical Bratwurst Kitchen “Zum Gulden Stern”, roasts its sausages fresh daily over a beech wood fire. We have no source on how stalls at the market cook them. The market site says only that they are grilled fresh.
Where it fits in December
The market site is the Christkindlesmarkt’s own, and it presents the sausage as a must-try during the Christmas market. That is a promotion, and we say so. We give no market dates or hours. Check the city’s own site.
Questions a buyer would ask
Does the seal guarantee marjoram? The market site calls them marjoram-flavoured pork sausages, and Wikipedia lists marjoram first among the flavourings. The seals tell you where they were made and that an official recipe was followed, according to the tourism office. They do not tell you the exact mix, which Wikipedia says varies by producer.
Is a sausage from another Franconian town the same thing? Both the tourism office and Wikipedia tie the protected name to production inside Nuremberg. About other towns’ sausages the pages say nothing, so we say nothing either.
Can I take them home? We have no source on carrying food across borders. Check the rules of the country you are travelling to.
What kind of sources these are
Wikipedia, a city tourism office and the market’s official site. The second and third are promotional. None is a food-standards document, so the recipe and the register entry should be read at source.
What we left out
Restaurant names beyond the one the tourism office names, prices, and any ranking of who makes the best one. We do not know, and neither do the pages.
Quick answers
Is Nürnberger Rostbratwurst protected? Yes. It is a protected geographical indication, registered by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1257/2003 in July 2003, and it must be made in the city.
What does Drei im Weggla mean? The Christkindlesmarkt website says it is three small sausages in a sliced hard roll with mustard.
How big is a Nuremberg sausage? Wikipedia says about 20 grams, 7 to 9 cm long and 2 cm across. The market site says 20 to 25 grams.
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Roam first. Shop later.