1.8 Wurst

[Anush Faigley]

Easiestis to cut a slice, peel off the thin casing, eat that slice and repeat. It requires more dexterity and experience to slice gently through the entire length of the wurst, peel away the casing in one piece, then slice and savor each uncased slice.

The other reason Nuremberger brats are tinier than in the rest of Germany has to do with taxes. In the 1500s, the town council ruled that brats sold by street vendors had to be smaller than those sold by butchers or served in taverns, who paid larger taxes. Now, they all sell the same smaller size.

The Nuremberg Bratwurst Museum is across an old cobblestone street from the Henckel Museum, formerly the home of the town executioner, which is now a museum about the history of Medieval punishment. They are both a few hundred yards from the old jail with its large keyholes.

Blame World War II. The invention of currywurst is attributed to a woman who got Woresteshire sauce and curry powder from British soldiers and ketchup from the Americans and mixed them, adding chopped onion. She began selling her wurst and sauce concoction to construction workers rebuilding the war-torn city, and the rest is history.

The St. Galler Bratwurst, hailing from the Swiss town of St. Gallen, is a culinary icon, distinguished by its unique inclusion of milk and a special blend of spices including lemon zest, nutmeg, cardamom, and just a hint of mace. A fine mixture of pork and veal, this incredibly delicate, mildly spiced sausage is a testament to the art of Swiss sausage-making, offering a smooth, refined flavor that pairs beautifully with a variety of dishes.

They chose the name The Wurst Wagen because it reminds them of the wurst kiosks that they have visited in their travels around Germany. This inspired them to open a business that would draw on some of their favorite German food and the many discoveries that they shared in their travels.

Gerard was raised in Bavaria, Germany, in the small village of Siegsdorf. As a child he had many favorite German dishes, but Wuerste (sausages) were what he loved the most. He has many years in the food and restaurant industry and is energized to bring this love and experience to The Wurst Wagen. Gerard has a passion for traditional German recipes such as Curry Wurst, Wiener Wurst, and Nuernberger Wurst, and is excited to bring these and many others to you.

Gerard met his wife, Erin, in Columbia, South Carolina. It only took one trip to Germany for Erin to fall in love with the German food and the wurst kiosks. Erin has a business background with many years in finance and retail. It is this experience that keeps the wheels of the Wagen rolling.

Thringer Bratwurst: My personal favorite. This is a Bratwurst that is particular to the Thuringia region of Germany. This sausage has protected status, meaning that for a sausage to use the label it must be made according to proper specifications. The sausage has a very unique, peppery taste and is often substantially longer than a normal Bratwurst. This is a must try for anyone coming to Germany.

When the Green Bay Packers come to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans, the sweet smell of bratwurst roasting over charcoal will reflect off the stadium pavement in the most intoxicating vapor. It will carry me on a tsunami of memories to a magical place of contentedness.

That's because bratwurst are the divine conduit of all that is right and proper. It remains the only food that is required eating for sports-fan nourishment in a stadium parking lot. Anything else is just condimentary.

I know that's a deeply personal statement, and I do respect whatever tailgate traditions you might have. Really, I do, but coming from Wisconsin, I know I am right. I also have the full weight of authority on my side.

Once while interviewing then-Major League Baseball Commissioner Faye Vincent, I blithely asked him which stadium served the best food. He hemmed. He hawed. Then, after he cleared his throat and prattled on about how the commish loves all his children equally and couldn't ever play favorites, he served up this tidbit, "All I can say is that if you want a really great meal, you might try a bratwurst at Milwaukee County Stadium." That might be the best thing he ever said in his three-year tenure.

As if you needed any further convincing, when driving my son though the parking lot at Lambeau Field last year, the air drenched in a cold-hard rain, he exclaimed, "Dad, can you smell the brats?" Yes, some belief systems are founded on less.

Here's my step-by-step guide to take you to Bratwurst Valhalla. Having reached the "Golden Horn" level of the Meister Bratwrstschmecker Verein, I've already done the heavy lifting. Though you will no doubt feel compelled to throw gold coins at my feet, my reward is your satisfaction. Prost!

1. Buy fresh, not pre-cooked bratwurst: Locally, both Kroger and Publix carry their own brands, which are usually made by a third-party. The biggest company out of Wisconsin is Johnsonville, but I'm partial to Usingers. If you want to go all artisanal, which in this case is really just an old-school, multi-generational butcher shop, order from Miesfeld's (www.miesfelds.com) in Sheboygan, the bratwurst capital of the world.

2. Pre-soak your brats, but don't parboil or pre-cook: This is one of the hardest lessons I have had to learn. In Milwaukee and Green Bay, we are taught to make a mixture of beer and onions and pre-cook the brats so that all you have to do is throw them on the grill and brown them up. I now understand that this is brat sacrilege. I have begged forgiveness and received absolution from the angels and saints of Sheboygan. What you can do is pre-soak your brats in cold water or beer for about ten minutes, which softens the casings and helps keep them from splitting.

3. Cook your onions first: Back to those beer and onions. What the pros do is keep a foil pan filled with beer, sliced yellow onions and some butter on the grill. The heat will bring this magical mixture to a boil and once the onions are good and soft, this becomes the perfect holding tank for your brats once they are cooked. I like to add some salt to taste to help balance the sweetness, and for Lombardi's sake, don't use some fancy, bitter IPA or some other expensive craft beer. This is where Milwaukee's Best or Pabst Blue Ribbon can really shine.

4. Now it's grill time: Once your coals have simmered down to the white ash stage, or the color of Bears quarterback Jay Cutler's face when he sees Packers linebacker Clay Matthews coming straight at him, it's time to put your brats on the grill. The key here is to take your time, brown them slowly to keep the casings from splitting and turn, turn, turn them early and often. Go ahead and move them off direct heat if they seem to be cooking too quickly. Patience is your virtue here.

5. It's called a sandwich*: When you're ready to serve these objects of affection, you'll need the right kind or bread, or something close to it. In Wisconsin, it's called a Sheboygan hardroll, or what the Bavarians call semmel rolls, which are more round than long. The shape means you get to put two brats, side by side, like running mates who actually like each other. There's not really anything like that in Nashville except for the occasional Kaiser roll, but those are usually too soft and doughy. If you want to go native, you can order from the Sheboygan City Bakery (www.sheboygancitybakery.com). *Note: The Wisconsin State Legislature declared that the word "sandwich" means two brats on a hard roll.

6. Extra stuff: You might imagine that there's a clear consensus on what condiments to use, but no, there are so many conflicting schools of thought that it's best left up to freewill. Onions? Yep, raw and cooked. Ketchup? Sure, or the classic Brewers' special Stadium Sauce. Brown Mustard? You betcha. Sauerkraut? Ja! For my money, just some simple cooked onions will do the trick, and they really let the flavor of the bratwurst come through.

Warm-hearted and enthusiastic owners of The Wurst Sausage Grill in Healdsburg, Melissa and Kevin McDowell embody the entrepreneurial spirit, encouraging a community atmosphere that brings people back again and again, with its good-time relaxed vibe and proof that the noble dog, the hot dog and sausage to be exact, are the true taste of American summer.

In my lifelong love of all things lemon, I found the chicken lemon sausage to be a lovely combination of spices and lemon essence nestled in a delicious bun from Franco American breads with a generous serving of sauerkraut and sweet peppers. They are known for their collection of specialty mustards, and we lined them up to give each one a taste. The fries, with their delicate crispiness, are continually cut fresh to order and prove to be everything a French fry lover could ask for. One normally does not think of a hot dog or sausage as a meal, but as I ate the last bite, I could honestly declare that there was no need for dessert. Husband Terry had a satisfied smile on his face as he took the final bite of his Sheboygan bratwurst with sauerkraut and caramelized onions.

So while all the other kids were eating pizza and burgers, my brother and I were raised on knockwurst and sauerkraut. The only problem was that everything seemed to be cooked in bacon fat, even the vegetables.

One of my favorite main dishes is Rindsrouladen, or Beef Roll-ups. This consists of thin slices of beef spread with Dijon mustard, spices and chopped onions. The beef is then rolled around a dill pickle spear and vegetables. I omit the piece of bacon that usually goes on top of the onions.

Germans are very thrifty, and this recipe works best with a cheap cut of beef composed of a single muscle, such as rump, bottom round, top round or flank. Pick the meat and then have the butcher cut it into slices the thickness of a standard-size potholder. I usually take a potholder with me so the butcher can see what I want.

3a8082e126