Descriptions:
Bratwurst (schwowisch:
Brootworscht) was made of lean
(about 70%) and fat (about 30%)
pork. The spicing added to the
ground mixture (salt, garlic,
paprika, pepper) was as described by
a few readers of this site, although
everybody had their own recipe (in
our place a little cloves and nutmeg
was added). The casings were the
small intestines, cleaned and turned
inside out. The people involved in
the proceedings of the 'butchering
day' took part in the evening meal
(sometimes called 'Sautanz'; 'Metzelsupp',
etc) at which some of these fresh
sausages were served fried. As the
raw sausages would not keep for
long, and fridges or freezers were
not available, most sausages were
placed into the 'smoking chamber', a
room in the attic of every house,
right below the chimney crowning
each house. The dry, smoked sausages
would keep for a long time, just
hanging in the 'Speis' (storage
room). They could be eaten 'raw' and
tasted almost like salami (see
below), or they could be boiled in
water and eaten with boiled
sauerkraut and potatoes, or with
boiled bean 'Zuspeis', as a main
meal. They could also be eaten cold
with bread and pickled peppers or
dill pickles as a secondary meal. A
few of the fresh (non-smoked)
sausages would be fried in the pan,
then placed in a jar, and covered
with the fat from the frying pan.
The full jars would keep in the
storage room for a reasonably long
time. These could be warmed up at
any time, and tasted almost as good
as the fresh ones.
Leberwurst (schwowisch:
Lewerworscht) was made from boiled
pork (mostly fat?) and pork liver,
with the appropriate spicing. The
casings were the large intestines,
cleaned, boiled, and turned inside
out. It was usually eaten within a
short period of time, although some
people smoked theirs. It tasted
pretty much like the 'liverwurst'
available in many European
delicatessen stores "in the major
cities"(?!).
Schwartelmagen (schwowisch:
Schwartelmaa) was made from (boiled)
skin (Schwarte) and some meat from
the jowls, tongue, etc. with a
specific spicing. It had that
jellied appearance of, well,
headcheese. The mixture was placed
into the pig's stomach, after it had
been cleaned and turned inside out.
It was eaten cold (storage room
temperature) with bread and pickles
(or onions, or garlic).
Salami
was usually made on special
occasions, not on the day of
butchering the pig. It was also
available from the village butcher
shop. The pork meat was reserved
beforehand, often together with some
lean beef or venison, and hang out
to dry at below-freezing
temperatures. The casings were
larger than those used for the
sausages, as seen on most of the
salamis available at a butcher
store, delicatessen, or even
supermarket here in North America.
The usual assortment includes Genoa,
Hungarian, Black Forrest, Dry,
Summer, and many other salamis, some
smoked and others non-smoked. The
homemade salamis kept almost
indefinitely, without refrigeration.
They were usually eaten "as is",
without cooking. I remember eating
them even without bread.
