Best Eastern German Sausage Types
This is a specialty blood sausage made from pork, a small amount of pork liver, and spices and seasonings such as salt, black pepper, marjoram, allspice, cloves, and onions. It can often be found in butcher shops throughout Thuringia, and it has been prepared and consumed for centuries at farm slaughter festivals.
Today, it is produced all over Thuringia by several major producers. Thüringer Rotwurst is known in the region as the "queen of black pudding".
At least 51% of the ingredients for this liver sausage must come from Thuringia. Added spices and seasonings such as salt, braised onions, ground pepper, and Thuringian marjoram give this sausage its special flavor. After preparation, the sausages are cooled and cold-smoked over beech wood until they reach a golden-yellow color.
This delicacy enjoys a reputation as one of the most beloved sausages of the region. The tradition of preparing these sausages is as long as the Thuringian butcher's trade itself. Nowadays, Thüringer Leberwurst is still made at farm slaughter festivals and eaten fresh from the sausage pan.
Entrepreneur Friedrich Heine made it big in 1896 when he introduced a national specialty known as Halberstädter Würstchen to the global market. His jarred, preserved sausages travelled well and were able to be distributed far and wide, and they quickly gained popularity far outside of Germany's borders.
The company was expropriated by the East German government in 1948, and its name was changed to VEB Halberstadt Meats. The smoky flavor of these long and thin sausages in sheep's casings results from a patented, traditional method of smoking in a chimney over a beechwood fire, combined with long ripening times of 24 to 36 hours.
This traditional sausage from the historic Eichsfeld region located between Thuringia and Lower Saxony is known far beyond the borders of its home region. The sausage consists of diced and seasoned pork that is stuffed into hand-stitched, bubble-like casings of pork skin or intestines. Feldgieker is air-dried and cold-smoked for up to one year until it develops the desired flavor.
It acquires its unique flavor from the hot processed pork and a special blend of spices including garlic and coriander. The sausage is manufactured manually according to tradition, which has remained unchanged over the past 300 years. Feldgieker is a popular snack on hikes through Eichsfeld and it's usually eaten with a slice of bread.
Best Eastern German Sausages
Kringelwurst is a traditional German sausage, known for its unique shape and distinctive taste. This sausage is usually made from finely minced meat, typically pork, and is seasoned with a variety of spices to give it a flavorful and savory profile.
What makes Kringelwurst stand out is its ring-shaped formation, which is often the result of the sausage being twisted into a coil. This distinct shape is part of what makes the sausage visually appealing and gives it its name. Kringelwurst is often enjoyed grilled or fried, and it's a popular dish at German barbecues and festivals.
It can also be paired with bread, mustard, or sauerkraut for a more traditional meal.
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