Sausages Category

Sausages

A typical sausage consists of ground meat that's combined with fat, flavorings, and preservatives, and then stuffed into a casing and twisted at intervals to make links. Pork is most commonly used, but butchers also use beef, lamb, veal, turkey, chicken, or game, and some also use fillers like oatmeal and rice to stretch the meat a bit. Casings vary too--in addition to intestines or artificial casings, butchers sometimes use stomachs, feet, skins, or they do away with casings altogether and sell the sausage in bulk. After assembling a sausage, a butcher can either sell it as fresh sausage, or else cure, dry, or precook it in some way.

abruzzo sausage

abruzzese sausage

This a dry sausage from the abruzzo region of central Italy.

andouille, Cajun andouille, Louisiana andouille

This is a spicy smoked Cajun sausage that's used in jambalaya and gumbo. Don't confuse it with andouillette, a French sausage that's made from tripe.

andouillette

This tripe sausage has an unpleasant aroma and an assertive flavor, but while it's definitely not a crowd-pleaser, it's acquired something of a cult following. Larger sausages are called French andouille.

banger

Bangers are a mild British pork sausage.

bauerwurst, bauernwurst

This is a chunky German farmer's sausage that's often grilled and served on a bun or cooked with sauerkraut.

blood sausage, black pudding, black sausage, blood pudding, blutwurst

These eggplant-colored sausages are made of pig's blood mixed with fat, a filler like bread crumbs, and other flavorings that vary from region to region. They're usually sold precooked, but most people heat them before serving. Regional varieties include Germany's blutwurst, Louisiana's boudin rouge, and Spanish morcilla.

blutwurst

This is a spicy and salty German blood sausage made from pork, beef, and beef blood. Germans like to snack on it, or mix it with sauerkraut. It comes already cooked, but it's usually heated before being served.

bockwurst

This is a mild German sausage made with veal, pork, milk, and eggs, and seasoned with chives and parsley. You need to cook it before serving. Use it soon after you buy it--it's very perishable.

boerewors, boerewurst, boeries, wors

This is a spicy South African farmer's sausage, made with beef, pork, and pork fat, and seasoned with coriander. You need to cook it before serving.

boudin blanc

This is a white sausage made of meat (pork, chicken, or veal) and rice. France produces a very delicate milk-based version, while the Cajun version includes a lot of rice as a filler, making it chewier and more flavorful.

This Cajun specialty is similar to boudin blanc, except that it also includes pork blood. Use it soon after you buy it.

bratwurst

This is made with pork and sometimes veal, and seasoned with subtle spices. It usually needs to be cooked before eating, though some markets carry precooked bratwurst.

breakfast sausage patty

breakfast sausage patty

These pork patties are heavily seasoned. They're usually fried before serving.

This spicy pork sausage is used in jambalaya and other Creole and Cajun dishes. It's available either in links or patties, but it's hard to find outside of Louisiana.

chipolata sausage

chipolata sausage

This spicy pork sausage is used in jambalaya and other Creole and Cajun dishes. It's available either in links or patties, but it's hard to find outside of Louisiana.

chorizo, Mexican

chorizo, Mexican

This is fresh pork mixed with lots of spices. Don't confuse Mexican chorizo, which needs to be cooked, with Spanish chorizo, which is dry-cured. To make your own: See the Homemade Chorizo recipe posted on RecipeSource.com.

chorizo, Spanish

chorizo, Spanish

Don't confuse Mexican chorizo, which is moist and needs to be cooked, with the Spanish version, which is dry-cured and ready-to-eat. Spanish chorizo is made from pork, and it's very hot and spicy.

chourico, chaurico, chouriço

This is a heavily seasoned Portuguese pork sausage. Look for it in Portuguese markets.

cocktail wieners

cocktail wieners

These are smaller than hot dogs, but larger than Vienna sausages.

cotechino

This is a mild and fatty Italian pork sausage. The links should be pierced before cooking to allow some of the fat to drain out.

Cumberland sausage

Cumberland sausage

This British pork sausage is usually displayed in markets as a long coil, and it's sold by the length rather than by the link. It's often baked in the oven with cabbage and potatoes.

farinheiras

This Portuguese "flour sausage" is hard to find in the United States.

French andouille sausage

This is a French sausage made of tripe that has waned in popularity over the years as people have come to afford better cuts of meat. When formed into smaller links, it's called andouillette.

goetta

This is Cincinnati's answer to scrapple. It's a mixture of pork, beef, and oatmeal, and it's usually fried.

This is a family of German sausages made of pork scraps and a grain, like oats or barley. It's usually fried, much like goetta or scrapple.

grützewurst, grutzewurst

This is a German sausage sold in links that's usually not smoked, or only lightly smoked.

haggis

This large Scottish sausage is made by stuffing a sheep's stomach with the animal's heart, lungs, and liver, and then adding oatmeal, onion, fat, and seasonings. It's usually steamed before serving.

hot dog, frank, frankfurter, griddle, tube steak, weiner, wiener, wienerwurst

An American staple, hot dogs are mild, smoked, and usually skinless sausages that are traditionally served in a bun with relish and mustard. They've declined in popularity in recent years because they're relatively high in fat and sodium.

Italian sausage, hot Italian sausage, mild Italian sausage

Italian sausage

This is a pork sausage that's often added to pasta sauces. Varieties include sweet Italian sausage = mild Italian sausage, which is flavored with garlic and fennel seed, and hot Italian sausage, which also has a shake or two of crushed chile peppers. It's sold either as links or in bulk. Cook thoroughly before serving.

kielbasa, knublewurst, kolbasa, kolbasz, Polish sausage, Polnische wurst

Kielbasy are smoked Polish sausages made with pork and/or beef and flavored with garlic, pimento, and cloves. They come already cooked, but most people heat them before serving.

kishke, der·ma, kishka, kiska, kiske, kiszka, stuffed derma

This Jewish specialty consists of beef intestines stuffed with matzo meal, onion, and suet.

knackwurst, knoblauch, knockwurst

These smoked beef sausages are seasoned with lots of garlic. They should be cooked before eating, and they're often served like hot dogs or smothered in sauerkraut.

kolbasz

This Hungarian sausage is similar to Polish kielbasa, except that it has paprika added to it.

landjager, landjaeger

Landjager is a dried, smoked German sausage that needs no refrigeration. Its name comes from "lang tige," which means "smoked for a long time" and "jäger," which means hunter, and refers (one hopes) to it being a convenient snack for hunters to bring on their excursions. Landjager fills the same niche as the American Slim Jim, but it's chewier and less greasy. Look for thin flat sticks of it in German delis.

lap cheong, Chinese dried sausages, Chinese sausage, lap chong, lap chung

These pork sausages look and feel like pepperoni, but they're much sweeter.

linguiça, Portuguese sausage, linguisa, linguica

This is a spicy Portuguese smoked garlic sausage. You need to cook it before serving it.

longanisa, longaniza

Longanisa is a Filipino sausage that resembles a chorizo. It's often served for breakfast in the Philippines.

This spicy Greek sausage is made with lamb, pork, and orange rind. Cook it before serving

medisterpoelse sausage

medisterpoelse sausage

This is a Danish pork sausage. Cook it before serving.

merguez sausage, mirkâs

merguez sausage

This North African lamb sausage is seasoned with garlic and hot spices. It's often used in couscous dishes.