Germany - Weisswurst & Cold Cut Platter

Background
We started our research in the authoritatively named The German Cookbook by Mimi Sheraton. According to Sheraton's description, Germans have two breakfasts (like Hobbits!). The first breakfast is called Frühstück. It consists of some bread and coffee with milk, and perhaps an egg. The second breakfast is called Zweites Frühstück, or Brotzeit (bread time).  This meal varies according to region. In Munich it could be Weisswurst, bread, and beer; other locales would serve different meats and breads. One might also get a sweet breakfast in a pastry shop. We decided to focus on the Weisswurst, bread, and cold cuts because they are a combination of Bavaria (perhaps the most familiar cuisine outside of Germany) and other regions as well. We skipped the beer since we were just not up to drinking at nine o'clock in the morning, 80° or not!  (We had none, anyway.)

In our quest for good sausages and cold cuts we were fortunate to discover Karl's Sausage Kitchen in Saugus, MA. This store is exactly what we needed. They have a wide variety of sausages made and smoked in the building as well as many cold cuts, mustards, and something called triple smoked bacon (the store smells delicious!). The staff was very helpful in selecting a wide variety of cold cuts, head cheeses and the general differences between sausages. Fred in particular is very knowledgeable and gave us lots of advice.  When we explained the breakfast project, he also offered to sell us a few slices each of a wide variety of cold cuts, which is really above and beyond. We will call upon their services in the future.

We forgot to buy a cheese called quark so we tried an approximation we found on The Cook's Thesaurus.  We don't know how authentic it is, but it did use up the cup of ricotta we had leftover in the fridge.

Weisswurst

• Bring water to a boil.
• Remove water from heat and add sausages.
• Let sit for 8 minutes.
• Serve on the table in a bowl with some of the hot water to keep them warm.
• Do not use a fork to eat. Eating methods will be addressed below.

Fresh Cheese Approximating Quark

• Stir together one part sour cream and two parts ricotta, mixing until it has an even, creamy consistency.

Results and Discussion
Eating the Weisswurst can be done in two separate ways. The non-Bavarian method involves removing removing the skin from the sausage and dipping it in mustard. The Barvarian method involves sucking the filling out the sausage. Karl's website links to an instructional video which describes how to cook and eat the Weisswurst.



The video also notes that Weisswurst should not be eaten after noon (yes, the caption says 12:00am, but he means noon). This might be related to gremlins or a historical lack of refrigeration.

The cold cuts were fantastic and were made even better by it being 85° at 9 in the morning and helping to cool us down. Karl's provided a wide variety including bologna, beerwurst, veal loaf, onion bologna, and Zungenwurst.

This breakfast was quick, simple, and tasty. We hope to explore more of Karl's amazing sausages when we do more middle European countries.