Mittelgrobe Bratwurst

Mittelgrobe Bratwurst

We ate these sausages on our trip to the far north of New Zealand. They emanate from the German Butchery in Haruru Falls in the Bay of Islands. I bought a few packets to take home and put in the freezer. These were eaten last night. As one of the kids said, "Dad is happy, it is a winter evening, the fire is going, sausages for dinner and the All Blacks are playing." My kids are quite perceptive, and my needs are quite simple - warmth, food and rugby. It’s quite good when the whanau are being nice to me as well!

I cooked the classic sausage and bean dish. An old standby - a recipe of onion, garlic, cannelloni beans and tinned tomatoes, with a splash of balsamic vinegar to add some acidity to the dish, with capsicum to round off the vegetable component. Good solid, warming winter comfort food.

I also used sremska from Park Avenue Quality Meats. These are the new longer version that Gordon the butcher is making. He says he sells more of this sausage in the thinner longer form. (see review 24 Nov 2012) This offers a choice for the kids. A mild sausage and a very spicy sausage. My boys thought the sremska was too spicy, however they did try it. My daughter thought it was spicy, but nice. My wife liked it. The education of the children in the pleasures of spicy sausage eating does not occur over night, and while they still prefer the milder sausages it is more for me.

 

The guys at the German Butchery in the Bay of Islands are friendly and, more importantly, they know how to made excellent sausages. The mittelgrobe bratwurst is a mild sausage with a pleasant meaty taste. Mittelgrobe translates into medium coarse bratwurst, with bratwurst being German for sausage. The meat used is pork. It is a precooked sausage with one third being a coarse grind and two thirds being a fine grind. Only pork is used - there is no filler. This is reflected in the taste. The sausage is lactose and gluten free. There is no colouring or chemicals used. It is made in the bowl cutter at the butchers, meeting the specifications for a 100% German bratwurst. The Germans are very good at ensuring that the standard is maintained for important products as sausages and beer.

Patrick and Michael the butchers tell me that this sausage was entered into a competition in Germany in 2002 where it won its class. 

 

 

But the key issue is what does it taste like? It is good, it has softer taste and will appeal to a wide range of people. It is a meat sausage as opposed to a spiced meat sausage. The kids really liked it. My wife was very keen. I was keen. I would definitely buy this sausage again.

I cooked six for the evening meal and six for Sunday. The sausages all disappeared from the fridge by lunchtime. A favourable verdict from the kids. They had eaten five of them before I got to fridge to consume the last one.

Cost per kilo: $16.95