How to eat a Weisswurst

It’s pale, it’s a bit wobbly and you’re not supposed to eat the skin. Munich’s white sausage is the city’s favourite breakfast, and there are rules.

WEISSWURST: Nothing marks out a visitor in a Munich beer hall quite like the way they tackle their first Weisswurst. Slice it into rounds and eat the skin, and you’ll feel the eyes of the next table on you.
I’ve eaten my fair share over the years, in beer halls, at the market and round a friend’s kitchen table one February morning, which is where most of the pictures on this page come from. So here’s the lowdown.

THE FULL SET: Weisswurst in its tureen, a Weissbier, a Brezn and sweet mustard. This is breakfast. Picture: Stu Anderson

What is it?

A Weisswurst (Weißwurst in German, literally "white sausage") is a mild sausage made mainly from veal and pork back fat, flavoured with parsley, lemon zest, mace and onion. Crushed ice goes into the mix, which gives it that soft, fluffy texture. It’s never fried or grilled. You heat it gently in hot water and serve it in the water, usually in a little lidded tureen to keep it warm.

Born by accident

The story goes that it was invented on Shrove Sunday, 22 February 1857, at an inn on Marienplatz called Zum ewigen Licht. The landlord, Sepp Moser, was making his usual veal sausages when he ran out of the thin sheep casings. His apprentice came back with pig casings instead, which were too thick and tough to fry. Worried they’d burst in the pan, Moser poached them. The punters loved them, and Munich had a new breakfast.
Is it true? Nobody can prove it, but it’s a better story than "a butcher had an idea".

IN THE BATH: Weisswurst are served swimming in their hot water to keep them warm. Picture: Stu Anderson

Not after the noon bell

The golden rule. Old-school Munich says a Weisswurst should never hear the church bells ring midday. The usual explanation is that before fridges, a fresh sausage made at dawn needed eating by lunchtime. Another version says butchers sold them to tradesmen in the morning so the tables were free for the posher lunch crowd.
You can buy them all day now, and nobody will throw you out at 12.05. But order one at four in the afternoon and you’ll get a look.

How to eat one

THE AFTERMATH: Leave them too long in boiling water and they will explode! Picture: Stu Anderson

There are three ways, roughly in order of how Bavarian you’ll look.

1. Zuzeln. This is the proper local way. Pick the sausage up in your fingers, bite off one end, dip it in mustard and suck the filling out of the skin. Yes, in public. It’s messy, it’s noisy, and the old boys in the Viktualienmarkt beer garden do it without spilling a drop.

2. The cut and roll. Slice the sausage lengthways down the middle with a knife, then peel the skin away with your fork, rolling the meat out. Most visitors go for this one and it’s perfectly respectable.

3. The tourist slice. Cutting it into rounds and eating the skin. Don’t. The skin is pig gut, tough as old boots, and nobody eats it.

What goes with it

• Sweet mustard. Süßer Senf, the dark, sweet Bavarian sort. Not English mustard, not Dijon. Weisswurst without sweet mustard is just wrong.
• A Brezn. A soft, salty pretzel, torn up and dunked in the same mustard.
• A Weissbier. A wheat beer, at breakfast, and nobody bats an eyelid. This is called a Weisswurstfrühstück (Weisswurst breakfast) and on a Sunday morning it’s a ritual.

DUNK IT: A Brezn and sweet mustard. You’ll want more than one. Picture: Stu Anderson

Cooking them at home

If you buy a pack from a Munich butcher to take home (they travel fine if you keep them cool), here’s the trick: don’t boil them. Bring a pan of water to the boil, take it off the heat, slide the sausages in and leave them for about ten minutes. Boiling water splits the skins and you end up with something sad and grey.

LOW AND SLOW: Hot water, not boiling. The skins stay whole. Picture: Stu Anderson

READY: Fresh out of the pot. Now find the mustard. Picture: Stu Anderson

Where to try one in Munich

Pretty much every traditional beer hall and Wirtshaus in the city serves them in the morning, including the Hofbräuhaus. The stalls and beer garden at the Viktualienmarkt are a lovely spot for it too, and a good place to watch the experts zuzeln. Remember: get there before noon.

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