Berlin's Sausage Scene

Don't resign yourself to currywurst when visiting the sausage-forward capital

Thanks to BB and his soon-to-launch portable DJ mixer project, Drift, we had the occasion to travel to Berlin in May. While BB was busy attending Superbooth — an electronic gear wonderland and synth nerd convergence — I traveled around the city sampling sausages. 

While Berlin is perhaps best known for the currywurst, there’s no need to settle for a ketchup-slathered, skinless specimen when the German capital boasts a surfeit of superior sausages.

Let’s start with a familiar classic: the bratwurst. The myriad versions I’ve sampled in Chicago are similar in profile. Made from coarse-ground pork, beef or veal (or a combination of the three) and seasoned with black pepper, they are girthy and stubby and nestled into a chewy roll of nearly identical length. They are typically served with a sploosh of spicy, brown mustard and optional sauerkraut. I’ve had superior versions at Christkindlmarkt and Lincoln Square’s Maifest, where they are grilled until their blistered exteriors burst open to reveal juicy insides.

Christkindlmarkt brat, typical of the style found throughout Chicago

The bratwurst that I purchased from one of several stalls along the River Spree just opposite Museumsinsel (Museum Island) was remarkably different in appearance. It was slender and foot-long, poking out of crusty bread by an inch on either end. I loved that this format enabled several bun-free bites; I was able to fully appreciate the sausage’s nuanced flavoring (hints of nutmeg and coriander along with black pepper) and slightly finer-grind. 

Just look at that crisp, slender beauty!

The biggest revelation in comparison to the Midwestern brat was the snappiness of its casing. The membrane was delicate and tender, unlike that of any wurst or hot dog I’ve ever enjoyed. An open flame rendered the skin delightfully crisp, yielding to feathery-textured ground meat inside. 

The bratwurst was outstanding, but the highlight was the sausage sampler we enjoyed at Felix Austria (Bergmannstraße 26). A wurst teller is a beautiful thing because you get to try several sausage styles along with various mustards and side salads (cucumber/dill, potato and carrot salads are typical). At Felix Austria, the platter arrived with three sausages: Debreziner, Frankfurter and Käskrainer.

Debreziner, which takes its name from the Hungarian city of Debrecen, was a firecracker in appearance and taste. Its brick red color derived from a generous helping of sweet paprika, which was mixed with garlic, pepper and marjoram. Lightly-smoked and laced with small bits of fat, this pork sausage was feisty and robust.

On the other end of the spectrum was the frankfurter, the forefather of the American hot dog. This parboiled pork/beef mixture was subtly seasoned (I detected mild traces of onion, garlic and pepper) and yet its simplicity allowed for its expert construction to shine. Once again, the casing’s texture was perfect - the act of sinking my teeth into the sausage was super satisfying. I loved customizing bites with swipes of the two accompanying mustards — one pungent, the other grainy and sweet — and freshly-grated horseradish. 

The most glorious wurst of the trio was the käskrainer (sic), a lightly-smoked sausage shot through with bits of Emmental. That first gush of slightly-sweet, molten cheese surrounded by smoky meat was utterly sublime. BB and I devoured the single link quickly and without any adornment. It was so outstanding that we returned the following night so we could enjoy the käskrainer (one for each of us this time) all over again.

I felt it was my duty to try a currywurst in order to complete a thorough assessment of the capital city’s sausage scene, so on our final day BB and I ventured to Curry 36 (Mehringdamm 36), which often appears on the “best of” lists. The purist’s version of this Berlin classic is ordered  “ohne Darn,” which means “without skin.” 

In a city with some of the snappiest sausages known to man, the so-called “Pride of Berlin” is a skinless pork sausage that is boiled, fried to a crisp (in an ill-fated attempt to compensate for its missing casing) and drowned in a tomato-based sauce sprinkled with “curry.” Most of you already know my stance, as a devoted Chicago dog fan, on ketchup’s place in the world of wieners, so I’ll leave it there.

If you find yourself hungry at the end of a long night of drinking in Berlin, by all means, give the currywurst a whirl. But if you are at all serious about sausage, I encourage you to seek out the superior options. 

All photos by Jared Wheeler

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