Guide: Facts About Thuringian Sausage – Fat Content, Calories, Weight & More

Fat sizzles out of the Thuringian sausage on the grill. In the bun, it still tastes juicy and crisp. This guide breaks down exactly what is inside the crispy-brown natural casing.

Nutritional Value Of Thuringian Sausage Depends On Regional Ingredients

The distribution of ingredients in Thuringian sausage depends on various factors. Primarily, the quality of the meat determines the fat content. Traditionally, shoulder pork is used. Additionally, some family businesses add a good amount of veal or beef. The higher the pork content, the fatter the final Thuringian sausage.

Part of the basic ingredients is coarsely ground through a meat grinder, another part of the meat is finely processed into a paste. Before filling the pork natural casing, coarse and fine ingredients are mixed together. Because of the different mix ratios, some Thuringians know their sausage as coarse, others as fine. Every sausage fan has their personal preferences here.

It is possible to determine the fat content of Thuringian sausage by the weight of the raw sausage. However, a good amount of fat is lost during grilling with the famous sizzle on the grill. Maybe two-thirds remain and give the finished, crispy-brown sausage its aromatic taste.

Average Nutritional Information Of A Thuringian Sausage

Besides the fresh meat components, the original Thuringian sausage contains ingredients like salt and pepper, and depending on the family recipe, crushed or ground caraway seeds, rubbed marjoram, or finely chopped garlic. These spices affect the overall nutritional value less than the weight. Overall, the following values make up the taste and energy content of a Thuringian sausage:

Thuringian Sausage Fat Content

A raw Thuringian sausage contains 36 grams of fat in 120 grams total weight. If the pork content is higher, it can be up to 40 grams. Leaner variants include more veal and beef. In any case, the fat content of Thuringian sausage does not fall below 30 grams per 120 grams of raw mass or 28 grams per 100 grams of raw weight.

When grilling on the grill, about two to three grams of this fat are lost. The rest makes the sausage juicy. A small amount of moisture is also lost in the form of meat juice. However, due to the pork natural casing, the loss is minimal. When frying in the pan, the loss of fat and meat juice in Thuringian sausage is even lower.

Technically, the fat content in Thuringian sausage also includes the thin but firm natural casing. Regional butchers use two different thicknesses for this. However, what remains of the fat when roasting, grilling, and frying is barely calculable in percentage terms under zero-point something.

Thuringian Sausage Calories

The nutritional value listing for calories in Thuringian sausage also refers to 100 grams of raw sausage. It officially amounts to 362 kcal. These are distributed as 30 grams of fat, 17 grams of protein, and just over three grams of carbohydrates.

Realistic nutritional calculators take into account weight and fat losses and come to a less calorie-heavy grilling result after practical tests. Accordingly, the Thuringian sausage retains 274 calories, 24 grams of fat, and still 16 grams of protein.

Calories in Thuringian sausage significantly increase with side dishes. Traditionally, it’s accompanied by a roll with at least 310 kcal, plus some mustard with at most three kcal on the sausage. A portion of homemade potato salad without mayo supplies an additional 140 kcal, depending on the ingredients (regionally varying with egg, pickles, and onion).

Thuringian Grilled Sausage Weight

A Thuringian grilled sausage has a weight of at least 120 grams raw. Precooked Thuringian sausages usually weigh around 150 grams, coarse raw sausages about 130 grams. For fine, raw Thuringian grilled sausages, weight and length can slightly vary, as is typical with handcrafted products.

Freezing reduces the weight after thawing mainly due to moisture loss. During grilling, a few grams of fat are lost. Therefore, the regulation always specifies the raw, individual sausage at the butcher's display. Even mass-produced industrial sausages must adhere to these specifications in random samples.

Thuringian Sausage Size

The size of Thuringian sausage is quite clear-cut and exact. The length is precisely specified according to EU regulations: a genuine Thuringian sausage must be 15-20 centimeters long – no more, no less.

Popular Side Dishes For Thuringian Sausage

Thuringian sausage is always served in a roll for eating by hand. Although ketchup is available at sausage stands, it is used mostly by tourists. Thuringians prefer their sausage with medium-hot mustard.

Those who take more time for a break and a meal will find that hiking restaurants and inns serve Thuringian sausage with potato salad. Mustard in a side glass accompanies the homemade cuisine between Rennsteig and Thuringian Basin.

A less common and more southern Thuringian menu variant with Thuringian sausage includes fried potatoes and sauerkraut. This is a historically documented variant of farmers who often only grew potatoes and white cabbage and fed a piglet for the winter. Thuringian sausage for this variant is often seasoned with marjoram, as it grew better on the poor mountain soils in southern Thuringia than other herbs.

More Interesting Facts About Thuringian Sausage

1. The genuine Thuringian sausage has a protected geographical indication (p.g.i.), meaning it can only be produced in Thuringia.
2. Annually, the "International Sausage Festival" takes place in Holzhausen, a district of Arnstadt in Thuringia, where several regional sausage producers present and offer tastings of their products.
3. Thuringia even has a Sausage King crowned each year at the Sausage Festival.
4. A legend says that Thuringian sausage was invented by monks in the Middle Ages who roasted the meat on wooden sticks.
5. Thuringian sausage is also very popular outside of Germany and is, for example, also offered in the USA and Australia.

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