"sausage" news and stories

Happy Bratwurst Day!

Named for its preparation ("brat" and "wurst" indicate fried sausage in Old High German), bratwurst is a hefty, hearty sausage packed with potent flavor. The German pork-and-veal sausages are typically seasoned with spices including nutmeg, ginger and coriander or caraway.

While bratwurst is known in the U.S. as a specific type of sausage, throughout Europe "bratwurst" strictly refers to the type of preparation. The sausages can be grilled, smoked, pan-fried or baked and are often paired with sides of potato salad, fresh bread and sauerkraut. They're often simmered in beer to enhance both flavor and texture -- for a hearty fall dish, we suggest Bobby Flay's beer-simmered bratwurst with onions and red cabbage sauerkraut.

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It's time for food-fair aficionados to loosen their belts or, better yet, don elastic-waist pants. From plentiful strawberries to mudbug stranglers, local festivals are beginning to bloom -- beauty pageants included. As you'll see, most of the featured events are in the South. With the spring harvest, the South gives good reason for belly-stuffing.

West Tennessee Strawberry Festival, May 2-8, Humboldt, Tenn.: Kick off May in the South by munching on strawberries at tractor and horse shows, recipe competitions, two parades as well as races at which you can burn off those sweet calories. There will be fireworks following the official opening ceremonies on May 3. No word on whether there will be any strawberry-shaped pyrotechnics.

Dermott Crawfish Festival, May 14-15, Dermott, Ark.: In its 27th year, this festival pays homage to the delectable freshwater crustacean in its myriad presentations, including the popular boil. If you plan on attending, please remember the proper method of eating crawfish -- "suck the head, pinch the tail" -- and you'll get the most out of the rides, vendors and live entertainment.

American Craft Beer Week, May 17-23, Nationwide: What's a month without a beer festival? This isn't the only beer bash in May, but it is the largest. From sea to shining sea, get your suds on when craft breweries, beer bars and homebrewers raise their collective pints in your honor.

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

A sausage ricotta arugula pizza will cure hump-day doldrums.

Poll: Who doesn't like cooking with animal fat? Bacon, anyone?

Iron Chef Michael Symon cooks breakfast at Williams-Sonoma to promote his new cookbook, co-authored by Michael Ruhlman.

Transform Thanksgiving leftovers -- odds are you still have some -- into a Kentucky Hot Brown sandwich.

Test your knowledge of Texas' beloved Dr Pepper.

Once the food coma of Thanksgiving passes, it's time to consider Christmas foods.

Stuff stockings with these essential food-inspired gift ideas.

Barbecue ribs. Photo: biskuit, Flickr.

Oktoberfests are ubiquitous this month. For those not interested in the chug-a-thons and oompah bands, check out this list of alternative options.

Dixon Lambtown USA, Dixon, Calif., Oct. 3: Break out the mint jelly! Attendees can participate in such culinary slugfests as the National Lamb Ribs Eating Contest and Barbecue Cook-Off, not to mention a shearing competition and sheepdog trials. For the kiddies, there's Mutton Bustin' -- a buckin' bronco bruising of the woolly kind.

The Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival, New York, Oct. 8-11: Hosted by and benefiting the Food Bank for New York City and Share Our Strength, this festival brings the toque and the home cook together. Everyone from sous chefs to casserole queens can attend wine seminars, recipe-creation panels and cooking demonstrations. For the kiddie cook, check out the Kids Get Cooking! series. Your favorite celebrity TV chefs will be there, en masse, including Ming Tsai, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray and Anthony Bourdain, as well as culinary heavyweights such as Sue Torres, Marcus Samuelsson, Odette Fada, Daniel Boulud and David Chang.

Photo: Jennifer Iserloh.

I'm not sure how this myth got started -- I used to believe it too, before I met my husband, who grew up in Germany. Every time I tell someone I'm making schnitzel for dinner, they talk about hot dog buns and sauerkraut. Then they try to convince me that I really meant sausage and they will go as far as to ambush random passersby to help corroborate their story.

In truth, the word schnitzel comes from the German term "schneiden" which means to cut, so schnitzel means cutlet. Thus, Wiener Schnitzel is not a cut-up hot dog, but rather a "cutlet from Vienna or Wien." See how I make it after the jump.