In preparation for this evening I made a trip back to Boulangerie Atlantique to pick up my order of brezel. Also bought some more Weisswurst (yum ;-)
The owner encouraged me to complete my purchase with some of their fresh Black Forest Plum cake for dessert (didn't take a whole lot of convincing).
Apparently the cooking method for the Weisswurst isn't the only unique thing about these white sausages. There is an art to eating them as well. In fact I discovered there exists a book -
"The Essential Weisswurst Etiquette Guide” (intriguing that someone actually wrote a book on this topic).
You might ask yourself 'why does one need to know how to eat Weisswurst?' Well, Weisswurst is a very traditional dish in Bavaria, Germany. Therefore eating Weisswurst the wrong way runs the risk of breaking with traditions, dining etiquette and, in the worst-case scenario, offending the feelings of Bavarian natives.
To properly eat Weisswurst you need three additional things: mustard , pretzels and beer .
Mustard
There are several kinds of mustard available, but only a few mustards are an appropriate side order for Weisswurst. The mustard you need is called 'sweet mustard' or 'Weisswurst mustard'. 'Weisswurst mustard' is coloured brown with a slight touch of green and tastes very mild and a bit sweet as opposed to hot mustards which are of a yellowy-green colour and taste very spicy. All other kinds of mustards ('half-hot mustard', 'hot mustard' or any kind of mustard blends) are definitely not for use with Weisswurst.
Some people eat their Weisswurst with the wrong mustard or even worse, with ketchup. This is considered to be a sin in Bavaria. Some very traditional pubs won't even serve Weisswurst with something other than 'sweet mustard'. If you order Weisswurst in a pub like this you will get Weisswurst with the correct mustard, or NO WEISSWURST AT ALL.
Brezel
Pretzels are also very important. Eating Weisswurst without pretzels is impossible for most Bavarian people, because they always go together. There are some arguments about the correct 'Weisswurst to pretzel ratio'. Some people say you should eat one pretzel with each Weisswurst, others think that one pretzel is sufficient for a pair of Weisswurst - this is also the most common practice.
This also shows you that Weisswurst is normally ordered in pairs – could be the reason for the strange look I got from the guy when I picked up my dozen brezel and asked him to include a dozen Weisswurst (silly Canadian doesn't know anything!)
Beer
Weissbier is apparently the most common drink that is consumed with Weisswurst and the one that was recommended to me. The owner of the shop didn’t have Weissbier but said Bitburger would be acceptable as you should NEVER mix the north with the south. He also said that some of our provincial liquor stores (SAQ) carry Weissbier so will get that for another occasion.
Now for the consumption technique:
Zuzeln: (oh my!).
Zuzeln is a term in Bavarian slang and means sucking (oh this just keeps getting better and better). The technique is as follows: the first half of the Weisswurst filling is sucked through one open end of the Weisswurst. After that, the rest of the Weisswurst filling is sucked through the other open end. You may notice that in order for this technique to succeed, the Weisswurst must be open at both ends.
Therefore you have to cut off the knots and metal clips that may sit on the ends of the sausage before starting to suck. You should also notice that you use your hands for this technique - don't even try to work it out with a knife and a fork.
You should be warned that Zuzeln is the most complicated technique. If you are not trained to eat your Weisswurst this way, it might end in a mess. It is an art to use this technique without disgusting the other guests.
First you should probably watch this technique several times before applying it yourself. For your initial tries you should especially be careful with your teeth, since the Weisswurst peel is very delicate. If the peel becomes perforated by your teeth, sucking will become impossible. The second thing that is very hard to accomplish is the elegant handling of the empty Weisswurst half when starting to suck at the second end. Since the empty half looks like a condom - which is not very appetizing - you should cover it with the palm of your hand. The same applies if you have finished eating the whole Weisswurst. Then you should try to elegantly put the peel on the plate without dangling it around.
First slicing, then peeling: This is an easier technique for eating Weisswurst. First you have to cut your Weisswurst in slices of about one or two centimetres in thickness. After that the trickier part starts. You have to remove the peel from each of the slices.
Ripping and slicing: This is the easiest, but also the most brutal technique. First you rip the Weisswurst along one side. Then you remove the peel, and finally you slice the sausage and eat the slices.
Conclusion: eating Weisswurst is in fact an art or as was described to me ‘pure science’.
When Francois finally returns from all his travels there will hopefully be a little left over for him. .....maybe.....
