How long do I warm Frankfurter Würstchen?

Warm Frankfurter Würstchen for 8 to 10 minutes in hot salted water off the heat. Bring 2 litres of water with 1 teaspoon salt to a boil first, remove the pot from the heat, add the sausages, cover, and let them warm gently without boiling.

Why should Frankfurter Würstchen not be boiled?

Do not boil Frankfurter Würstchen because hard bubbles can knock and split the delicate sheep casing. Boiling also pulls fat and smoke from the smoked pork sausage into the water, leaving the Würstchen dull, swollen, and less flavorful instead of juicy and snappy.

Should I prick Frankfurter Würstchen before warming them?

Do not prick Frankfurter Würstchen before warming them. The sheep casing holds the smoked pork sausage's fat and smoke inside while it heats gently. Poking holes lets flavor escape into the water and makes the finished Würstchen less juicy.

Can I use hot dogs instead of Frankfurter Würstchen?

Use real Frankfurter Würstchen when possible: slender smoked pork sausages in sheep casing. A thick hot dog is not the same ingredient because it warms differently and has a different bite. If substituting, keep the same gentle off-boil warming method and avoid a rolling boil.

Can I make the potato salad ahead for Frankfurter Würstchen?

Boil the waxy potatoes up to 1 day ahead, but dress the sliced potatoes while warm if possible. Warm potatoes absorb the stock, white wine vinegar, oil, and mustard dressing properly. The finished potato salad can stand for 30 to 60 minutes before serving.

What should I serve with Frankfurter Würstchen?

Serve Frankfurter Würstchen two per person with warm-dressed potato salad, German medium-hot mustard, crusty rolls or rye bread, and small pickles. Blot the warmed sausages briefly with tongs before plating so the mustard sticks instead of sliding off.

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Frankfurter Würstchen

Name: Frankfurter Würstchen
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 8 Frankfurter Würstchen; 2 litres water; 1 teaspoon salt; 800g waxy potatoes, boiled and sliced; 1 small onion, finely diced; 200ml warm beef or vegetable stock; 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar; 2 tablespoons neutral oil; 1 teaspoon German medium-hot mustard, plus more to serve; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 4 crusty rolls or slices of rye bread; Small pickles, to serve

Created by

The Frankfurt sausage lives by one quiet rule: warm it in water that no longer boils, or the sheep casing bursts and the smoke you paid for runs into the pot.

Sandwiches & Wraps

German

Weeknight

Quick Meal

Budget Friendly

10 min

Active Time

10 min cook•20 min total

Yield4 servings

Frankfurter Würstchen belongs to Frankfurt am Main, not to a beer tent and not to every sausage stand in the country. It is a slender smoked pork sausage in a sheep casing, set down for a quick meal with potato salad, mustard, and bread. Weeknight food, yes. Careless food, no.

Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. In Frankfurt, the Würstchen stays thin, gently smoked, and pale pink inside; in Vienna the related Wiener Würstchen often runs a little broader and may mix pork and beef. Berlin will put a sausage into curry sauce and call that dinner. Fine. This one is Frankfurt's table, and the mustard does not come sweet like Bavaria's white-sausage breakfast.

The whole technique is heat control. Bring the water up, take it off the boil, then lay the sausages in and let them warm through gently. Boil them hard and the tight sheep casing splits, the fat leaks, the smoke washes out, and you've made expensive cooking water. Runter mit der Temperatur. That is the recipe.

Serve them with Kartoffelsalat, potato salad, the kind dressed sharp enough to cut the smoke. A little mustard, a roll or rye bread, and nothing from the jar except the mustard if it is a good one. Schön ist, was schmeckt.

Frankfurter Würstchen are recorded in Frankfurt am Main for centuries and were served at the city's civic and coronation feasts, where the sausage trade was tied closely to local butchers' rules. Since 1860, the name has been treated in Germany as belonging to sausages made in the Frankfurt area, while similar sausages made elsewhere are usually sold as Wiener Würstchen. The regional argument sits in the casing and meat: the Frankfurt sausage is smoked pork in sheep casing, while the Viennese relative developed outside Frankfurt and often includes both pork and beef.

The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.

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Ingredients