The following glossary is adapted from ”The Complete Sausage Cookbook”
(San Francisco Book Co.; 1977).
ANDOUILLES, ANDOUILLETTES. French. These are pork chitterlings or tripe sausages seasoned with pepper, salt, nutmeg, ginger and cinammon. Sometimes bay leaf, onions and mushrooms or parsley are added. Andouillettes are simply small andouilles.
AUGSBURGERWURST. German. Lean pork and bacon fat seasoned with salt, pepper, cloves and nutmeg and cased in beef gut. First the sausage is dried, then lightly smoked.
BERLINER BOCKWURST. German. Beef and pork seasoned with garlic, paprika, salt and sugar, then smoked. Similar to the American hot dog.
BIROLDO TOSCANO. Italian. A pork blood sausage, lightly seasoned, with raisins added.
BLUTWURST. German. Made with beef blood, pork fat, and finely ground pork, bound with gelatin (rather than the usual egg and bread crumbs) and packed into very large casings.
BOCKWURST. German. Originally a spring sausage, but now available all year. It is made from veal, pork, milk, eggs, onions, parsley, chives and leeks.
BOLOGNA. Italian. A mixture of beef and pork, often seasoned with sage, cayenne, paprika, salt, and black pepper. One kind is put in natural casing, another is cased in muslin and a third is simply wrapped with string.
BOUDIN BLANC. French. Translates as ”white pudding.” There are dozens of regional varieties, but it usually is made of pork or chicken combined with bread crumbs, cream and light seasoning. Occasionally truffles are added. It may be cased or not.
BOUDIN NOIR. French. This time ”black pudding.” Actually a kind of blood sausage usually made of pork, blood, suet, eggs, cream, onions, brandy, and spices. Often vegetables are added, such as spinach or endive, as well as nuts, raisins, and even semolina. It may be cased or uncased.
BRATWURST. German. Veal and pork seasoned with ginger, mustard and coriander. Regional varieties are also seasoned with mace, nutmeg or sage.
CALABRESE SALAMI. Italian. Pork seasoned heavily with hot pepper and garlic, then air-dried.
CAMBRIDGE PORK SAUSAGE. English. Equal portions of lean and fat pork seasoned with mustard, allspice, mace, cayenne, ginger, salt, and pepper. Rice and rusk are added as fillers.
CAPICOLLA. Italian. Boneless pork shoulder spiced with red pepper and cased–not round, but pressed.
CERVELAT. French. Lean pork spiced with parsley, thyme, basil, nutmeg, and cloves, and sometimes scallions or pimiento. The sausages are tied into eight-inch lengths and dried.
CEVAPCICI. Yugoslavian. Beef and veal spiced with garlic, parsley, and paprika. Made without casings.
CHORIZO. Spanish. Beef and pork seasoned with hot pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, chili, sugar, vinegar, and sometimes pimiento. There are many regional varieties. Can be found fresh, but usually is smoked and dried.
COTECHINO. Italian. Fresh pork sausage flavored with garlic, coriander, and hot pepper. Some are stuffed into pigs` feet–which doesn`t sound easy.
COTTO SALAMI. Italian. A soft, cooked salami of cured beef and pork seasoned with garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, and whole peppercorns.
ENGLISH BLACK PUDDING. English. An extremely heavy and thick blood pudding that is definitely an acquired taste. Made of beef blood, barley, oatmeal and flour flavored with onions, salt, pepper, coriander, celery seeds, mustard and allspice.
FLEISCHWURST. German. All beef, or pork and beef, flavored with garlic, paprika, salt and pepper, and lightly smoked. Similar to bologna in taste.
FRENCH GARLIC SAUSAGE. French. A garlic sausage made of pork, heavy doses of garlic, and smaller amounts of cayenne, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper and brandy. It is dried for as long as five months before eating.
GOTEBORG. Swedish. Pork and beef seasoned with thyme, cardamom, salt, pepper and sugar, then heavily smoked and dried.
HAGGIS. Scottish. Not sausage in the usual sense. A sheep`s stomach is stuffed with ground sheep`s liver and heart, beef suet, onion and oatmeal. Traditionally it is then steamed and served on New Year`s Eve.
HEAD CHEESE. All countries. Not a cheese, but a jellied meat mixture made from the head or shoulder of a hog, with many regional variations. It is often seasoned with onion, ham and a bit of tongue. Gelatin is added, and the mixture is chilled. It is then sliced and served with sliced bermuda onion, chopped egg and vinaigrette sauce.
IRISH PORK SAUSAGE. Irish. Lean pork and fatback, seasoned with garlic, salt, basil, thyme, rosemary and marjoram. Highly perishable.
KIELBASA. Polish. Pork, beef and veal spiced with garlic, allspice, marjoram, salt, pepper and sometimes caraway.
KISKA. Russian. Made of fat trimmings, buckwheat groats, salt, pepper, onions and blood. It tastes much better than it sounds.
KNACKWURST, KNOCKWURST, KNOBLAUCH. All German for the same thing. Beef and pork with a strong garlic flavor. Can be smoked.
LANDJAGER. Swiss. Beef and pork with a very spicy garlic flavor.
LEBANON BOLOGNA. American. Once made only by farmers in Lebanon, Pa., but now more widely available. The recipes are jealously guarded, but usually include beef flavored with garlic, cloves, coriander and ginger.
LIVERWURST. German. Liver sausage with a host of regional varieties. Basically pork liver mixed with pork and seasoned with salt, white pepper, allspice and onion. Infinite variations include the addition of such things as truffles, wine garlic, various nuts and even anchovies.
LYON SAUSAGE. French. Well-trimmed pork mixed with salt pork, salt, pepper, garlic and white peppercorns. These are huge–up to 18 inches in length, with each holding eight to ten pounds of meat. They are dried for a week, then tied with string to keep them straight, and dried for several months more.
METTWURST. German. A form of liverwurst made with finely ground pork liver, blandly seasoned with coriander, salt and pepper, then lightly cured and smoked. This is spreadable.
OXFORD PORK SAUSAGE. English. Pork trimmings seasoned with salt and sugar only, then cooked and smoked.
PEPPERONI CASERTA. Italian. This is very hot–beef and pork heavily flavored with hot pepper, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper, then air-dried.
PEPPERONI DOLCE. Italian. The same as pepperoni caserta, but with garlic and hot pepper used in less dragonlike amounts.
RINDFLEISCHWURST. German. Lean beef and pork fat seasoned with salt, pepper and coriander, with saltpeter added. The sausages are tied in pairs after being cased, and dried for 48 hours before serving.
SARDELOWA. Polish. Pork mixed with veal and beef, lightly spiced and stuffed into a large casing. This is thick and horseshoe shaped when finished. SAUCISSON CERVELAT ORDINAIRE. French. Coarsely chopped pork and fat stuffed into beef casings and tied off at 8-to-10-inch intervals, then smoked for one to five days.
SCOTTISH SAUSAGE. Scottish. Fresh pork sausage seasoned with mace and sage and wrapped in caul fat.
SOPPRESSATA. Italian. A dry salami made of beef and pork, seasoned with a lot of garlic and air-dried.
SULC, SULZE, SOUSE, SYLTA. Middle European and Scandinavian. Pork head meats and tongue mixed with the gelatin extracted in cooking them. Some types are pickled.
THURINGER. Alpine. Pork and veal spiced with mace, coriander, celery seed and ginger. Milk or dry milk solids are added, and the sausage is cooked.
WEISS BRATWURST. German. Pork and veal mixed with milk-soaked white bread and bacon fat, then seasoned with white pepper, lemon rind and nutmeg.
WEISSWURST. German. Usually made for Oktoberfest. Veal and pork seasoned with sage, thyme and mace.
