Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BRATWURST: THE WISCONSIN DISH
Pretty much every summer night is bratwurst night.
Bratwurst, a Germanic legacy of Wisconsin, is the unofficial state dish. The brat
(pronounced like “plot,” not “splat”) is pervasive here. Supermarkets devote entire
lengths of freezers to accommodate sausage-makers. Many towns still have old
butcher shops that string up homemade flavors.
THE IMMIGRANT EPICURE
Strictly speaking, the bratwurst is but one of hundreds of varieties of sausage, ac-
cording to official (and draconian) German food law. Actually, sausage-making was
here with the Native Americans, who had long stuffed deer intestines and hides with
wild rice, grains, meats, offal, and herbs to produce pemmican, which is, technically,
a sausage.
From the earliest settlement of the state, immigrants did make their own sausage.
Wisconsin's bratwurst, unlike some varieties, is almost strictly made from pork.
The internal mixtures consisted of meat, fat, and seasonings, along with occasional
starches such as rice and bread. Concoctions were and are highly secret—similar to
the recipe for Coca-Cola.
