Onion “Mettwurst” from GS Schmitz

Our onion sausage is extraordinarily smooth and impresses with its culinary balance between freshly chopped meat, onions and tasty spices. Here you can taste real tradition, which is popular far beyond our city and country borders. We only process meat that has withstood the critical scrutiny of our master butchers. This is how we ensure the exceptional quality of our incredibly popular onion sausage.

DEFINITION AND ORIGIN

What is onion butch “Mettwurst”?

The onion butch sausage is a traditional sausage speciality. For its production, raw pork meat and onions are finely chopped and seasoned with nitrite curing salt and pepper. Similar to minced meat, onion sausage is used either as a topping for bread or as an ingredient in various dishes.

DID YOU KNOW?

Facts about ham “Mettwurst” & pepper bites

Statistically speaking, Mett is eaten most frequently in northern Germany.

With an average fat content of 41 percent, „Mettwurst“ is one of the top 5 sausages with the highest fat content. Only the Landjäger (42 percent), the Cabanossi (44 percent) and the Teewurst (45 percent) are a little fattier.

INGREDIENTS

What is contained in onion “Mettwurst”?

Ingredients:

94% pork, iodized salt (salt, potassium iodate), spices, onions, dextrose, thickener E415, emulsifier E471, antioxidant E300, E301; seasoning, paprika flavour, acid E330, preservative E250, starter cultures

NUTRITIONAL VALUES

Onion sausage

Nutritional values	Per 100 g
Calorific value:	693 kJ / 166 kcal
Fat:	10 g
of which saturated fats:	4,2 g
Carbohydrates:	1 g
of which sugar:	0,3 g
Protein:	18 g
Salt:	2,5 g

PEPPER BITES & HAM “METTWURST”

Storage and shelf life

Fundamentally, smoked sausages have a longer shelf life than non-smoked sausages. Nevertheless, they should be kept in a refrigerator for perfect freshness. Depending on the type of smoking, they can be kept here for four to twelve weeks. If stored unclosed in the refrigerator, they can harden a little over several days and weeks. However, this is not bad at all. Many fans of ham sausage even swear by this post-hardening effect.

Consumption of ham “Mettwurst”

Mainly, „Mettwurst“ is eaten as a snack, therefore eaten raw. However, the sausage can also be used as side dish or as a stew inlay. The hearty sausage speciality is also a welcome finger food at parties. Alternatively, the ham sausage can also be heated. Here, however, it is important not to expose it to too much heat and especially not too long. Many „Mettwurst“ fans fry the Pfefferbeißer briefly in a pan with a little oil, so it is also particularly suitable for refining the flavour of fried potatoes. Attention when BBQing: The ham sausage cuts a good figure here, too. However, since most BBQs produce a lot of heat, it is advisable to place the „Mettwurst“ on the edge of the grill and remove it after a short time.

The origin of the ham “Mettwurst“

The ham sausage has its origin in days long gone. Since there were no refrigerators back then, smoking was the way to preserve the freshly produced pork. Thus, the delicacy could be consumed for several days without unwanted spoilage of the raw meat. This type of preservation is still popular nowadays.

Mostly, the robust pepper bites serve as a snack for picnics or a long day at the beach – extremely practical and uniquely delicious, aren’t they?

Production of ham “Mettwurst”

In order to obtain the perfect ham sausage, the meat should be allowed to cool to freezing point before processing. It is then crushed finely to grain size and seasoned with nitrite curing salt and pepper. This step gives the sausage its well-known red colour and the name pepper bites (“Pfefferbeißer”). Depending on the method of preparation and the effort involved, a distinction is made here between natural and artificial casings. The pepper bite is then smoked cold and stored for about a week until it is optimally prepared. Some meat producers do without smoking and let the „Mettwurst“ air-dry. To do this, however, the ham sausage must be minced extremely finely.