They are small, tasty, fattening little treats that are commonly seen as appetizers at parties or in the lunch boxes of construction workers. I love the little burgers. I know they are not healthy, and sometimes they do make me sick to my stomach. They are cheap and easy to combine into thousands of recipes (The search terms “vienna sausage recipes” produces over 81,000 results.). They are vienna sausages. What are they? What are they? Why are they the red-headed step child of the luncheon meat category?
From Wikipedia.com query “vienna sausage”:
A vienna sausage is a kind of wiener. The word wiener means Viennese inGerman.
In many European countries any pre-cooked and sometimes smoked wieners bought fresh from supermarkets,delicatessens and butcher shops are calledvienna sausage. Wieners sold as vienna sausage in Europe have a taste and texture very much like North Americanhot dogs or frankfurters but are usually longer and somewhat thinner, with a very light, edible casing. European vienna sausage served hot in a long bun with condiments is often called a hot dog, harking not to the wiener itself, but to the long sandwich as a whole.
In North America the term vienna sausage has most often come to mean only smaller and much shorter smoked and canned wieners, rather thanhot dogs. North American vienna sausage is made from meat such aschicken, beef, turkey and pork (or blends thereof) finely ground to a paste consistency and mixed with salt and spices, notably mustard, then stuffed into a long casing, sometimes smoked and always thoroughly cooked, after which the casings are removed as with hot dogs. The sausages are then cut into short segments for canning and further cooked.
As with any sausage, the ingredients, preparation, size and taste can vary widely by both manufacturer and region of sale.
Anyone that knows me also knows that the classic American Hot Dog is my favorite food. Behind that, comes another cheap, low class junk food… Top Ramen. I have eaten ramen noodles in hundreds of ways, but my favorite combination is the addition of a can of vienna sausages and maybe a smidge of mustard completed with a glass of Mountain Dew or chocolate milk. Mmmm good.
Why is it that this food is the the bastard of the other luncheon meats? Probably because unlike some meats, like salami for example, vienna sausages are not meticulously blended with the best cuts of meat and seasoning before being aged to perfection. No, not vienna sausages. They are a hodge podge of chicken, beef and pork. Smashed together and pressed into a sausage shape. Add the gelatin and the small fact that they perhaps one of the most unhealthy meats to choose from, and you get the outcast of the group. Still, blue collar workers, the lower class, and phony socialites all embrace this little treat as a part of their lunches and appetizers for their parties. I too, will continue to enjoy these tasty morsels; now at a more educated, select occasional pace.
Here are a couple more Vienna Sausage links for your enjoyment:
Throwback of the House: Uncool Vienna-Sausage Shortcake — http://bit.ly/11yO0W
wiseGEEK: What are Vienna Sausages? — http://bit.ly/YretL
My brand of choice, Armor Star — http://bit.ly/rUtVC
I Eat Out of Cans « Tangelos — http://bit.ly/oCSG9
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