If you cringe a little at the sight of this wrinkly, old-looking sausage, it will surprise you with its delicious taste. Rohesser is a certain type of raw pork sausage from Germany which is mainly eaten as a snack or in combination with ‘Abendbrot’. For the traditional German cold dinner, Rohesser are a great addition to the wide variety of foods such as sliced meats and cheeses eaten on bread or rolls.

Rohesser are easily storable for up to four weeks and do not require much refrigeration. Back in the days, this was the reason why farmers came up with this type of dry sausage. It was the perfect food to bridge the time in which no fresh meat was available. Today, the long-lasting characteristic make Rohesser an ideal snack for picnics, camping trips, longer hikes or festivals.

Rohesser Literally Translates To Raw Eaters

Rohesser are produced with coarsely ground pork that is seasoned and filled into real intestines. The characteristic taste evolves by smoking them over night in beech wood. The sausage has a distinct reddish color that it usually obtains from adding paprika powder or special color enhancements. Rohesser come in different lengths and girths, always with a hard and uneven skin. The enclosed pieces of fat make the inside softer and flavorful.

Right after the smoking process, Rohesser are still rather soft and start hardening later on as they dry. Thus, consumers can influence the degree of this themselves according to their own preferred way. Keeping them refrigerated will slow down the hardening process. While the usual Rohesser has a strong smoky flavor, the sausage is also available in other variations. These are often refined with different kinds of condiments, for example in a spicy version with chili or pepper.

More To Discover

Depending on the region and used condiments, Rohesser also go by the names of Sauerländer Mettendchen, Westfälische Mettenden or Pfefferbeisser. Sausages of the same concept also exist in Germany’s neighboring countries such as Poland or the Netherlands.

In order to make Rohesser yourself, it is certainly of advantage if you have experience with sausage production. Especially the smoking process needs specific equipment and expertise. For this, please inform yourself with a tutorial or consult an expert. And once you got that right, use our authentic recipe below to make yourself some delicious Rohesser.

Here’s All You Need

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Rohesser

by SunnySideCircus

Category Food & Drinks // Germany

Ingredients

750 g pork shoulder
250 g back bacon
20 g pickling salt
4 g black pepper
2 g nutmeg
2 g cilantro seeds
1 g allspice
1 g caraway seeds
2 g garlic powder
3 g Cayenne pepper
3 g grape sugar
1 g sodium ascorbate
pork intestines

Instructions

Freeze on the back bacon a little bit
In the meantime, use a food processor to grind all spices finely
Cut the pork shoulder into small pieces and put it though the meat grinder together with the semi-frozen bacon
Now add the ground spices and knead everything well
Fill the sausage meat into the pork intestines
After 1-2 days of drying out, smoke the sausages in two rounds for eight hours each time
Finally, let the sausages dry again for another two weeks