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Raw materials/Variety/Race
The St. Galler Bratwurst IGP is a white sausage made with pork and veal meat and usually destined to be consumed cooked (roasted, grilled, etc.).
Method of working/Cultivation/Breeding
the St. Galler Bratwurst IGP is made with pork meat, veal meat and milk coming from Switzerland or Liechtenstein. Salt, pepper, mace and other spices are added according to the personal recipe of the butcher (lemon, ginger, cardamine, nutmeg, onion, leek, celery or coriander). The internal part of the sausage is made with a special machine (like a cutter or a blitz) which transforms the meat mixed with the other ingredients into a clear emulsion, very fine and bound. The resulting product is put into natural pork casings and the sausages are then heated in hot water or steamed. The internal temperature of the product should reach 72°C. After cooking, sausages are immediately cooled down with cold water so they get optimal properties for the grilling or for the roasting.
Aspect and Taste
the St. Galler Bratwurst IGP is lightly curved and has a diameter comprised between 26 and 42 mm. The finished product weighs between 100 and 110 gr (until 300 gr for the Olma Bratwurst) and is long 20-25 cm. The mixture of pork meat, veal meat and milk is specific of the St. Galler Bratwurst.
Production Zone
The St. Galler Bratwurst IGP is made in the cantons of Saint-Gall, Appenzell and Thurgovie. The birth, the fattening and the slaughter of the pigs and bovines used to produce the St. Galler Bratwurst IGP must take place in Switzerland or in Liechtenstein.
History
The first official mention of the St. Galler Bratwurst IGP appears in the Guilde des bouchers st-gallois, dating back to 1438. It is mentioned that the St. Galler Bratwurst IGP is made with veal meat, lard, spices and fresh milk. That's also why it has a white colour. The production method has not changed a lot since the origin. The only exception concerns the Olma-Bratwurst, a sausage weighing 160 gr and created for the Olma, the traditional agricultural exhibition of St. Gall.
Gastronomy
People from Saint-Gall never eat sausages with mustard because they think that it's useless to increase the sausage taste. The St. Galler Bratwurst IGP is usually grilled and accompanied with a Bürli (a small brown bread) or with a slice of bread. It is ready when the external skin is dark brown. During the grilling, it's necessary to turn it over several times and to not pierce it in order to keep intact all its flavours. Prepared in the frying pan, it is traditionally accompanied with an onions sauce and with Rösti, a traditional Swiss dish made with grated potatoes.
Marketing
The St. Galler Bratwurst IGP is an authentic product of quality which must respect some strict measures in order to get the geographical appellation. The interprofessional organization of the St. Galler Bratwurst IGP is charged of the product promotion. Indeed, in Switzerland and abroad, the St. Galler Bratwurst IGP represents one of the main product coming from the eastern part of Switzerland.
Distinctive features
The quality of the St. Galler Bratwurst IGP is not only based on the peculiar combination of its ingredients but results also from the knowhow of the butchers from eastern Switzerland who developed over the years a very high level of quality, by combining selected raw products and by following a traditional production method.