Schwäbischer Wurstsalat

Method

1. Pull the skin off the sausage and cut it into strips about 5 mm wide. Strips hold the dressing better than coins do.
2. Slice the onion into rings as thin as you can manage, and slice the gherkins.
3. Whisk the vinegar, broth, mustard, and sugar together, then whisk in the oil. Season with salt and pepper. It should taste too sharp on its own, because the sausage will soften it.
4. Combine the sausage, onion, and gherkins with the dressing in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour, turning it once. The onion loses its bite and the sausage takes on the vinegar in that time.
5. Take it out 20 minutes before serving, toss again, and taste. It usually needs more salt and often a little more vinegar.
6. Scatter the chives over and serve with bread.

Notes

• Add the Emmentaler and you have a Schweizer Wurstsalat, which is milder and more filling. Cut it into strips the same size as the sausage and fold it in only after the salad has rested, otherwise it goes rubbery in the acid.
• Lyoner and Fleischwurst are the same idea, a fine pork sausage sold in a ring. In Canada, ask for bologna or a German deli’s Fleischwurst. Avoid anything smoked, which fights the vinegar.
• A splash of the gherkin brine in place of some of the broth is common and good. Water works too, it is just flatter.
• Some Swabian households add thin strips of Schwarzwurst alongside the Lyoner. It is very good and it turns the salad a much darker colour.
• It keeps 2 days in the fridge and improves overnight. Add the chives only when you serve it.

Sources used

• Gutekueche: Original schwäbischer Wurstsalat
• Kitchen Stories: Schwäbischer Wurstsalat
• Brotwein: Schweizer Wurstsalat mit Essig-Öl-Dressing
• Atelier Rosi: Wurstsalat mit schnellem Essig-Öl-Dressing