Types of Sausages

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it covers most of the world’s popular sausages.

  • Andouille - heavy on the spices and made from larger pieces of meat rather than ground meat; heavily smoked

  • Blood - a type of sausage made by cooking blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled

  • Bockwurst - sausage traditionally made from ground veal and pork (tending more towards veal, unlike bratwurst)

  • Bratwurst - sausage usually composed of veal, pork,  or beef
  • Braunschweiger- a type of liverwurst (pork liver sausage) which is nearly always smoked

  • Breakfast Links – short and narrow highly seasoned fresh pork sausage served skinless

  • Chipolata - fresh French sausage, similar to an Italian sausage but usually prepared as a very thin, breakfast sausage-style link; often grilled rather than pan-fried or poached made from coarse-ground pork,seasoned with salt and pepper together with such herbs — according to the particular recipe — as sage, thyme, pimento and/or nutmeg
  • Chorizo (Goan) - deep red pork sausage links made from pork, vinegar, chili, garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric and other spices and are extremely hot, spicy and flavorful
  • Chorizo (Portugese) - smoked, dried sausage made with pork, fat, wine, paprika and salt

  • Chorizo (Spanish) – is made from coarsely chopped pork and pork fat, seasoned with smoked pimentón (paprika) and salt; generally classed as either picante (spicy) or dulce (sweet)
  • Cocktail wieners-franks ranging in from 1 to 3 inches in length; often smoked

  • Dinner- select cuts of beef and pork mixed with spices, then smoked or cooked for a savory addition to any meal

  • Dry Salami-highly seasoned, cured and air dried; varieties include Genoa and cotto

  • Frankfurters- sausage made of beef, pork, turkey, chicken, or any combination of those meats and often contain cereal fillers such as flour, soy, egg whites and spices

  • Hard Salami- varieties include pepperonis and sopresata; harder and drier than dried salami

  • Holsteiner- ring sausage similar to kielbasa but with a finer grind and softer texture

  • Hortka- a rice and liver sausage

  • Italian- is a style of pork sausage which is noted for its seasoning of fennel and/or anise, containing at least 85% meat, which can be no more than 35% fat; available in hot, mild, and sweet

  • Kabanossy- Ukrainian style smoked sausage has both pork and beef and a great garlic flavor.

  • Kishka-combination of meat, meal, and sometimes grain stuff into large casing; Eastern Euro/Hebrew in origin

  • Knackwurst (Knockwurst) - German sausage containing ground veal, ground pork, and fresh garlic; sausages are aged for two to five days, then smoked over oak wood

  • Linguica -a form of Portuguese cured pork sausage seasoned with onions, garlic, and paprika

  • Merguez -  a red, spicy sausage from Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, North Africa

  • Mettwurst- a strongly flavored German or Dutch sausage made from raw minced pork, which is preserved by curing and smoking
  • Mortadella-made of finely hashed/ground heat-cured pork sausage which incorporates at least 15% small cubes of pork fat (principally the hard fat from the neck of the pig). It is delicately flavored with spices, including whole or ground black pepper, myrtle berries, nutmeg, coriander, and pistachios and/or olives

  • Polish Sausage- also called kielbasa, this smoked sausage is usually made of pork, and sometimes beef

  • Ring Bologna- a processed meat that is usually created with a mixture of beef or pork; named for long, tubular design
  • Saucisson- dried French sausage which contains pork, cured with a mixture of salt, wine and/or spirits

  • Swedish Potato- is a fresh sausage made with ground pork and beef that is mixed with potatoes, onions, salt and pepper, and usually allspice

  • Smoked Country- is made from uncooked ground pork mixed with pepper, sage, and other spices; usually sold in a large synthetic plastic casing or in links

  • Thuringer- flavorful fresh or smoked traditional German sausage, which is made of pork or a combination of pork and beef

  • Vienna (Parowka)- made from meat such as chicken, beef, turkey, and pork and finely ground to a paste consistency and mixed with salt, spices, and mustard, then stuffed into a long casing, sometimes smoked and always cooked, after which the casings are removed; the sausages are then cut into short segments for canning and further cooked