Cervelat

Cervelat, alsocervelas,servelatorzervelat, is asausageproduced inSwitzerland,France(especiallyAlsaceandLyon),Belgium, theNetherlandsand parts ofGermany. The recipe and preparation of the sausage vary regionally.
The sausages are spelledcervelasin theFrench-speaking part of Switzerland,Cervelatin the German-speaking part, andservelatin the Italian-speaking part. The terms ultimately derive fromcerebrum, theLatinword forbrain, which was used in early recipes.The term "Cervelat" is the oldest of the three. It was first recorded in 1552 byRabelais,and is derived fromzervelada, aMilaneseword meaning  a "large, short sausage filled with meat and pork brains." Modern recipes do not include brains, and arose towards the end of the 19th century inBasel, as a reworking of the traditional recipe. In Germany, the sausage is sometimes also called "Lyoner" which comes from its perceived origin. In the federal state of Saarland the "Lyoner" sausage is even considered a regional staple dish.
The taste of the sausages depends on the region, but generally they are similar to that of afrankfurter, but with a smokier flavour and a texture brought about by its fat shape and the tightly wrapped natural casing. Various European semi-dry cervelat are similar tosummer sausagein the U.S., andThuringian sausagecan be considered a type of cervelat. In the United States, the termThuringer sausageis used for a type of cervelat, rather than Thuringian sausage in the European sense.
In Switzerland, cervelats are cooked (slightly smoked and then boiled) or served "raw" (cold, having been cooked during initial manufacture). They contain a mixture ofbeef,baconandpork rind.The modern Swiss variety is packed intozebuintestines.
The cervelat is often referred to as the national sausage ofSwitzerland.Some 160 million cervelats weighing 27,000metric tonsare produced in Switzerland annually, which is equivalent to a consumption of 25 sausages per person each year.Grilling cervelats over an open fire with the ends cut open so they expand like a butterfly's wings is a childhood memory for nearly every Swiss person;as a result, many Swiss are emotionally attached to the sausage.Swiss cervelats are made of roughly equal parts ofbeef,pork,bacon,pork rindandice, which helps bind the ingredients, along withspices,curingsalt and cutter additives. The ingredients are finely minced in a cutter, packed into beef intestines, smoked for an hour and then cooked by boiling for a short time.Processed and packaged varieties sold in Swiss supermarkets also containnitritesandantioxidants.A cervelat may weigh from about 100 to 200grams.
Swiss cervelats are prepared and eatencookedor raw. They areboiled,grilledorfried. They can also be served uncooked, either in a salad or with bread and mustard.
Sometimes sold smoked and uncooked, cervelat can be seasoned, salted and cold smoked for one day.
Traditionally, Swiss beef intestines were used for the casings, but towards the end of the 20th century, local cattle producers lost interest in cleaning and preparing them, so meat processors switched toBrazilianzebuintestines, which are not fatty and do not easily split open when roasted.However, beginning on 1 April 2006, theEuropean Unionbanned the import of many animal parts from Brazil as a measure aimed at preventing the spread ofmad cow disease. Among these were beef intestines.Although Switzerland is not anEU member state, it is bound to observe European food protection laws through other treaty agreements.Hence, Swiss and German stockpiles of zebu intestines became very low by 2008, threatening production altogether, and causing some controversy in Switzerland.In January of that year, the Swissmeat industryannounced that a national "cervelat task force" had failed in an exhaustive search for an acceptable alternative to zebu intestines.
TheNew York Timesnoted that "the possible demise of cervelas visibly upset the Swiss, a normally even-tempered people."The cervelat production crisis was covered closely by the Swiss media and in a newspaper poll, 72% of those surveyed said the "cervelas, as they knew it, had to be saved."The cervelat crisis was brought up in a parliamentary debate whereinstate councillorand president of the Swiss Meat Association,Rolf Büttiker, spoke of the national sausage's social significance, calling it a "cult sausage" and "theworker's steak".The Swiss government entered into negotiations with the EU to seek an exception for zebu intestines, and Swiss scientists were sent to Brazil hoping to show that the intestines posed no risk of transmitting mad cow disease.
By August 2008, most of the Swiss demand for bovine intestines had been met with imports fromUruguay,ArgentinaandParaguay.
Cervelas de Lyonare a sausage specialty ofLyonnaise cuisine. They contain finely minced pork, and eithertrufflesorpistachios. Sold uncooked, the sausage has to be boiled before it is eaten.
InAlsatian cuisine,cervelas d'Alsaceare split open and served with cheese (gruyère) and bacon.