Camp Currywurst.

Currywurst and Camping go hand in hand...

 

Currywurst History

 

Currywurst is a dish that consists of sausage in a spicy sauce and it is a German favourite that can be enjoyed as a midnight snack after a few beers, a takeaway lunch and everything in between, but how exactly it came about is a matter of debate. It can be eaten at almost any time of day, and at any level of intoxication. You’ll find versions sold for around £3 from stands by the side of the road or in squares and haute cuisine interpretations costing £20+ and paired with Champagne. It’s the fuel served in factory canteens and there are pop songs dedicated to it, politicians have even posed with it and there are festivals celebrating the best of the wurst. So how did it come to be?

 

Legend has it that creator of currywurst was the savvy housewife, Herta Heuwer, from the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. In 1949, she apparently traded spirits for ketchup (some sources say Worcestershire sauce) and curry powder with British soldiers stationed there after the war.  I’m guessing that she experimented with these ingredients and other spices until she found something she liked. The currywurst sauce is much more than just ketchup and curry powder. Either way, the resulting sauce was poured over grilled pork sausages. Ta-da! Currywurst was born. Well, she called it 'chillup’ — a blend of chilli and ketchup. By 1959, Heuwer had perfected a recipe and patented the term, leading to the first documented case of ‘currywurst’ on the market.

She began selling it as a low cost street snack and it didn’t not take long for it to become a success. I’m guessing folks loved the exotic flavour (for that time period, at least). It was particularly loved by the construction workers that were rebuilding the city because it was an inexpensive protein laden meal.

 

Another possible story is that at Bückeburg Castle, in Lower Saxony, a chef, Ludwig Dinslage has claimed to have prepared a similar dish in 1946 for visiting British military officers. 

 

There’s some information out there that says currywurst was created in Hamburg as early as 1947 by Lena Brücker. Whoever invented it, I would say that Frau Heuwer seems to be the one that made it popular. 

 

Here in the UK, there are a few quality places to buy this when you're out and about, if you need a bit of stodge... if you know what I mean, whilst I was in London, I visited the German Gymnasium, close to Kings cross station and had currywurst, it was nice, it was also fifteen pounds... I dont think I had a full sausage, oh well. 

 

German Gymnasium's offering, London - £15

 

If you manage to get to Berlin, I would highly recommend what is possibly one of the most famous places for currywurst, Konnopke’s Imbiss. If it weren’t for the queue outside, you’d probably mistake Konnopke’s Imbiss for a long-forgotten kiosk, located as it is under a subway line in Prenzlauer Berg. But the history of Konnopke’s is strong. Max Konnopke was 29 years old when he decided to move from Cottbus to Berlin and become a Wurstmaxe - sausage seller. So began in 1930 the history of Konnopke’s Imbiss, It’s here that East Berlin’s first currywurst was sold back in 1960, and this place has been an institution ever since, slinging out sausages (of numerous varieties) and curry sauce with a sliding spice scale from heavenly to hellish. A proper traditional place serving up their own twists on that initial recipe, all for an extremely reasonable price.

konnopke imbiss - Schönhauser Allee 44b, 10435 Berlin, Germany

 

 

Ingredients 

 

Bratwursts

100ml of Tomato Ketchup,

1g of Baking Soda,

15g  of Mild Curry Powder,

5g of Smoked Paprika,

2.5g of Onion Powder,

2g of Cayenne Pepper.

1 teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce

1 (or more) tablespoons of Water

 

2 tablespoons of Beef Broth or veg broth - this may not be the easiest on camp unless you have some ready at home, don't worry, the recipe does work without it. 

 

 Beer, you need a nice light, refreshing beer to wash it down with.

 

 

Cooking

 

Put  the ketchup into a small saucepan on medium low heat. We want to warm up the ketchup for a few minutes for our next step. 

When it’s nice and warm, drop in the baking soda. Yes, you heard me right – NaHCO3. It helps to give a smoothness in the flavour that wasn’t coming about with all the acid in the ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.

 

This is really important – once you drop in the baking soda and start stirring, it’s going to start to foam. You’ll need to stir continuously until the foaming subsides.

The ketchup should look almost exactly like normal ketchup again once you’re done. It will just taste a little different.

 

Reduce heat down to low. Add all the wonderfully aromatic spices and give it a nice stir… do not blow any loose spice that may not have come out of your pot and get it in your eye like I did… that stung a little...

 

Simmer on the stove for 5 – 10 minutes, stirring regularly.... this was hard to do whilst writhing in agony and pretending to be ok. I couldn't see what I was doing properly, but when I was at a point where I knew I would be ok, I rinsed with water and started to be able to see again.

 

 

The currywurst sauce that you get at a street seller will be a lot more liquid. I like the flavour and consistency of this though, so I went with it… I did add a bit of water to it, just to loosen it up a little as it was a bit toooooo thick In the end. 

 

Next up is the bratwurst. This recipe makes a reasonable amount of sauce, so pan fry up, grill, or just cook on your open fire... as many bratwurst as you want for your meal. 

I love using the raw bratwurst we get from our local Deli, however, supermarket ones will suffice if that’s all you can get… to be fair, it’s what I’m using on this occasion myself. 

 

Once your bratwursts are cooked, slice ’em up and smother in currywurst sauce. Serve with a crusty roll or bread to mop up any extra sauce on the plate. I like to serve it up as a bit of a hotdog style on a brioche roll at camp if I can... I forgot them this time though didn't I... luckily, I had a bit of left over sourdough instead though.

 

 

I had spare sauce and a couple of people were also having bratwursts that were fresh from Germany, so the sauce went down well and everyone seemed to like it… my bowl was clean, put it that way 😂

 

 

Summary

 

As I was cooking this in the early afternoon, the sun was high and we had a campfire going, only a small one, there was very little wind but occasionally, a bit of wind pushed the smoke around and the wood crackled, other than that there were just birds chirping in the trees and the occasional hoot from the steam train that travels through the valley close by, I sat back in my Helinox chair, sipping on an ice cold Guinness Zero and eating the currywurst, I could have been anywhere in the world, but, I was on the side of a hill in Yorkshire.

 

Currywurst, the final frontier.

This camping adventure with currywurst was more than just a meal, it was a journey through history, flavour and a little unexpected campfire magic with friends. From the ingenious origins of Herta Heuwer's creation to the lively process of crafting a sauce that is as unique as it is delicious, every step brought its own little moment of delight. I hope that the recipe inspires you to experiment, whether it be at camp, in your garden or even in the kitchen, I hope it helps you create your own memorable dining experience. 

Happy camping an buon apetito.