Cervelat sausage filled with meat and pork brains." Modern recipes do not include brains, and arose towards the end of the 19th century in Basel, as a reworking of the traditional recipe. The taste of the sausages depends on the region, but generally they are similar to that of a frankfurter, 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 to summer sausage in the U.S., and Thuringian sausage can be considered a type of cervelat. In Switzerland, cervelats are cooked (slightly smoked and
Cervelat Swiss cervelats are made of roughly equal parts of beef, pork, bacon, pork rind and ice, which helps bind the ingredients, along with spices, curing salt 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 contain nitrites and antioxidants. A cervelat may weigh from about 100 to 200 grams. Swiss cervelats are prepared and eaten cooked or raw. They are boiled, grilled or fried. They can also be served uncooked, either in