Cervelat

Cervelat—also called cervelas, servelat, or zervelat—is a sausage found in Switzerland, France (notably Alsace and Lyon), Belgium, the Netherlands, and parts of Germany. Its recipe and preparation shift from one region to another. In Switzerland, it is widely considered the national sausage: around 160 million cervelats, totaling 27,000 metric tons, are made each year, which works out to about 25 sausages per person annually.

The names all trace back to *cerebrum*, the Latin word for brain, an ingredient used in early versions. The oldest spelling, "Cervelat," first appeared in 1552 in a work by Rabelais, coming from the Milanese *zervelada*, meaning a short, thick sausage stuffed with meat and pork brains. By the late 19th century, modern recipes—which no longer include brains—emerged in Basel as a reworking of the traditional formula. In Germany, the sausage is sometimes called "Lyoner," referencing its supposed origin; in the state of Saarland, Lyoner is even treated as a regional staple.

Taste varies by region, but cervelat generally resembles a frankfurter, though smokier and with a different texture due to its fat shape and tight natural casing. Many European semi-dry cervelats are similar to American summer sausage, and Thuringian sausage can be classed as a type of cervelat. In the United States, "Thuringer sausage" refers to a cervelat, not the European Thuringian variety.

In Switzerland, cervelats are either cooked (lightly smoked then boiled) or served "raw" (cold, having been cooked during production). They contain beef, bacon, and pork rind. The modern Swiss version is packed into zebu intestines. Grilling them over an open fire with the ends cut open so they spread like butterfly wings is a common childhood memory for many Swiss, giving the sausage strong emotional ties. Swiss cervelats are made from roughly equal parts beef, pork, bacon, pork rind, and ice (which helps bind the ingredients), plus spices, curing salt, and cutter additives. The mixture is finely minced, packed into beef intestines, smoked for an hour, and then boiled briefly. Processed supermarket versions also include nitrites and antioxidants. A single cervelat weighs between 100 and 200 grams. They can be boiled, grilled, fried, or eaten uncooked—either in a salad or with bread and mustard.