Regional AfD candidate calls for pork kebab option
Sean Sinico
April 1, 2017
Unhappy with choices of beef and chicken, a local AfD politician has said kebab shops should be required to offer a pork version of their late-night sandwiches. And he's not the only one who wants to expand the menu.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
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Dirk Trünkenesser, a member of the populist, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), said on Saturday that he would introduce a bill requiring kebab shop owners sell pork sandwiches if he's elected in September's parliamentary elections.
Aiming to represent the central German region of Unterschweinenheim, Trünkenesser emphasized that the move would not limit but expand the country's variety of indigestion-inducing snack options.
10 ways to eat a German sausage
Love it or hate it - Germany is famous for its sausage. Here are 10 popular variations of the meaty treat.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
Bratwurst
It is a favorite in Germany, and each region has its own version. There are over 50 kinds of bratwurst, and they all vary in size, texture and seasoning - so no wonder it's confusing. Although Germans now associate "Brat" with "braten," which means to fry, broil or grill, the name originally derives from Old High German: "Brät" meant finely chopped meat.
Among the different varieties of Bratwurst, you can recognize the one produced in Nuremberg by its size. It's surprisingly small, not much bigger than a pinkie finger. Historical documents already mentioned this wurst back in 1313. These sausages are traditionally grilled over flames, served six at a time, and accompanied by sauerkraut and potatoes with horseradish or mustard on the side.
Image: picture alliance/chromorange
Currywurst
A currywurst is simply a steamed bratwurst seasoned with ketchup and covered with curry powder. In a country specialized in high-tech cars, it sounds a bit exaggerated to call this fast-food snack an "invention," but Herta Heuwer, the Berlin cook who developed the special sauce, actually patented it in 1959. It's since become a street food classic. There's even a currywurst museum in Berlin.
Image: Fotolia/koi88
Weisswurst
This veal Bavarian sausage translates as "white sausage" for its color. It has no preservatives, nor is it smoked, which is why it's meant to be eaten fresh the day it was made. A German saying recommends the Weisswurst should never get to hear the church bells ring at noon. To eat it, some suck out the meat from the skin, or, more discreetly, cut it in half and roll out the filling with a fork.
Image: Fotolia
Blutwurst
The German Blutwurst (blood sausage) is usually made with pork blood and bacon. As it is already cooked, it does not need to be eaten hot - but some people do. Some regions include it in dishes with colorful names: the Rhineland's "Himmel und Erde" (Sky and Earth) combines it with mashed potatoes and apple sauce. "Tote Oma" (Dead Grandma) is Berlin's way of serving it with liverwurst and potatoes.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/CHROMORANGE
Landjäger
The Landjäger is a smoked semi-dried sausage traditionally made in different German-speaking countries. It can be kept without refrigeration, which is why it became a popular snack for everyone spending time outdoors, from hikers to soldiers. "Jäger" means "hunter" in German.
Image: Imago/McPHOTO
Mettwurst
This is another type of sausage which can be very different from region to region. Strongly flavored, its minced meat (usually pork, but sometimes beef) is preserved through a curing and smoking process. In the South of Germany, it is usually spreadable, whereas the northern varieties are harder and more like salami.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Schutt
Leberwurst
There are different forms of Leberwurst, which has its anglicized form, "liverwurst." They can generally be defined as German pre-cooked sausages which are spreadable. As the name reveals, they usually contain liver - often from pigs or calves, but some varieties are made from goose, turkey or even anchovies.
Image: picture-alliance / KPA/Zeller, Renate
Teewurst
From breakfast to that last evening snack, Germans have traditionally found a way to eat sausage throughout the day. Teewurst means "tea sausage," a name which is believed to come from it being served in sandwiches at teatime. What makes it so easy to spread? The fat: It makes up about 30 to 40 percent of this rich wurst.
Image: Fotolia/HLPhoto
Salami
Salami is typically Italian, but it is just as popular in sausage-loving Germany - and it's much more than just a pizza topping. If Italians usually stick to coffee and sweet bread rolls for breakfast, Germans will gladly serve slices of salami first thing in the morning, too. They'll enjoy it all day, as salami shows up for the simple evening meal called "Abendbrot" as well.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
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"It's not like I'm trying to take anyone's choice away," he said. "People can still eat the beef and chicken ones - if they want."
Integration, one döner at a time
Trünkenesser also said having German pork fill a food typically made and sold by Turkish restaurants would contribute to integration efforts in Germany.
"There's already tons of red cabbage on the döner I get, but when it's served with pork, that's when I'll know people really understand what being in Germany is all about," he said, using the German word for kebab.
Late-night pangs of hunger need to be satiated by warm, fatty snacks, and Germans deserve to be wiping pork and gravy off their shirts and faces after a big night out, according to Trünkenesser.
"We are in Germany, and it's in line with our culture to have pork on a roll after a night of mass-drinking," Trünkenesser added, apparently referring to the one-liter beer glasses common to some parts of Germany.
German cuisine does, indeed, feature a wide variety of pork-plus-starch-based meals including many variations of the famous bratwurst and other sausages, leberkäse (which translates directly to "liver cheese" despite the fact that the snack contains neither ingredient). Regional specialties include pork knuckle, saumagen (pig stomach, a favorite of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl) and other types of roasts that make liberal use of bacon.
At times, German restaurants even include a serving of vegetables with their pork dishesImage: picture-alliance/chromorange/A. Beuge
An informal survey of customers outside an Unterschweinenheim kebab shop early Saturday revealed most patrons were not aware of what animal their meal came from.
"I guess I never really thought about it - and now I'm not even really sure I want to eat this," one man said leaning against the wall of the kebab shop and staring intently at his sandwich. "I'm probably going to regret it when I wake up."
Mirroring the Weiner schnitzel
But for Trünkenesser, a pork kebab is the next logical step in the evolution of not-quite-fine German dining.
"It is like the Weiner schnitzel," he said. "Obviously, everyone knows it should be made of veal, but it is also often pork. And some people even make what they call 'chicken schnitzel' - it's an abomination, but they really do it. Pork kebabs, on the other hand, are the future."
Asked about the possibility of expanding kebab choices, Bettina Kohlbeete of the local Green party said enough varieties of meat were already available.
"I am absolutely against adding more animals to the menu," she said early Saturday morning, "But I acknowledge there are times when a falafel just won't do. That's why I would support a tofu-based alternative."
The cult of the currywurst
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