Everyday meals
Cervelas
A cooked sausage with a fine, smooth texture, made from pork and beef and flavoured with garlic and spices. Very popular in Switzerland, it is eaten hot with mustard or bread, often on picnics or at the market.
Ingredients
Ingredients
Spices & seasoning
Optional extras
On the side
Instructions
- Cut the pork, beef and back fat into large chunks, then put them in the freezer for 30 minutes so they firm up well.
- First blend the lean meat with the garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg and spices until you get a smooth paste.
- Add the fat and the ice cubes little by little, blending after each addition, to get a very fine, even filling.
- Rinse and prepare the casing, or use sausage film, then fill it with a piping bag without packing it too tightly.
- Tie off the ends with string, then prick the sausage in a few places so it doesn't burst.
- Bring water to a gentle simmer in a large pan, add the cervelas and poach them for 15 to 20 minutes at 80 °C: the water must not boil.
- Check that the sausage reaches 72 °C at the centre, then drain it and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve warm with fresh bread and mustard, or cold in slices as a starter.
Variations and tips
Plant-based cervelas. Replace the meat with cooked lentils and mushrooms blended with silken tofu, keeping the same spices.
Using what's available. If you don't have a casing, use cling film that holds up to cooking and tie the sausage at regular intervals.
More ideas
Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland
Original Ecomely recipe.