2023-12-01 11:03:00
For many Upper Austrians it is very clear what will be on the lunch table tomorrow, the first Sunday of Advent: bratwurst. It is not clear where the tradition comes from: Was it an campaign by a butcher in Linz who sent sausages to his regular customers as a thank you? Or did it arise because previously not all animals might be fed over the winter? One thing is certain: Bratwürstelsonntag is celebrated in Upper Austria.
“Last year we sold almost 300 kilos of bratwurst around the first Advent. That’s regarding ten times the amount of a normal sales week,” says Bernhard Leibetseder from the Leibetseder butcher shop in Rohrbach. The family business’s range includes veal and pork sausages, with the latter also being bought more often at Christmas.
Lard as an ingredient
The 29-year-old and his sister Franziska Thorwartl, who joined the business run by their mother this year, also prefer pork sausages. “They are more intensely seasoned and, in addition to the sausage meat – minced meat, ice and salt – they also contain meat. This makes them a little coarser in structure and they taste juicier.” Just like at the Christmas dinner with the grandparents, sauerkraut and potato pancakes are the best side dishes for the siblings.
The trained chef’s insider tip for perfect preparation: “I fry the sausages like my grandma did in pork fat, which we make ourselves. In the past, people didn’t have any oil or butter at home, but used all the parts of the animal, including the fat .”
Young generation in the company
Leibetseder is now focusing on butchering. “So far I have been making sausages according to a recipe, but with experience the preparation is becoming more and more intuitive. At some point I would like to bring out my own sausage creation,” says the aspiring master butcher.
In the kitchen, his 27-year-old sister is the boss, who previously managed the patisserie of a hotel in Graz: “It’s a big change, but my family supports me. If I have questions, I walk the 20 meters back to the butcher’s shop. “
The sibling relationship has been very good since childhood, and professional collaboration is now also successful. One thing is certain for both of them: “Paying attention to quality and regionality pays off.”
Author
Lena Gattringer
Editor Life
Lena Gattringer
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