Small emulsified breakfast sausages in Dutch countries

sausages

Halo!

We are in the midst of our honeymoon, and are traveling from Amsterdam to Brugges to Paris. Upon our first breakfast in Amsterdam we were presented with small (about 1.5 to 2 inches in length, about .75 inches in diameter) sausages. They were a regular breakfast item in Amsterdam, and then again in Brugges.

They are very light in both color and flavor. If I had to guess, they contain a mixture of chicken meat and pork fat. The contents are definitely emulsified. They are in natural casings, or at least they certainly were in Amsterdam. As I said, they are served with breakfast. In Amsterdam the sausages were very dense so the casi g would brown and pop open, whereas in Brugges the casing was much less full, which provided a pillowy, soft texture.

Does anyone know what these sausages are called? I'd love to make them for myself when I get back to the US.

Best Answer

I am going to guess that you are likely getting british or irish breakfast sausage. The national dutch sausage, Frikandel, is minced, skinless, and not usually eaten at breakfast. There is a perception amongst the dutch that Americans eat nothing but meat and fat in huge portions.

I did a semester abroad in the Netherlands. For the first few days, the host family fed me eggs and sausages for breakfast. I usually have some toast or cereal for breakfast. So, after a couple days I asked them if this is what they had for breakfast every day. My host mother said, "No, this is what we were told Americans have for breakfast everyday!"

After a chat, they said they were buying British breakfast sausages and eggs for me. Their typical breakfast was a slice of bread, some cheese, and a very strongly flavored liverwurst. My tastes were not as developed back then. After two days of that I asked if there was any other breakfast choices. My host mother bought me suikerbrood. It is a loaf of bread with sugar baked in it. It was delicious! I told them that I enjoyed this new breakfast very much. This caused a lot of chortling for my two host siblings. It turns out that suikerbrood is a small children's breakfast.