German recipe

Currywurst

Name: Currywurst
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: German cuisine
Ingredients: 8 x 100 g bratwurst or skinless currywurst-style sausages; 30 ml neutral oil, divided; 180 g onions, finely diced; 25 g tomato paste; 800 g passata or smooth crushed tomatoes; 150 ml orange juice; 25 ml apple-cider or distilled vinegar; 30 g brown sugar; 30 g curry powder, divided; 6 g sweet paprika; 10 ml Worcestershire sauce; 8 g fine salt, divided

A German snack-counter classic: browned sausage sliced into bite-size pieces and covered with a tomato-forward curry sauce, then finished with another dusting of curry powder. The sauce should be tangy, lightly sweet and thick enough to coat every slice.

Berlin / German street-food tradition

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 50 min
Servings: 4

German currywurst slices under thick tomato curry sauce with curry powder — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by Sumit SuraiSource page · Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

8 x 100 g
bratwurst or skinless currywurst-style sausages
30 ml
neutral oil, divided
180 g
onions, finely diced
25 g
tomato paste
800 g
passata or smooth crushed tomatoes
150 ml
orange juice
25 ml
apple-cider or distilled vinegar
30 g
brown sugar
30 g
curry powder, divided
6 g
sweet paprika
10 ml
Worcestershire sauce
8 g
fine salt, divided

Method

01
Sweat the onions
Heat 15 ml of the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and 3 g salt and cook for 8 minutes until soft and lightly golden.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Bloom the curry base
Stir in the 25 g tomato paste, 20 g of the curry powder and all 6 g paprika. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens slightly and smells aromatic.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Simmer the sauce
Add the 800 g tomatoes, 150 ml orange juice, 25 ml vinegar, 30 g brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and 3 g salt. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to coat a spoon.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Blend smooth
Blend the hot sauce until smooth, then return it to low heat for 3 minutes. Taste and adjust only after blending so the sweetness, acidity and curry are evenly distributed.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Brown the sausages
Heat the remaining 15 ml oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat. Brown the 8 sausages for 8–10 minutes, turning often, until evenly coloured and piping hot through.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Slice, sauce and dust
Cut each hot sausage into 20–25 mm pieces. Divide among 4 plates, spoon over the hot curry sauce and dust with the remaining 10 g curry powder and 2 g salt just before serving.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Chill shaped patties or drained grated vegetables briefly when the mixture feels loose; a firmer mixture is easier to brown cleanly.
Give each piece enough pan space to brown; crowding traps steam and softens the surface.

Common mistakes

Turning food before a browned crust forms makes it stick and tear; wait until it releases more easily from the pan.
Using too little fat for potato pancakes prevents even edge crisping; maintain a shallow, hot layer between batches.

Substitutions

Neutral oil can replace clarified butter for frying, though it gives less buttery aroma.
For meat patties, use a beef-and-pork mixture with similar fat content if the exact regional mince is unavailable.

Storage

Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate within 2 hours at 0–4°C for up to 3 days. Reheat only the portion needed until piping hot throughout.

Cultural context

Currywurst became a defining German post-war snack and remains strongly associated with Berlin, though regional sausage choices and sauce styles differ around the country.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Currywurst - CurryMitte — Photograph by Sumit Surai; CC BY-SA 4.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to German recipes

Currywurst

Ingredients

Method

Sweat the onions

Bloom the curry base

Simmer the sauce

Blend smooth

Brown the sausages

Slice, sauce and dust

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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