Homemade Currywurst
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There’s a reason over 800 million Currywursts are consumed each year in Germany – they’re delicious and have been a German institution since 1949! Learn how to make the BEST homemade curry ketchup and traditional German Currywurst!
For another iconic treat from Berlin be sure to try my authentic Berliner donuts!
What is Currywurst?
In the words of Berlin’s Currywurst Museum director, “No other German dish inspires such excitement.” That sums up the ever popular Currywurst.
Currywurst has been a German institution since at least the 1940’s and possibly a little earlier. Though there are disputes as to its exact origin, it is most famously attributed to Herta Hauer of Berlin. She lived in the British military sector of Berlin after World War II where some soldiers had given her some ketchup, curry powder and Worcestershire sauce that they brought with them from the UK. She went to work experimenting on a sauce that would provide much needed contrast to the limited post-war rations the people were accustomed to living on, a flavorful spicy sauce poured over Bratwursts hot off the grill.
She set up a street stand where construction workers were hard at work rebuilding the war-torn city and in no time the popularity of the currywurst skyrocketed. At its peak she was selling nearly 1500 currywursts per day, or 10,000 per week!
Herta passed away in 1999 at the age of 86 and in 2003 a plaque was dedicated in her honor at the site of her original kiosk on the corner of Kant and Kaiser Friedrich Streets.
Today the currywurst remains popular throughout all of Germany and can be found at most Schnellimbisse (fast food stands). It’s estimated that roughly 800 million currywursts are consumed in Germany each year with 70 million consumed in Berlin alone! With a population of 3.5 million in Berlin, that’s over 20 currywursts per Berliner per year. Yes, the Germans still love their currywursts. And I stand right along with them because I love them, too!
And if you’re ever in Berlin, under the Magistrate’s Viaduct on the Schönhauser Allee you can still order currywurst from Konnopke’s Imbiss, Berlin’s first and most famous currywurst stand.
I grew up in Germany eating and enjoying many a Currywurst. Whether I was out shopping, sightseeing, looking for steals at the fleakmarket or hanging out with friends, a stand selling Currywurst is never hard to find. So thank you Herta Heuwer, thank you to the British soldiers who gave her those first key ingredients, and thank you to the city of Berlin for upholding the Currywurst tradition!
Homemade Curry Ketchup
If you want to simply buy German Curry Ketchup you can find it here on Amazon. But the whole reason you’re here is so that you can make your own and that’s a great choice because NOTHING compares to homemade curry ketchup!
This homemade curry ketchup has cracked the code for the perfect ratio of spices and ingredients. Eating this on your grilled Bratwurst will take you down memory lane, recalling the times you enjoyed this fast-food delicacy during your time in Germany. And if you’ve never been to Germany or have never had currywurst, this will help you understand why it’s so popular.
This homemade currywurst sauce represents the very best you’ve ever had – multiplied by several flavor boosts!
Curry Ketchup Recipe
Let’s get started!
Heat the oil in a small saucepan and cook the onions just until soft and translucent. Do not brown them. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Add the curry powder, paprika, cloves and cinnamon and cook for 30 seconds. Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.
Let the mixture cool completely and then refrigerate for a day before using to allow time for the flavors to meld.
The Curry Ketchup will keep in the fridge for up to a month.
Currywurst Recipe
With your amazing curry sauce in hand, the next step is preparing the Bratwursts! (And for our ultra serious foodies, here is our recipe for do-it-yourself homemade Bratwurst!)
Germany has several kinds of Bratwursts to choose from. Some areas also use Bockwurst, Rotwurst and Weisswurst. I can’t recommend strongly enough using the most authentic German sausages you can find – they taste totally different from what we call Bratwursts here in the U.S.. If you’re lucky you may find a German deli in your city or a butcher who makes genuine German sausages. If not, look for the best sausages from your local butcher, ask them what they recommend.
You can either grill or pan-fry wursts. They need to be poached in lightly simmering water first and then grilled/fried to finish them off.
The important thing is to cook them until they develop a thick and crispy browned outer crust. (So if you’re pan-frying, be sure to use enough oil.) Some curry wurst stands also cut vertical slits along the currywurst to prevent them from bursting open while cooking and then the sausages are sliced along the lines into bite-sized chunks before serving.
Once they’re cooked, slice the sausages into bite-sized pieces, top them with some curry ketchup and sprinkle with curry powder. Serve immediately with French fries or a crispy Brötchen (crispy bread roll).
Currywurst along with the fries/Brötchen are served in paper food trays with currywurst toothpicks.
Guten Appetit!
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Homemade Currywurst
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1 1/2 tablespoons quality curry powder
- homemade curry powder (click link for recipe)
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 5 tablespoons vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- pinch of cayenne pepper (optional, for more heat)
- 4 German bratwursts, rotewurst, bockwurst, or even weisswurst (see blog post about selecting the right sausages)
- homemade bratwursts (click link for recipe)
- extra curry powder for sprinkling
- French fries or crispy bread rolls (Brötchen) for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan and cook the onions just until soft and translucent. Do not brown them. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the curry powder, paprika, cloves and cinnamon and cook for 30 seconds. Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Let the mixture cool completely and then refrigerate for a day before using to allow time for the flavors to meld.
- Makes 1 1/2 cups. The curry ketchup will keep for up to a month in the fridge.
- HOW TO MAKE CURRYWURST:
- If the sausages are not pre-cooked, first poach them in lightly simmering water. The next step is to grill/fry them to finish them off. You can either grill or pan-fry the sausages.
The important thing is to cook them until they develop a thick and crispy browned outer crust. (So if you’re pan-frying, be sure to use enough oil.) Some curry wurst stands also cut vertical slits along the currywurst to prevent them from bursting open while cooking and then the sausages are sliced along the lines into bite-sized chunks before serving. - To serve, slice the wursts vertically into bite-sized pieces, top with some curry ketchup, and sprinkle with curry powder. Serve with French fries or a crispy bread roll (Brötchen). Currywurst and fries/Brötchen are served in paper food trays and eaten with currywurst toothpicks.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet October 8, 2018
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
I just have to tell you how much our family loves this recipe. We were stationed in Germany for 4 years and currywurst was one of our favorite things. This currywurst sauce is the best we have ever tasted and I have tried 3-4 other recipes. The flavor is out of this world delicious and I agree that the flavor improves with time, so give it at least a day or two. Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for this terrific recipe.
Oh that makes me so happy, Susan! I’m thrilled that this has become a family favorite, thank you so much for the feedback! <3
This was fantastically delicious! I tasted the curry ketchup the same day and it was delicious, then waited until the following day to eat it and it was even better. Full 5 stars on this!
I’m so glad, Teri, thank you very much!
I would like to make this for a potluck. If I prepare everything first, would it be okay in the crock pot?
Yes, that would be fine, Veronica.
Dear Kimberly,
first of all: nice recipe :-) I’ve tried it and the sauce is very delicious. It’s to recommend!
But to the informations concerning the Currywurst’s history I’ve to make some modest remarks.
There are two major German regions in which the Currywurst is very popular: Berlin as you mentioned and the Ruhrgebiet (all the cities between Dortmund and Duisburg).
And it seems so that the curry sauce was invented in 1936 by Peter Hildebrand, a citizen of Duisburg but originally from the Netherlands. Due to the Nazi regime the news didn’t make it to Berlin, but Hildebrand survived the war and opened lot’s of “Imbisse” in Duisburg afterwards.
Herta Heuwer herself always claimed to have a patent on it but this isn’t true. There are no papers to prove it. Rather there’s a trademark from 1959 called “Chillup” she was the owner of.
And most likely in 1949/1950 she had help with the recipe from the butcher Max Brückner from the eastern part who invented the “Wurst ohne Pelle” (sausage without skin) because of the lack of animal guts after the war. The owners of “Konnopke’s Imbiss” (which btw. isn’t the oldest one in Germany but was in former East Germany), the family Jankowitz were their first customer and so the “Currywurst ohne” (Currywurst without) became the typical Berliner currywurst. In the Ruhrgebiet it’s very rare (I really don’t know a single Imbiss where you can buy it but I don’t know every one).
But whether I buy it here (I’m a Ruhrgebiet native) or in Berlin I enjoy both of them. And I like them very hot. :-)
Regards to the world and good luck to all the Americans
Tom
Hi Tom, thank you for sharing these insights and friendly greetings to the Ruhrgebiet! I lived in Essen for a time and know the area well. I agree, I never saw currywurst there either, but I did have my fill of lots of great Döner Kebabs! :) By the way, I mentioned Konnopke’s Imbiss being the oldest in Berlin, not in Germany. Currywurst: Yes, I do know that its origin is disputed with a couple of authors claiming Peter Hildebrand, others attributing its origin to Hamburg, and even the claim that it was a chef of a castle in Niedersachsen who invented it. Whether the other claims are accurate, or whether Herta Heuwer invented it, or if she simply contributed to a joint effort from multiple sources that over time came together to culminate in what we know today as currywurst, I think we may never know for certain. Whatever the case, it is most famously attributed to Frau Heuwer and without a doubt she made an indelible mark on Germany’s street food culture. The Berliners are very passionate about their claim for currywurst and until it is irrefutably proven otherwise, I’m okay with letting them have it :)
Outstanding … never realized that it had so many ingredients apart from the regular curry powder. Had earlier used Knorr curry wurst readymade mix. This recipe beats it hands down.
Thank you for sharing and God Bless you
Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Sudarshan, and really appreciate the feedback, thank you!