Käsekrainer
A chat with my bubs Art Lapinsch about a funky cheese-filled sausage in Vienna.
Favorite Food interviews real people about their favorite food.
Käsekrainer
Sausages oozing with ulcerous cheese and spicy mustard never fail to give Art Lapinsch a taste of home.
Entrepreneur, writer, and my loving boyfriend, Art lives in Berlin and runs the climate newsletter Delphi Zero, which explores climate, energy and everything in between.
Back at home in Vienna, Austria, Art discusses why enjoying a well-balanced Käsekrainer at a Burenwurst Stand is the best way to experience local Viennese culture and cuisine.
What's your favorite food? And what is it?
Käsekrainer.
It’s a grilled pork sausage filled with cheese. Sounds funky, but it’s the perfect street food on a night out in Vienna.
Why is this your favorite food?
When people think of Viennese cuisine, they usually imagine a Wiener Schnitzel, a Sacher Torte, or something else that would be served in a sit-down restaurant.
But there’s a whole “street food” culture, which out-of-towners haven’t heard about. I’m talking about simple sausage stands where people from all walks of life congregate to order an overly fatty sausage. In Viennese, we refer to these sausage stands as “Burenwurst Stand” - no one really knows why they are called that way, since it would literally translate to “Boy’s Sausage Stand.”
It’s my favorite food because it’s a taste of home. I grew up in Vienna and moved abroad many moons ago. Every time I’m back, I’m trying to get a Käsekrainer to feel local again.
Describe the perfect Käsekrainer.
Like many things in life, the perfect Käsekrainer should be balanced.
The sausage is heated up on a flat grill surface. If it stays there too long, the skin gets too crunchy. If it’s too short, you might get a half-baked sausage where the cheese is not runny enough. Popular sausage stands can estimate quite well how many people will order in the next hour and manage to heat up the perfect amount of sausages right on time. Not too short, not too long. Just right.
Flavor-wise, I’d say the sausage should have a crumbly-meaty taste from the pork, an oil-glazed skin, and a molten cheese that’s not too strong in flavor.
There are two ways you can eat the Käsekrainer. Either you have it cut up (“aufgeschnitten”) on a plate with a slice of dark bread or you can have it served in a phallic-shaped bread (“im Hot Dog”). I prefer the cut up version since the bread doesn’t get in the way.
The sausage is also served with condiments of your choice. I usually opt for spicy mustard (“Estragon Senf”) and a pile of horseradish (“Kren”). The mustard complements the richness of the cheese-meat combo and cuts through with its acidity. The horseradish cleans your pipes. Some people order it with ketchup, but I think the sweetness of ketchup waters down the richness of the Käsekrainer experience. To each their own.
Any interesting facts about Käsekrainer?
Viennese lore has it that the best way to order a Käsekrainer is to say the following:
“A Eitrige, an Bugl, a Krokodül und a 16er Blech!”
It translates into: “An ulcerous one, a hump, a crocodile, and a 16-grade sheet metal!”
Let me translate:
An ulcerous one: The oozing cheese from the Käsekrainer looks like an ulcer.
A hump: The butt of the bread looks like a hump. That’s the best piece.
A crocodile: A pickle looks like a crocodile. It’s green and has bumpy skin.
A 16-grade sheet metal: Beer in Austria is frequently sold in cans - made of sheet metal. The biggest independent brewery is based in Ottakringer - the 16th district of Viena. So if you’re in the market for a Ottakringer bier, you order the “16er Blech.”
What’s one memory you have with Käsekrainer?
It’s not a specific memory but a broad observation.
Whenever I’m dragging myself to a Burenwurst Stand at night, I see the same thing: people from all walks of life. You see the blue collar workers wrapping up their shift with a night cap while on the other end of the standing desk you’d find an older couple who just came from the opera house to grab a late snack.
Vienna is and always has been a melting pot of different cultures. Nowhere is that more apparent than at the Burenwurst Stand.
Where can I get the best Käsekrainer?
My favorite is Bitzinger. As my mom likes to say, it’s the only sausage stand that carries mini bottles of Moët & Chandon.
It’s tucked right in between the Albertina Museum and the Wiener Staatsoper. I like it because it’s seemingly always on the way home and the quality of the sausage is consistent. When friends visit, I take them there and it’s usually the highlight of their trip.
❤️ Thanks Art for a fun first interview and a great excuse to eat another Käsekrainer.
i hat gern wieda a Käsekraina... (I'd love to have a Käsekrainer again...)
I haven't been to Vienna in over 20 years.
Prost!