A juicy smoked pork sausage studded with little pockets of melting cheese, sold at every Austrian Würstelstand (sausage stand). Grilled or boiled until the cheese oozes, it is typically served with a Semmel, mustard and grated horseradish.
Named after the Carniolan sausage (Krainer Wurst) of Carniola, a former Habsburg crown land now in Slovenia, but the cheese-filled version is a modern Austrian creation from the late 1960s, devised to keep the cheese from scorching on the grill. It is now an icon of Viennese street food.
Snap through the smoky, taut casing and hot strings of cheese stretch out of the juicy pork. Salty, smoky and richly savory, with the bite of mustard and the nose-tingling heat of fresh horseradish, it is Vienna at midnight in one handful.
Cubes of cheese mixed into the sausage emulsion stay solid until heat melts them into molten pockets that contrast the firm meat. Smoking the sausage sets the flavor and the casing, so grilling gives a snappy skin around the gushing cheese.
Variations
Served as a 'Eitrige' with curry ketchup, wrapped in a pretzel-dough Blunzn-style, with sweet or hot mustard, alongside fries
On the Palate
Where Käsekrainer sits in the Austrian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 2How it's made
8 steps · 5 min
- 12 min
Score the sausages lightly if grilling to prevent bursting.
- 23 min
Heat a grill or pan to medium so the cheese melts before the skin chars.
Watch outKeep the heat medium, not roaring — the cheese pockets need time to melt before the skin chars.
- 38 min
Cook the Käsekrainer, turning, until browned and heated through.
Watch outCook until browned and heated right through — that's when the cheese inside has turned molten.
- 43 min
Warm a crusty Semmel roll alongside or split it open.
- 51 min
Smear mustard inside the roll and add fresh grated horseradish if liked.
- 61 min
Tuck the hot sausage into the roll or serve on a plate.
- 71 min
Pierce the casing so a little molten cheese escapes.
Watch outPierce the casing just before serving so a little molten cheese oozes out — that gush is the whole point.
- 81 min
Serve immediately with extra mustard on the side.
