Pieces of Hog Heaven to Sizzle on the Grill

I have found hog heaven, or should I say himmel, at the Forest Pork Store.

This German butcher/grocer on East Jericho Turnpike in Huntington Station offers the perfect antidote for the mass-market hotdogs and sausages we usually toss on the grill on the Fourth of July.

The store, a spin-off of the now-closed Forest Pork Store in Ridgewood, Queens, sells its own wieners, but also brats and other wursts. 

Asked during a recent visit got recommendations for the grill, owner Peter Lanwes spreads his hands wide to indicate that everything in the refrigerated display case in front of him fits the bill. It’s filled with a array of house-made frankfurters -- with casing, skinless, cocktail-size and foot-longs -- and plump, hand-tied links in a variety of hues: white, brown, orange and speckled.

I bought an assortment recommended by Lanwes and grilled them up in the backyard for a largely porcine feast. Here’s the menu:

Frankfurters: With a meaty, mildly seasoned blend of pork and beef, these cook up firm and juicy. The skinned variety offers a splendid snap when you bite in. The foot-longs also are known as seitenwurst.

Bratwurst: A combo of beef, veal and pork, these pinkish speckled links (uncooked) trace their origin to Bavaria. These are chewy and moderately spicy.

Knackwurst:  Often called knockwurst, these short, plump sausages, sort of overstuffed hotdogs, originated in Germany’s Holstein region. They contain ground veal, pork and garlic stuffed into a casing, aged and lightly smoked. Somewhat thick skinned, they taste like the franks.
 
Weisswurst and Bockwurst: Another Bavarian specialty, made from finely ground veal and pork and mildly spiced. The bockwurst have specks of parsley.  Alone, these tender, delicately seasoned, meaty sausages seemed boring. Paired with sauerkraut, mustard and a pretzel roll known as a brezel, the experience is elevated. Lanwes cautions: these links must be boiled for 10 minutes prior to grilling to prevent the sausage casing from cracking. Alternatively, he says, you can turn them frequently while on the grill.

Bauernwurst:  A farmer’s sausage with a coarse, chunky texture and a deep orange color. It’s crunchy and spicy.

Krainerwurst: These smoked, cured, deeply colored links, sometimes called smoked brats, pack a flavor wallop with garlic and spices blended in with the pork and beef. Similar to kielbasa, or polish sausages, only shorter.

Forest Pork Store also sells Italian-style sausages.  They’re as tasty as their German cousins.

Hot Italian: Grainy texture and definitely spicy hot.

Sweet Italian: Chewy, spicy with specks of fennel.

You’ll pay a bit more for Forest Pork Store’s links. Prices range from $6.99 to $7.99 per pound, but for it’s worth it for a taste of the Old World.
 
You’ll also want some weinkraut, German sauerkraut made with wine; German mustard; house-made German potato salad; brezels--fist-sized, pretzel-dough rolls and crusty country bread sold by the pound in large, unsliced hunks.

And of course, lots of beer.  That, however, is another story.