Chef Elsa
Eiersalat (Austrian Egg Salad)
Cool, creamy Austrian egg salad with sour gherkins and tart apple in a mustard-yogurt dressing, the kind of honest Jause food that tastes like an Austrian Easter table and works beautifully all year round.
Culinary Explorer
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Wiener Wurstsalat
Created by
Thin strips of Extrawurst and sharp raw onion rings dressed in white wine vinegar, oil, and a little patience. The cold plate at every honest Heuriger starts here, and it needs nothing else.
Salads
Austrian
Outdoor Dining
Picnic
20 min
Active Time
0 min cook•1 hr 20 min total
Yield4 servings
The first time I understood what a Heuriger was, I was nine years old, sitting at a long wooden table under chestnut trees somewhere in the Vienna Woods with Gretel and my grandmother Eva. A woman behind the buffet counter was setting out ceramic bowls of cold salads like she was dealing cards. Erdäpfelsalat. Krautsalat. Gurkensalat. And Wurstsalat, always Wurstsalat, the strips of pink sausage glistening under a sharp vinegar dressing with rings of raw white onion tangled through. Gretel pointed at it with her fork and said, "That one tells you whether the kitchen is honest."
She was right. Wurstsalat has nowhere to hide. It's Extrawurst cut into thin strips, raw onion sliced into rings, and a Marinade of white wine vinegar and oil. That's it. No cheese, no mayonnaise, no pile of garnishes to distract you from what's underneath. If the sausage is good and the vinegar is sharp and the onion is fresh, you have something worth eating. If any one of those things is off, the whole plate tells on you immediately.
I serve it at my restaurant in Salzburg all summer long, and it's always the first bowl to empty from the cold counter. People who've never had it reach for it because it looks simple and inviting. People who know it reach for it because they know exactly what they're getting: good Austrian home cooking that asks nothing of you except decent ingredients and an hour of patience while the Marinade does its work.
The Heuriger tradition dates to a 1784 decree by Emperor Joseph II, permitting Austrian vintners to sell their own wine and serve simple cold food on their premises. Wurstsalat became a fixture of these buffets because it could be prepared in advance, served cold, and paired with young wines without competing for attention. Extrawurst itself, a fine-textured, mildly spiced pork and beef sausage, has been a staple of Austrian Selchereien (curing houses) since at least the 19th century. Its name, literally 'extra sausage,' originally referred to the premium quality product reserved for a butcher's best customers.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Extrawurst
Quantity
400g
in one piece, not pre-sliced
white onion
Quantity
1 medium
white wine vinegar (Hesperidenessig or Apfelessig)
Quantity
3 tablespoons
sunflower oil
Quantity
4 tablespoons
sharp mustard (Estragonsenf if available)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
cold water
Quantity
1 tablespoon
salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
freshly ground, to taste
fresh chives
Quantity
for garnish
finely snipped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Extrawurstin one piece, not pre-sliced | 400g |
| white onion | 1 medium |
| white wine vinegar (Hesperidenessig or Apfelessig) | 3 tablespoons |
| sunflower oil | 4 tablespoons |
| sharp mustard (Estragonsenf if available) | 1 teaspoon |
| cold water | 1 tablespoon |
| salt | to taste |
| black pepper | freshly ground, to taste |
| fresh chivesfinely snipped | for garnish |
Equipment Needed
- •Sharp knife
- •Large mixing bowl with lid or cling film
- •Small whisk or fork for the Marinade
Instructions
- 1
Slice the Extrawurst
Remove the skin from the Extrawurst if it has one. Cut the sausage into slices about three millimeters thick, then cut those slices into strips roughly the width of your little finger. You want them thin enough to soak up the Marinade but substantial enough to hold their shape and give you something to chew. If your Extrawurst comes pre-sliced from the deli counter, ask for it cut thicker than usual. Paper-thin deli slices turn to mush in the dressing and you'll end up with a bowl of sad pink paste instead of a salad.
If you can't find Extrawurst, look for a good quality Fleischwurst, Lyoner, or smooth-textured Polish kielbasa. Bologna works in a pinch, but buy the best you can find. The sausage carries this dish and cheap substitutes will let you know. - 2
Prepare the onion
Peel the onion and slice it into thin rings. Separate the rings with your fingers so they'll tangle through the salad instead of sitting in clumps. The onion is raw and it stays raw. That sharpness is the counterpoint to the mild, fatty sausage, and without it the whole salad goes flat. If raw onion is genuinely too strong for you, soak the rings in cold water for ten minutes and drain them well before using. This takes the edge off without killing the flavor entirely.
- 3
Make the Marinade
Whisk together the white wine vinegar, sunflower oil, mustard, salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of cold water in a small bowl. The water loosens the dressing just enough to coat every strip without pooling at the bottom. Taste it. The Marinade should be noticeably sharp, leaning toward the vinegar rather than the oil. Austrian Marinaden are vinegar-forward on purpose. The fat in the sausage will absorb and soften the acidity, so what tastes too strong in the bowl will taste exactly right on the plate. If yours tastes balanced and mellow right now, you haven't added enough vinegar yet.
Hesperidenessig is a traditional Viennese citrus vinegar that gives Austrian salads their distinctive clean tang. If you can find it at a specialty shop or online, try it here. Otherwise a good white wine vinegar or Apfelessig (apple cider vinegar) will serve you well. - 4
Dress and marinate
Toss the Extrawurst strips and onion rings together in a large bowl. Pour the Marinade over everything and turn it gently with two spoons until every strip is coated. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour. The sausage needs this time. It drinks in the dressing, softens slightly at the edges, and the vinegar and onion work their way into every surface. After an hour the flavors will have married properly. Overnight is even better.
Gretel always said a good salad needs time to think. Don't rush the marinating. The difference between thirty minutes and two hours is the difference between dressed sausage and a proper Wurstsalat. - 5
Serve cold
Give the salad one final toss and taste for seasoning. The vinegar mellows as it sits, so you may want another small splash. Pile it generously into a bowl, scatter freshly snipped chives over the top, and serve cold. This is Heuriger food at its purest: a glass of Grüner Veltliner, good bread, and a bowl of Wurstsalat at a table under the trees. Mahlzeit!
Chef Tips
- •Buy your Extrawurst in one piece from the deli counter, not pre-sliced and not from a vacuum pack. You need to control the thickness of the cut yourself. Tell your butcher you want it about as thick as a finger, then you'll slice it into strips at home. The texture of the finished salad depends on getting this right.
- •The ratio of vinegar to oil is roughly three to four, and if anything, err on the side of more vinegar. Austrian Marinade is not a French vinaigrette. It's supposed to be sharp. The fat in the sausage absorbs and softens the acidity over time, so what tastes too strong in the bowl mellows into something balanced on the plate.
- •Serve this as part of a Kalte Platte (cold plate) with Erdäpfelsalat, Essiggurkerln (pickled gherkins), radishes, and good dark bread. At a Heuriger, you'd pick three or four salads, pile them onto one plate, and eat them with a glass of new wine. That's the whole meal and it's a perfectly good one.
- •Wurstsalat keeps beautifully in the fridge for two days. It actually improves overnight as the Marinade penetrates deeper into the sausage. Make it the day before a picnic and thank yourself later.
Advance Preparation
- •Wurstsalat improves with time and is best made at least a few hours ahead. Prepare it the morning of, or even the day before, and refrigerate. The Marinade deepens overnight and the sausage absorbs more flavor with every hour.
- •Add the chives just before serving. They lose their bright color and fresh bite if they sit in the vinegar too long.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 165g)
Calories
405 calories
Total Fat
36 g
Saturated Fat
10 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
24 g
Cholesterol
60 mg
Sodium
1100 mg
Total Carbohydrates
5 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
12 g
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