Debrecen Sausage

Debreceni paros kolbasz is a lightly smoked pork sausage seasoned with sweet paprika, garlic and marjoram, made short and tied in linked pairs, which is where the name comes from: it was sold two at a time. It travelled with the name of the city across the old Habsburg lands, which is why the debreziner appears on menus in Austria and beyond, usually as something rather different from the original. In Debrecen it is eaten grilled or fried with mustard and bread, and the market hall and the butchers around it are the place to buy it. The city is the second largest in Hungary, with a large Reformed church, a botanical garden and a substantial market.

The main sights

• Sausages tied in pairs - the form the name comes from.
• Mild paprika and marjoram - the seasoning that defines it.
• The Debrecen market hall - butchers and stalls selling it fresh.
• Its Habsburg afterlife - the debreziner sold across central Europe.

When to go

Year round. One hour as part of a market visit. The market hall is busiest and best stocked in the morning; Sunday is closed.

Practical notes

Much of what is sold under the name industrially bears little relation to the butchers' version; buy from a counter, not a supermarket. It is a simple sausage, not a revelation. Debrecen is a functional city rather than a pretty one.

Nearby

The Hortobagy is west; the Reformed Great Church is in the centre.