How to make the legendary Mydland sausage

If you're from Tromsø, the Mydland sausage is iconic and symbolizes part of Tromsø's identity. It's mythical and tasty, and is one of the first things tourists and visitors to the city want to taste when they visit.

-"The Mydland sausage is the heart of our company. It was the start of the company and it is the core of the company," says Sandra Mydland - operations manager at Mydland and 5th generation meat producer.

But how is it made - and how does it turn out so well?

The most essential aspects of our sausage production are access to good raw materials, well-being and skilled professionals who know what they're doing!

Sausages from Mydland contain meat and fat, and are basically made in the same way as they have always been made. The meat is ground and chopped into a stuffing before being stuffed into a cleaned and processed pig or sheep intestine.

The challenge of making traditional sausages is that you have to mix together ingredients that are not easy to mix: water, fat and protein.

To get a consistency in the mixture that sticks together and can be made into sausages, we need to add salt and process the protein in the meat.

Proteins emulsify fat and water so that they stick together. Therefore, the meat is ground and chopped into a smooth mince, just as you would do in a food processor on the kitchen counter.

During the process, spices, potato flour and some necessary additives are mixed in to prevent the growth of unwanted bacteria. The result is a high-quality sausage that lasts until the last day of consumption.

Once the minced meat has been stuffed into casings and twisted into perfect sausages, they are hung on racks that are rolled into large smoking rooms. The sausages are then cooked and cooled before being packaged - either in a vacuum or in a controlled atmosphere with a gas.

-"Smoking is an ancient preservation method, but today sausages are smoked primarily for their taste and appearance. Norwegians have always preferred smoked sausages to sausages that are simply boiled, with the exception of Christmas sausages.

After smoking, the sausages are heat-treated in an environment of 80 degrees Celsius before being rapidly cooled. This is done to ensure a tasty quality product that is completely safe to eat, even beyond the shelf life. Sausages are a fresh product, and it takes about 1-2 days from the time the meat goes into production until the sausages are on their way to the shops.

So what will Sandra serve if she gets a visit from the King and Queen?

-Mydland sausage, of course!