A chipolata is a type of fresh sausage

Sausage

A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...

, believed to have been created in France and similar to an Italian sausage

Italian sausage

In the United States, Italian sausage most often refers to a style of pork sausage noted for being seasoned with fennel and/or anise as the primary seasoning...

 but usually prepared as a very thin, breakfast sausage

Breakfast sausage

Breakfast sausage is a type of fresh pork sausage usually served at breakfast in the United States. It is a common breakfast item in traditional American "farmer" or "country" breakfasts, as it originated as a way for farmers to make use of as much of their livestock as possible...

-style link, often grilled rather than pan-fried or poached. Chipolatas are normally made from coarse-ground pork

Pork

Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....

 seasoned with salt

Edible salt

Salt, also known as table salt, or rock salt, is a mineral that is composed primarily of sodium chloride , a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of ionic salts. It is essential for animal life in small quantities, but is harmful to animals and plants in excess...

 and pepper

Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...

 together with such herbs — according to the particular recipe — as sage

Common sage

Salvia officinalis is a small, perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the family Lamiaceae and is native to the Mediterranean region, though it has naturalized in many places throughout the world...

, thyme

Thyme

Thyme is a culinary and medicinal herb of the genus Thymus.-History:Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, believing it was a source of courage...

, pimento

Pimento

A pimento or cherry pepper is a variety of large, red, heart-shaped chili pepper that measures 3 to 4 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide . The flesh of the pimento is sweet, succulent and more aromatic than that of the red bell pepper...

, and/or nutmeg

Nutmeg

The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...

. The word is French and is believed to derive from the Italian cipollata, which essentially means "made with onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

s" and according to some sources may have referred to an onion stew with sausages.

Chipolatas are also eaten a great deal in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. They frequently appear as part of a Christmas dinner

Christmas dinner

Christmas dinner is the primary meal traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. In many ways the meal is similar to a standard Sunday dinner. Christmas feasts have traditionally been luxurious and abundant...

 wrapped in streaky bacon as pigs in blankets.. The List Ltd. About page Chipolatas are similar to a type of breakfast sausage found in Australia. They are not to be confused with cocktail sausages, often served at buffets, which are much smaller, thinner and around half the length of typical chipolatas.

A garniture

Garnish

A garnish is an item or substance used as a decoration or embellishment and often a flavor component on a prepared food dish or drink. In many cases, it may give added or contrasting flavor, some garnishes are selected first to augment the visual impact of the plate, while others are selected...

 à la chipolata consists of onions, chipolata sausages, chestnuts, salt pork, and sometimes carrots in a demiglace or Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

sauce.