Traditionally, rookworst is made with pork, stuffed in a small pig intestine and smoked over smouldering oak- and beechwood chips.

[2] It is assumed that rookworst from the province of Gelderland started to make waves in the Netherlands in the eighteenth century.

Every year, the best rookworst of the Netherlands is elected during a contest held there, in the city of Arnhem in Gelderland.

[5] Glucono delta-lactone is added to lower the pH and add to shelf life,[1] and the intestine is replaced by bovine collagen.

The mixture is salted and saltpeter, sugar and nutmeg are added before the meat is forced into pig intestines.