Well it is liver cheese. And it contains no liver- almost; only pork, beef and some onions. Sounds delicious, I know. Well, depending on your taste it just might. I must admit I kind of liked it, in a small quantity that is. I was in the southwestern part of Germany a few weeks ago, the fine city of Karlsruhe to be exact, visiting a friend. I was facing another morning of jetlag and when my friend awoke and decided to get breakfast I didn’t have a chance to make requests. He came back with lots of small paper bags from the bakery in order that I could try some new German foods, at the top of his list was leberkase.
Most people, supposedly, eat leberkase sandwiches. They are particularly popular for children’s lunches. Some loafs have smiley faces branded onto them. I had an idea in my mind and really, the actual experience was nothing like it. It was like a thicker, airer mortadella. Kind of salty, very porky and easy to eat. It also had a crispy brown crust. It was hot when we opened the foil so this left me wondering if it was freshly prepared or reheated. It was fresh. Leberkase is very easy for the butcher to prepare every morning. He mixes the meats so thin they are practically liquids. He can even leave some for the baker to put in a pan and bake later in the day, or on Sundays when he is closed for example. Leberkase is made by grinding different pork and beef meats with some onions. There are special regional purity laws regarding what can go into it. In Bavaria, I have since learned, they have special laws that allow them not to include any liver in the recipe while other regions have to use a little bit because of the name “leber”. The Bavarians also have a lovly butchers school, but frankly it seems more to be a “meat arts” school. http://www.fleischerschule-landshut.de/index.php?navId=0 Check that out.
There are traditional ways to eat leberkase. And most of them are similar to eating sausage. With mustard, potatoes, bread and beer. I only had a few bites that day as it is not a morning time food but now I have a little craving for it. And a tall lagerbier. I’ve heard rumors of good leberkase in Queens. I might need to find these places tonight.
1 Comment
October 30, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Interesting meat product. Those Germans know their meat arts!