Leberkäse
Baked pork and beef loaf
Bayerischer Leberkäse: Bavarian baked pork and beef loaf, served warm in a roll with sweet mustard
Despite its name, Bavarian Leberkäse contains neither liver nor cheese: it is a smooth, finely ground loaf of pork and beef baked until it has a dark, crunchy crust. In Munich it is the mid-morning snack, a thick warm slice folded into a crusty roll with sweet mustard and eaten standing at the butcher's counter. Made at home without curing salt, the inside bakes pale grey rather than pink, which is normal. Chef's tip: everything, including the bowl of the food processor, must be ice-cold; if the mix warms above about 12 °C the fat separates and the loaf turns crumbly.
- Total time
- 115 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the loaf
- 1 ⅓ lb pork shoulderin 2 cm cubes, chilled
- 10 ½ oz lean beefin 2 cm cubes, chilled
- 10 ½ oz pork back fat (or fatty pork belly without rind)in cubes, chilled
- 7 oz crushed ice
- ⅝ oz salt
- 1 tsp white pepper
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- ¼ tsp ground mace
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp neutral oilfor the tin
To serve
- 8 crusty bread rolls (optional)
- 8 tbsp sweet Bavarian mustard (optional)
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Spread the 1 ⅓ lb pork shoulder, 10 ½ oz lean beef and 10 ½ oz pork back fat (or fatty pork belly without rind) on a tray and freeze for 30 minutes, until firm at the edges but not frozen solid. Chill the food processor bowl and blade too.
30 minStep 2: Mince the meat and fat through a fine mincer plate, or pulse in batches in the processor until finely chopped. Put the chopped meat back in the fridge while you weigh the seasonings.
10 minStep 3: Working in two batches, blitz the meat with the ⅝ oz salt, 1 tsp white pepper, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp dried marjoram, ¼ tsp ground mace, 1 tsp onion powder and half the 3 ½ oz crushed ice for 1 minute, then add the rest of the 3 ½ oz crushed ice and blitz 2–3 minutes more until you have a smooth, sticky, pale paste. Stop if it feels warm and chill it for 10 minutes.
10 minStep 4: Heat the oven to 325°F (275°F fan). Brush a 1.5 litre loaf tin with the 1 tsp neutral oil and press the paste in firmly, banging the tin on the worktop to knock out air. Smooth the top with a wet spatula and score a shallow diamond pattern across it.
5 minStep 5: Bake for 60–75 minutes until a thermometer in the centre reads 160°F and the top is deep brown and crusty. For a darker crust, raise the heat to 425°F (400°F fan) for the last 10 minutes.
70 minStep 6: Rest in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out. Slice 1.5 cm thick and serve warm in the 8 crusty bread rolls with 8 tbsp sweet Bavarian mustard. Leftover slices are excellent fried with an egg on top.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 1 g
- Fat
- 33 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does leberkäse take?
- About 115 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 75 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of ground mace?
- Ground nutmeg, same amount (a little stronger).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Pfälzer SaumagenStuffed pig's stomach
Saumagen is the pride of the Palatinate, served at wine-village festivals and family dinners from the Haardt hills to Ludwigshafen. A cleaned pig's stomach is stuffed with diced pork shoulder, pork sausage meat, potato and carrot seasoned with marjoram and nutmeg, poached slowly, then sliced thick and fried until crusty. The stomach works only as a casing and is ordered from a butcher; if you can't get one, bake the same filling in a covered terrine in a water bath. Serve with sauerkraut and mashed potato. Chef's tip: fill the stomach only three-quarters full, or it bursts as the potatoes swell.
Chha goshtLamb in buttermilk gravy
Up in the hill villages of Himachal Pradesh, where flocks are walked to summer pastures, lamb is often cooked in chhaachh, the thin buttermilk left after churning butter. Thickened with a spoonful of gram flour, it makes a pale, gently sour gravy that is milder and lighter than the red curries of the plains, and it is a favourite at dhams, the festive meals of the Kangra and Chamba valleys. Serve it with steamed rice or makki ki roti. Chef's tip: whisk the gram flour into the buttermilk until there are no lumps before it goes near the pot; once it hits the heat, any lumps stay lumps.
Indian