Leberwurst or liverwurst is a liver sausage. It holds popularity throughout Europe and the Americas. It is a typical sausage and is spreadable thus is eaten mostly as fillers in sandwiches. Leberwurst can easily be accessed particularly in Germany and its popularity lies in the nutritive values and the sheer taste. Interestingly, the taste and style of cooking these sausages changes regionally.
Understanding the Leberwurst and its varieties
Most leberwurst contain pigs or calves livers along with fat usually from veal, and a whole range of spices (black pepper, marjoram, allspice, thyme, grounded mustard seeds, nutmeg, and others).
Leberwurst holds quite a bit of cultural importance when certain ingredients are added further to it. For instance, adding onion and/or bacon not only enhances the taste of the sausage but also makes it representative of a particular cultural spirit and regional identity. More often than not, a typical German individual can identify the region through the taste and style of cooking the sausage. To further illustrate, take the example of Thüringer Leberwurst. Interestingly enough this particular form of leberwurst holds a protected status in the entire Europe.
The most common way of serving leberwurst is with a sandwich in Germany, and most parts of Europe. They usually differ in their usage of different kinds of side dishes and fillers. Say for example in North America at large they are also served in open-faced sandwiches but, people here usually prefer to sauté it with red onions, mustard on breads that could be made of rye or whole grain bread.
As far as the side servings go, specifically in the whole of Germany, and southern and Midwestern parts of the United States, the liverwurst is popularly served along with slices of pickled gherkin. The pickling process usually contains sugar, vinegar, and mustard seeds. Interestingly, if you were to travel to the north-eastern parts of the United States, the gherkins served there are not pickled with sugar, but with salt and by also adding dill.
It will be rather fascinating to also know that in the Midwestern regions of USA it is popularised by the name of what in Germany is called Braunschweiger, or liver sausage. Braunschweiger in Germany is made by using minced pork and is usually smoked and of spreadable sausage type. On the other hand, in the USA, the liver sausage is easily available in the form of packaged product as a whole or in slices as well and they mostly are always smoked. The food regulations authority of the USA has mandated that liver sausages sold in its jurisdiction should contain a minimum of 30% liver.
The other famous German varieties of leberwurst are:
- Thuringian: It is a combination of pork, pork liver, nitrate pickling salt, and onions which are braised and then blended along with spices. Its texture and consistency is that of a meat paste and is eaten after it is cooked. Furthermore, to generate the authentic taste and flavoring, marjoram and ground peppers are added and then the sausages are smoked. It is geographically protected. This means that a minimum of 51% of the entire production must take place in the region of Thuringia. Its production starts with the removal of bile ducts from the liver and it is then minced. Then the lean pork and bacon are firstly salted and then steamed at 80 ° C. They are then finely grounded using the traditional machine called gekuttert and occasionally emulsifiers are added to it. Furthermore, it is then allowed to emulsify at 45-50 ° C until the desired results are achieved. Both the components are then mixed together and bottled at around 40 and 50 ° C. Finally, it is then cooked using a water bath at temperatures around 75-78 ° C and cold smoked at 25-30 ° C using beech wood.
- Palatine liverwurst: It in-fact originated in Palatinate in southwestern region of Germany, and is produced in the form of cooked sausages ever since it first came up. Traditionally speaking, such sausages are made using specifically the fatty tissues of pork, the connective tissues, masks of pigs, and liver. As per the German Food Code while producing Palatine liverwurst, no other internal organ should be used apart from the liver. Furthermore, the above mentioned ingredients are coarsely grained and by adding the famous seasonings using a combination of pepper, marjoram, and nutmeg. Also, sometimes, in other variants of the liverwurst, a mixture comprising of the belly of pork and Fettwamme are used instead of the pig head. This liverwurst is typically a part of the traditional meat platter and served with fried potatoes.
- Frankfurter Zeppelin sausage: This variant of the sausage is considered to be a specialty of Frankfurt and has been in production since 1909 in Frankfurt am Main. Stephan Weiss is known to have created the recipe of Frankfurt Zeppelin sausages and is also responsible for popularizing the sausage due to his love for zeppelins particularly, during the International Airship Exhibition Frankfurt 1909. Its peculiarity originates from the use of high liver continent and from it being smoked in a form of natural casing.
Recipe of the traditional leberwurst:
This is how leberwursts are made generally in households. Furthermore, through the following method you can serve 6 or more sausages.
Ingredients:
- Pork liver: 17.5 oz
- Veal: 10.5 oz
- Pork Belly: 70 oz
- Onions: 8.8 oz
- Salt: 2.1 oz
- Grounded white pepper: 3 tablespoons
- Marjoram: 1 tablespoon
- Pimientos: 2 tablespoons
- Nutmeg: 1 tablespoon
- Ginger: 1 teaspoon
- Ginger: 1 teaspoon
- Cinnamon: 1 teaspoon
- Boiling water: 2 cups
- Pork casing: washed and dried
The method:
Firstly, you will have to cut the meat into small pieces.
Then they will have to be combined with liver, onions, salt and pepper and then be simmered for roughly 40 minutes. After this add all the herbs and stir gently. Take the mixture out and let it settle for a bit. Then you will be required to grind the mixture coarsely. Keep checking the consistency.
Next, stuff this mixture into the pork casing and then tie the casings open ends. Finally, take a deep pan, add water and add the sausages into it and allow it to boil for 6 minutes. The sausages will be ready.
You must also keep in mind to use non-stick utensils. Moreover, cooking time might differ and if you are using an oven then preheating it will not only cook the sausages better but also save some time.
The following recipe is easy and not at all time consuming. The only problem may be faced while finding the right kind of ingredients. It is important to have the most freshly available meat and herbs. Thereby the sausages will last. This is a traditional way sausages are made in Germany and many parts of European and North American homes. They represent a certain culture and symptomatic of regional practices and way of living.