Leberkäse

Bavarian Leberkäse (Fleischkäse)

A finely minced loaf of beef and pork that bakes up with a crackly browned crust and a juicy, almost-emulsified interior. Classic Bavarian snack-bar fare: slice it thick, tuck it into a crusty bread roll, and smear with sweet mustard.

Prep

25 min

Cook

75 min

Total

100 min

Serves

8

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (1 lb 2 oz) pork shoulder (fatty), around 30% fat for a juicy loaf; substitute pork belly if shoulder is lean
• •500 g (1 lb 2 oz) lean beef chuck, roughly equal to pork for the traditional balance
• •200 g (7 oz) ice, helps keep the farce cold during the second grind; substitute 200 g crushed ice
• •120 ml (½ cup) ice-cold water
• •1 medium onion, finely grated, about 100 g, for traditional Leberkässchwitze flavor
• •25 g (¼ cup) fine dry breadcrumbs, from a stale white bread roll, soaked and squeezed dry then crumbled
• •20 g (1½ tbsp) salt, non-iodine fine table salt; this version is cooked fresh and not cured
• •4 g (1 tsp) white pepper, freshly ground
• •2 g (½ tsp) ground ginger
• •2 g (½ tsp) ground mace or nutmeg, mace is more traditional
• •2 g (1 tsp) sweet paprika
• •1 g (½ tsp) ground coriander, optional, classic in Munich-style recipes
• •1 whole large egg, helps bind a home-cook version; some traditional recipes omit it
• •30 g (2 tbsp) lard or clarified butter, for greasing the pan
• •8 rolls crusty white bread rolls (Semmel), Bavarian-style if possible; substitute kaiser rolls
• •sweet Bavarian mustard (süßer Senf), to serve

Steps

1. 1 Cut the pork and beef into 2 cm cubes and chill them in the freezer for 30 minutes until firm but not frozen solid. The cold meat is critical for a smooth emulsion.
2. 2 Peel and finely grate the onion. Squeeze it in a clean kitchen towel to remove excess juice, catching about 2 tbsp of juice and reserving it.
3. 3 Set up a meat grinder with the fine die. Pass the cold meats through once into a bowl set over another bowl of ice.
4. 4 Add the grated onion and its reserved juice, the ice, ice water, and the soaked-and-crumbled bread. Pass this mixture through the grinder a second time (a third time gives the classic silky texture; a home grinder may need this).
5. 5 Transfer the farce to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (or a large bowl). Add salt, white pepper, ginger, mace, paprika, coriander, and the egg. Beat on medium for 5 to 7 minutes, until the mixture looks pale, sticky, and pulls away cleanly from the bowl. It should slap when you flick it.
6. 6 Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F (convection 150°C / 300°F). Generously brush a loaf pan (about 24 × 11 × 7 cm / 9½ × 4½ × 2¾ in) or a small loaf tin with lard. For an authentic crust, you can line the pan with very thinly sliced pork fat instead.
7. 7 Fill the pan with the meat mixture, smoothing the top, then bang the pan firmly on the counter 4 to 5 times to drive out air pockets.
8. 8 Form a shallow well in the top center (the fat will pool there and protect the crust from burning). Brush the surface lightly with a thin film of lard.
9. 9 Bake on the middle rack for 60 to 70 minutes. The top and sides should form a deep golden-brown, crackly crust, and the surface should feel springy.
10. 10 Confirm doneness with an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center: it must read 75°C / 167°F or higher for a ground-meat product to be safely cooked through.
11. 11 Rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife and tip out onto a board.
12. 12 Cut into slices about 1 cm / just under ½ inch thick. Serve warm, tucked into split bread rolls with a generous swipe of sweet mustard. Cold leftovers are traditional and excellent the next day.