Leberkäse
in Austria and the Swabian, Bavarian and Franconian parts of Germany, 'leverkaas' in the Netherlands and Fleischkäse is a speciality food found in the south of Germany, in Austria and parts of Switzerland. It consists of beef, pork and bacon and is made by grinding the ingredients very finely and then baking it as a loaf in a bread pan until it has a crunchy brown crust. Variations may be made using other kinds of meat such as horse meat or turkey, or may contain additional ingredients such as cheese or minced chili peppers. Liver is not traditionally considered an essential ingredient.
Leberkäse is also called Fleischlaib, which literally means “meat-loaf” in German, but it is different from the meatloaf known anglophone countries, which in German is called Hackbraten, faschierter Braten, Wiegebraten, falscher Hase and Heuchelhase.
Consumption
Leberkäse is traditionally enjoyed in a variety of ways, including:- Most of the time, it is served hot on a Semmel (hard wheat flour bread-roll) and traditionally seasoned with mustard or pickles. The result, generally called Leberkäsesemmel, is a staple of Southern German and Austrian fast food stalls, butcher shops and supermarkets.
- Cut into approximately finger-thick slices, usually served with traditionally medium hot mustard or Bavarian sweet mustard or sometimes ketchup and accompanied by soft pretzels or Kartoffelsalat.
- Pan-fried, in which case it is commonly accompanied by a fried egg and German potato salad, or Bratkartoffeln and sometimes spinach. This is a very common Biergarten dish.
- Cold, cut into very thin slices and used on a variety of sandwiches, usually seasoned with pickled cucumbers.
- Two slices of Leberkäse with a slice of ham and cheese in the middle are dipped into eggs and coated with breadcrumbs and then fried in the pan. This variant is called falsches Cordon Bleu.