Homemade Liverwurst (Leberwurst)

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If you like liverwurst, you might enjoy making your own at home (you know exactly what – and how much of it – goes into it!) 

My Mom and Dad loved it. I remember my Mom buying a piece often from a little Mom ‘n Pop store in a nearby town. She would make sandwiches with it; always on my Nana’s homemade white bread, topped with a huge slice of sweet onion and yellow mustard. Dad took many of those in his lunch can on his trips hauling coal.

Enjoyed in many cuisines throughout Europe, liverwurst is prolific in the Coal Region thanks to our ethnic connections to those countries and can be found ready made in many delis and grocery stores.

Usually, the liverwurst is stuffed into a casing, but this recipe is very friendly to the cook who does not have the equipment or interest to grind and stuff sausages.  If you so desire, you can stuff the pate into pork or beef casings (tie them with string in 8- to 12-inch lengths, and adjust the stuffing in order to leave some space at the end of each length for expansion.

Simmer the links about 45 minutes in a pot of water, then dip them in cold water to keep the fat from settling along the bottom). However, this is just as delicious – and easier – to bake it in loaf pans. You can either serve it in slices or use it as a creamy spread.

The most difficult part of this recipe might be finding pork liver. Check with an independent butcher, who should be able to order it for you if your grocery store does not carry it.  If you can’t find the pork liver, you can substitute with beef or calves liver.

Homemade Liverwurst (Leberwurst)
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Homemade Liverwurst (Leberwurst)

Recipe by A Coalcracker in the KitchenCourse: Snacks, SandwichesCuisine: German, Pa. DutchDifficulty: Intermediate
Prep timeminutes
Cooking time

2

hours 

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pork fat

  • 2 pounds lean pork

  • 1 1/4 pounds pork liver (or calves or beef liver)

  • 1 medium onion, grated

  • 2 tablespoons salt

  • 2 teaspoons cloves

  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice

  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

  • Cut the pork, pork fat and liver into cubes and freeze for an hour or two, so that they will process in a food processor without mushing.
  • Sauté the onion in a little pork fat or butter until soft and translucent, then sprinkle with the spices to warm them.
  • Add the mixture to the pork and process with the metal “S” blade until you have a smooth puree.
  • Pack the puree into 2 (9 x 5-inch) loaf pans and cover tightly with foil.
  • Put the dish or loaf pans in a larger baking pan and pour an inch or two of boiling water into the larger pan (making a “water bath”) then bake at 300F degrees until meat is cooked but not browned (meat thermometer should read 160F to 165F degrees), about 2 hours.
  • Remove loaves from the pan of water and let cool completely in the loaf pans.
  • Loosen loaves from pans, turn out and wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 24 hours before using.

Notes

  • Makes 2 standard-size loaves.