Directions
- Chill the meat: put the ground pork and beef in the freezer for about 30 minutes. The meat should be very cold, but not yet frozen.
- Make the meat paste (Brät): put the cold meat in a powerful food processor with the curing salt, pepper, marjoram, garlic powder, nutmeg and baking powder. Add the ice-cold water a little at a time and process until very fine, until you have a sticky, smooth mass.
- Add the onion: work the finely grated onion into the meat until it is evenly mixed in.
- Prepare the loaf pan: lightly grease a loaf pan. Fill it with the meat mixture and smooth the top with a wet spatula.
- Shape the classic top: with a wet knife, draw a cut about ½ inch (1 cm) deep lengthwise down the middle of the surface.
- Bake: preheat the oven to 350°F (180 °C), top and bottom heat (no convection). Bake on the middle rack for about 60–75 minutes, until the top is golden brown and crisp. The inside should reach at least 160°F (70 °C).
- Rest: take the Leberkäse out of the oven and let it rest 5–10 minutes. Cut into thick slices and serve warm. Especially good with sweet mustard, fresh pretzels, crusty rolls (Semmeln), potato salad, sauerkraut, or a fried egg and fried potatoes.
Oma's tips: For a heartier flavor, add ½ tsp ground caraway. For an extra-fine texture, keep the meat as cold as possible and grind it very fine. Leftovers are great the next day, cold in a roll or pan-fried. Curing salt in the US: German curing salt (Nitritpökelsalz) is mild; do NOT swap it 1:1 with US pink curing salt (Prague Powder #1), which is much stronger. Use 18 g (3 tsp) regular salt plus ¼ tsp Prague Powder #1 instead.
From the Dahoam1516 recipe collection · Hans Diehl
