Source: Wikipedia (i didn't think to take pics of my plate when eating this)
Leberkäse literally translates to Liver Cheese.
Imagine if you will my first trip to Germany. Keith and I traveled there with three friends, one of whom just married a German gal and we were all staying with her parents outside Munich. In their home.
We arrive at their home late at night. We had been traveling well over 12 hours and our body clocks were all kinds of whack. None of us could decide it we were more hungry or more tired or more in need of a shower.
My friend’s parents graciously take us in and so nicely serve us up some bier and what they call in english “Liver Cheese”.
Wait… What?
My hubby was fine with that- he eats anything – but my friends Dan and Terry and I shared panicked glances and braced ourselves.
Of course we ate it. The guys even had seconds and it surprisingly wasn’t horrible. However, I still couldn’t reconcile the translation to what was on my plate and my skepticism kept me from letting myself enjoy it.
Later on we found out there is no liver or even cheese in Leberkäse. Once we knew that it was just a loaf of pulverized pork baked like meatloaf, we were fine with it. There is a little bit of a “springy” feel to it when eating it and I don’t particularly enjoy that, but it is tasty and you can find it in almost any German restaurant. It’s usually served with Kartoffelsalat (potato salad) or on a bread roll (semmel).
Speaking of Kartoffelsalat… it’s delicious! There is no mayo in the German version. It’s a vinegar base and if you think that sounds gross, well perhaps you should know we simmer our taco meat in cider vinegar. Like our potato salad, they use sliced potatoes and onions but then use bacon as the fat blended with vinegar and it’s so much tastier than mayo based potato salads. Try it! Plus, it’s way more fun to say Kartoffelsalat than potato salad.
I’ve included links to recipes for Leberkäse and Kartoffelsalat below. If you make them, let me know what you think!
Leberkäse recipe (I don’t really need to torture you with another pic of it, do I?)
Kartoffelsalat recipe (look how delicious that looks, oh my mouth is watering now.)
Photo source: GermanDeli.com
Oh, and before you think I’m nuts with vinegar taco meat, here is my recipe and a link to another recipe. We’re not the only weirdos.
This is my digi page for the Wilson Tacos using Cider Vinegar recipe- from my still unfinished recipe book
WilsonTacos
This is Keith & Denise’s version of Mardi’s family tacos.
1 – 1 ½ lb Grass fed lean ground beef or whatever you use
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1-3 Cloves garlic, smashed and chopped fine
1 dash Red Pepper Flakes
1-2 jalapeno
1 smidge Hot paprika
½- 1 c Apple Cider Vinegar
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil up to medium hot and toss in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cut 1 or 2 jalapeno in half and seed them. Add them halved (so you can fish them out if it starts getting too spicy) to the oil. Add the beef and brown until cooked (our meat usually has minimal fat so we don’t bother draining it). Add the smidge of Hot Paprika, and vinegar until the meat is simmering in the vinegar but not fully covered.
Cook down for about 1 hour give or take. You want the liquid to evaporate but not dry out. Serve with your traditional Taco Fixin’s. We chop up another jalapeno, and then chop up Mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, cilantro and grate cheese. We also serve it with Hot Salsa and sour cream. We heat our corn tortillas up on a flat grill until warm and a little “charcoal-y”.
Enjoy with tortilla chips, cerveza or a sparkling margarita!
