Homemade Liverwurst
“Leberwurst” is a spreadable sausage. Some people say it reminds them to deviled ham.
Many regions in Germany have distinct recipes for liverwurst. Adding ingredients like pieces of onion or bacon to the recipe make each variety of liverwurst very important to cultural identity.
The liver and blood sausages come from the house slaughters, that were widespread in rural regions until far into the 20th century.
At these house slaughters all parts of the pig should be used if possible and of course, the liver and blood were also included. Since both spoil quickly, they were processed into sausages as quickly as possible.
Later on new “Leberwurst” recipes were developed which include only small amounts of liver.
How is liver sausage called in German?
Liver wurst is called "Leberwurst".
How to pronounce "Leberwurst"?
Listen to this audio file to hear how to say "Leberwurst" in German.
Liver sausage is cooked sausage that can be spread on bread.
Traditionally it contains mainly pork meat, small amounts of liver as well as onions and spices.
Liver sausage is available in fine or coarse variations. The fine “Leberwurst” texture reminds to a liver pate and the coarse variation has more structure and visible small meat pieces.
Additionally there are numerous recipes with all kinds of meats, such as veal and poultry and creative variations with peppercorns or pieces of truffle or mushrooms.
Authentic Homemade German Liver Sausage Recipe
Homemade Liver Sausage - German Chunky Liverwurst in a Jar
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork belly uncured
- 1 pound calf liver alternatively beef liver
- 4 oz. bacon
- 6 cups water
- 4 bay leaves
- 7 whole allspice
- 1 large white onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 small red onion
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. white pepper
- 1 pinch ground allspice
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg
- 1 tsp. marjoram
- ½ tsp. thyme
Instructions
- Cut white onion into quarters.
- Pour water into a medium pot, add bay leaves and all spice.
- Cook pork belly for about 1 hour on medium heat.
- Add liver during the last 10 minutes of the cooking time.
- In the meantime, finely dice the onion, garlic and bacon, fry until translucent, and add to the blender.
- Remove the liver and pork belly from the pot and reserve 2-3 cups of the cooking liquid. Cut the liver and pork belly into bite-sized pieces and place them in the blender.
- Add salt, pepper, ground allspice, nutmeg, marjoram, thyme and ½ cup of the cooking liquid to the blender and mix to a chunky, smooth texture. Add more liquid if you prefer a smoother, softer texture
- Fill into sterilized glasses. You can store these as is for up to a week in the fridge.
- If you want to keep the liver sausage for up to a year, boil the jars. The amount of time it takes to boil depends on the size of the jar. It takes about 2 hours at 212° F for half-pint jars.
Notes
Nutrition
Homemade Liver Sausage Variations
Try this recipe with chicken liver instead of pork.
Serving Tip: Spread on slices of homemade fresh German bread or a crispy German roll and decorate with a pickle.
