(German, literally 'liver-cheese'; sometimes also ''Leberkäs'' or ''Lebaka(a)s'') in Austria and the

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n and

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

n parts of Germany, 'leverkaas' in

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and ''Fleischkäse'' ("meat-cheese") in

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

, Switzerland and

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

) 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 not a meatloaf, which in German is called ''Hackbraten'' (literally "ground roast", from ''Hackfleisch'', "ground meat", and ''ein Braten'', "a

roast Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizatio ...

"), ''faschierter Braten'' (literally "minced

", from ''faschieren'', "to mince", and ''ein Braten'', "a

"), ''Wiegebraten'', ''falscher Hase'' ("false hare" or "faux hare") and ''Heuchelhase'' ("mock-hare").

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 Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...

or pickles. The result, generally called ''Leberkäsesemmel'' (in

and the

n parts of Bavaria, ''Leberkäsweckle'', ''Leberkäsweggla'' or ''LKW'' in short, an allusion to the abbreviation for ''Lastkraftwagen'',

heavy goods vehicle A large goods vehicle (LGV), or heavy goods vehicle (HGV), in the European Union (EU) is any lorry with a gross combination mass (GCM) of over . Sub-category N2 is used for vehicles between 3,500 kg and and N3 for all goods vehicles over ...

), 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

or Bavarian sweet mustard or sometimes

ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and sour flavor. "Ketchup" now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes for different varieties contained mushrooms, oysters, mussels, egg whites, grapes, or walnuts, amon ...

and accompanied by soft

pretzel A pretzel ( ; from or , ) is a type of baking, baked pastry made from dough that is commonly shaped into a knot. The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive symmetrical form, with the ends of a long strip of dough intertwined and then twi ...

s or ''Kartoffelsalat'' (

potato salad Potato salad is a salad dish made from boiled potatoes, usually containing a dressing and a variety of other ingredients such as boiled eggs and raw vegetables. It is usually served as a side dish. History and varieties Potato salad is foun ...

). *Pan-fried (''abgebräunt'' or ''gebraten'', "browned"), in which case it is commonly accompanied by a fried egg and German

, or ''Bratkartoffeln'' ( home fries) and sometimes

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...

. This is a very common '' Biergarten'' dish. *Cold, cut into very thin slices and used on a variety of

sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

es, usually seasoned with

pickled cucumber A pickled cucumber – commonly known as a pickle in the United States, Canada and Australia and a gherkin ( ) in Britain, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand – is a usually small or miniature cucumber that has been Pickling, pickled in ...

s. *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'' ("mock Cordon Bleu").

Variants

Known variants include: * ''Käseleberkäse'', which adds small pieces of evenly distributed cheese to the mix. * ''Paprika-Leberkäse'' (German ''Paprika'' = bell pepper), which adds small pieces of pickles and

bell peppers The bell pepper (also known as sweet pepper, paprika, pepper, capsicum or, in some parts of the US midwest, mango) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in diff ...

. * ''Pizzaleberkäse'', which adds cheese, cut bell peppers, pickles and small cubes of salami, named for its similarity to

pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

. * ''Pferdeleberkäse'' (German ''Pferd'' = horse), which is indeed made of horsemeat (German ''Pferdefleisch''), otherwise not widely consumed in the German language area. It is occasionally found in places such as Vienna, Austria. * ''Zwiebelleberkäse'' (German ''Zwiebel'' = onion), which is made with onions. Common in the

n and

n regions of Germany. * ''Pikanter Leberkäse'', which adds spices and is very popular in Austria.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leberkase Bavarian cuisine German words and phrases