A ''Schlachteplatte'', ''Schlachtplatte'', ''Schlachtschüssel'' (Southern German) or ''Metzgete'' (Swiss and southwestern part of Baden-Württemberg in Germany) is a hearty German dish that primarily consists of boiled

pork belly Pork belly or belly pork is a boneless and fatty cut of meat from the belly of a pig. Pork belly is particularly popular in Hispanic, Chinese, Danish, Norwegian, Korean, Thai and Filipino cuisine. Regional dishes France In Alsatian ...

(''Kesselfleisch'') and freshly cooked '' Blutwurst'' and ''

Leberwurst Liverwurst, leberwurst, or liver sausage is a kind of sausage made from liver. It is eaten in many parts of Europe, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Polan ...

'' sausages. The cooking process produces sausage juices which, together with any split sausages, are used as a soup known as '' Metzelsuppe''. As a result, in many places, e.g. in parts of the Palatinate, the entire festival and the meal in particular are known as ''Metzelsupp''. Common accompaniments to a ''Schlachtplatte'' are ''

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferm ...

'' and bread or

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es or, in South Germany, potato pancakes (''Dotsch'' or ''Reiberdatschi''). Other elements might be fresh ''

Bratwurst Bratwurst () is a type of German sausage made from pork or, less commonly, beef or veal. The name is derived from the Old High German ''Brätwurst'', from ''brät-'', finely chopped meat, and ''Wurst'', sausage, although in modern German it is o ...

'' and ''

Mettwurst Mettwurst () is a strongly flavored German sausage made from raw minced pork preserved by curing and smoking, often with garlic. The southern German variety is soft and similar to Teewurst. Braunschweiger mettwurst is partially smoked but stil ...

'' or raw, spiced bratwurst filling. In Rhinehessen it is also common to enrich the dish with a sauce from part of the pig's blood (''Schweinepfeffer'' or ''Schwarz Brie''). The word is derived from ''schlachten'', "to slaughter", and ''Platte'', "dish", because, traditionally, it is only eaten on the day of slaughter; before the invention of refrigerators blood and sensitive organs like

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

had to be prepared straight away. Meat, which did not have to be consumed immediately was preserved by salting,

drying Drying is a mass transfer process consisting of the removal of water or another solvent by evaporation from a solid, semi-solid or liquid. This process is often used as a final production step before selling or packaging products. To be consider ...

and smoking. The slaughtering day offered a rare opportunity to eat fresh meat which explains why the ''Schlachtplatte'' is a rather lavish meal. Originally these slaughtering days took place mainly in the autumn. This meant that not so many animals had to be fed over the winter, the meat could be preserved for longer in the cooler temperatures and the farmers had more time after the last harvest for turning it into

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

and

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

s which could then be smoked over the winter hearth fire.

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Meat dishes German cuisine {{food-stub

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