Leberwurst is a German sausage that literally translates to “Liver Sausage”. This sausage can be served in a casing or in a jar and depending on the way it’s prepared it can be firm or spreadable.
I wanted to make a spreadable version of this sausage so my fat content is going to be a little higher than usual. The end result is a leberwurst spread that’s simply delicious.
The process of making a leberwurst falls into the emulsified sausage category as all of the ingredients are chopped so finely and the fat and water held in suspension by proteins from the meat and the liver. Making this sausage requires a good food processor with very sharp blades. This ensures that the texture of this leberwurst is just right.
You will notice that my leberwurst is slightly pink. This is due to the Insta Cure #1 that I used prior to processing the pork belly. This is completely optional. The use of Insta Cure #1 preserves the color and allows the leberwurst to have a slightly longer shelf life. If you choose to omit this step your liver sausage will still taste amazing it will just have a greyish finish with a shorter shelf life.
Here are a few things you might find useful when making sausage
- High Quality Natural Casings (AA Grade)
- Iodophor Sanitizer
- MK4 Thermapen (Accurate Thermometer)
- Chef Knife – KOTAI
- Boning Knife
- Sausage Pricker
- Iwatani Professional Chef Torch
- Insta Cure #1
- Non Fat Dry Milk Powder
- Meat Grinders
- Meat Mixers
- Sausage Stuffers
- Smokers
- Bella’s Cold Smoke Generator
Enjoy the video and the recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask away. If you make this at home I’d love to hear about how it came out!!
If you want to see the different things that we use in operation our be sure to check out our new Amazon Store.
2 Guys & A Cooler Amazon Storefront
Leberwurst
Ingredients
- 750 g pork belly
- 250 g liver
- 18 g salt
- 5 g white pepper
- 1 g marjoram
- 350 grams onions sliced
- .25 g thyme
- .5 g mace
- 1 g sweet paprika
- 1 g ginger
- 1/8 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1/2 cup pork stock from cooking the pork
- 2.5 g Insta cure #1 optional
Instructions
- Cut the pork belly into small cubes.
- OPTIONAL: Add only the Insta Cure #1 to the cubed up pork belly, rub the cure into the bellyl, put into a vac sealed bag, and and place in the fridge for 2-3 days. This is completely optional so if you want to skip this step that's ok. (this step will cure the pork belly, allow it to keep its pink color, and give it a longer shelf life)
- Add the pork belly cubes in some simmering water and simmer for 20 minutes. Once finished set to the side and save some of the cooking stock for later use
- Cut your liver into small cubes and soak in cool water for 1 hour. After it's done soaking, drain the water and blend the liver till smooth then set that to the side.
- Sautee the onions in a little oil till they start to take on some color. Once they are finished cooking, place them in a blender with the pork stock and blend till smooth. Set that to the side.
- Grind the cooked pork belly cubes on a fine grinding plate (3mm)
- Chill all of your ingredients.
- In a food processor add the ground pork and liver and process till it forms a smooth paste. Add the chilled cream and chilled onion mixture. Continue to process for 20 seconds. Finally add the seasonings. Process till completely emulsified and everything looks smooth.
- Place the mixture in a small mason jar (60mm) and cook at 176F for 1 hour. The rule of thumb is to cook for 1 minute for every "mm" that you jar is wide. So if your jar is 60mm wide you'll need to cook for 60 minutes.
- Once finished cooking allow the jars to cool in luke warm water then transfer to ice cold water to cool them down completely. Refrigerate overnight.
- Enjoy.
We are Amazon Affiliates which means if you happen to buy something from Amazon after clicking one of our links we get a tiny percentage. This happens at no cost to you and really helps us offset the costs of running this site. Thank you in advance.
On the video I saw on you tube, you use sous vide to cook it..What else can be used? Water bath canner? Pressure canner? Thanks
Sure. All of the above. On the stove top you’ll want to keep the temp around 176F (80C). If you use a pressure canner you can store this outside of refrigeration…
Sous vide seems to be the way to process this. The National Centre for Home Food Preservation (nchfp.com) does not recommend canning anything with dairy in it (the whipping cream), And since the minimum processing time for meat in pints or anything smaller is 75 minutes, the meat and fat separates. It will probably recombine once it is cooled and stirred, but the appearance is not smooth. So unless you have a lot of friends who love liverwurst, or you don’t mind that it is grainy, maybe you should find another sausage, Especially if you aren’t making a really big batch. The spice measurements in grams are outside of most peoples ability to measure small quantities. I sampled before canning, and adjusted as best I could, but with such small quantities it was difficult (under 2 lbs). Loved the kielbasa though. Yum.
How long can you store it in- and outside of refrigeration?
I’m not sure. I’m not an expert in canned meats so I can’t tell you how to store outside of refrigeration but in a refrigerator if this recipe was made the way it was written it can last several weeks.
can you provide the same recipe, with US measurements instead of metric>
Sure. When you look at the recipe click the option that reads “US Customary”. That switches everything
You can always Google the amounts to change to US measurements, however it’s not always a good idea. 1.When dealing with small amounts it’s almost impossible to get the amounts correct and 2. When using Instacure #1 or Any curing salt you should Always weigh your meat and calculate the correct amount of cure. In this case it’s been done For you if you follow the recipe correctly. Sooo…long story short, if you’re planning on doing this and other meat curing, invest in a good scale that reads both US and metric. They’re not that expensive and you won’t make yourself sick by miscalculating the pink salt.
IS this recipe good for 2x500ml jars? Trying to figure out what kind of jars I need. Thanks in advance and great job.
Yes. That sounds about right
I love liverwurst but couldn’t find any commercial brands that aren’t full of fillers and preservatives. I’ve never made anything like this and have to say that after reading the recipe ingredients (mace and ginger?), I was skeptical. I figured if it didn’t turn out, I’d give it to the dog. Well the dog’s not getting any because it’s DELICIOUS! I don’t have a meat grinder but my Cuisinart worked just fine. Also, I omitted the vanilla but added caraway seeds because I like the their flavor. Yum and thanks for sharing this recipe, it’s my new favorite!
Excellent. So glad you took the leap of faith. I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor😉
I haven’t tried this yet, but have a question that I hope I don’t get chided for… As a child, I grew up eating Oscar Mayer’s Liver Cheese. Is this anything like that? What changes would have to be made to the recipe to make this a sliceable sausage as opposed to a spread?
you would have to add a binder like potato starch at 2%, a little less liquid (max 150-200g per kilo), and perhaps do a 80/20 pork liver ratio. I would also use lean pork at 500g, liver at 200g, and pork belly 300g. Should give you a nice texture