Under German food law Leberkaes does not have to contain Liver in Bavaria, if it is called Bavarian Leberkäse. This recipe is made with Liver. It is the recipe from Gustav’s Metzgerei (Meat shop) in my Northern Bavarian Hometown and dedicated to his memory.

from Wikimedia, click on picture for info

Ingredients:

•      10 lbs    Pork Shoulder Butts, boneless and trimmed
•        1 lbs    Calves Liver, ground**
•        2 lbs    Ice Water
•   11.25 g    DQ Cure – Pink Cure
•        70 g    Salt
•        22 g    Seasoning Premix
•        14 g    Sugar
•        14 g    Baking Powder
•        68 g    Granulated Onions
•             3    Eggs
•                   some Lemon Peel

Directions:

Grind meat 3 times with some ice water through a fine blade.
Grind liver one time.
Place ground meat and liver in a large bowl.
Add eggs and lemon peel .
Weigh all seasoning and dry ingredients and dissolve in the left over ice water.
Combine the seasoning with the meat and knead thoroughly – until it binds.
Transfer into loaf pans that fits the amount of meat and smooth the top. (Having wet hands makes this easier)
We divide the meat and use 2 lb aluminum pans, bake one of them and wrap the others airtight and freeze for future use.

The way we bake our 2 lb’er Leberkaes:
●    Place pan with Leberkaes on a baking sheet covered with Aluminum foil for easier clean up.
●    Bake at low temperature (250°F) for about 1½ to 2 hours
●    Check temperature with a meat thermometer, the Leberkaes is done when the inside temperature is at 155°F. If meat is placed into oven frozen, increase baking time!

Leberkaes Seasoning:

•   68 g    White Pepper
•     6 g    Mace
•     6 g    Ginger
•   13 g    Marjoram
•     3 g    Cardamon

**many commercial recipes call for pork liver, which I never saw for sale in local markets, so beef liver or for a milder taste calves liver can be used.