Name: Leberkäse from the Oven (Bavarian Meatloaf)
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 170 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Bavarian
Ingredients: 300 g lean pork, sinew removed; 300 g sinewy beef, e.g. goulash beef; 400 g fatty pork belly, rind removed; 22 g curing salt (gives the pink colour; no further salt needed); 3 g ground white pepper; 1 pinch dried marjoram, rubbed; 1 pinch ground thyme; 1 pinch mace, or nutmeg as a substitute; 1 pinch ground ginger; 300 g ice cubes (crushed to snow ice); lard or clarified butter (for the tin); Brezn (pretzels) or warm potato salad (to serve)

Preparation

Cut the meat into small cubes and put in the freezer for 30 to 45 minutes; it should be partly frozen, not frozen solid. Chill the loaf tin (about 1.5 litres) and grease it well with lard.
Crush the ice cubes to snow ice in a food processor and keep it cold. Quickly mix the partly frozen meat with all the spices.
Pass everything swiftly through the finest plate of the mincer. Pass the snow ice and meat through together a second time until a fine, sticky mixture forms.
To test, shape a little of the mixture into a small dumpling and poach it in hot water that is no longer boiling; if it holds its shape, the consistency is right.
Press the mixture firmly into the tin without air bubbles, smooth the surface with a dough scraper dipped in iced water and, if you like, press in a diamond pattern.
Put the tin on the middle shelf of the cold oven, set a dish of water on the oven floor and bake at 150 to 160 °C (conventional, no fan) for about 75 to 90 minutes, until a nice crust forms and the core temperature is about 70 °C.
Turn out the Leberkäse, cut it into slices and serve warm with potato salad or fresh pretzels.

Drink with it

Pale lager · excellent match
Bavarian Helles on draught
The mild malt sweetness suits the roasted crust, while carbonation and fine hop bitterness clear the fat of the meat emulsion from the palate; the pairing of the Bavarian Brotzeit.
Pils or Helles: What's the Difference?
Herbal liqueur · excellent match
Herbal liqueur, neat or ice cold, after the meal
As a digestif after the rich meat: the bitter herbs set a tart full stop and pick up the marjoram, thyme and mace.
What is Amaro? Understanding Italian bitter liqueurs
Wheat beer · good match
Hefeweizen (wheat beer)
Plenty of carbonation and fruity yeast notes cut through the richness of the meat emulsion.
Wheat Beer: Where Do Banana and Clove Come From?
White wine · good match
Silvaner, dry (Franken)
Earthy spice and fresh acidity stand up to the pork fat without overpowering the delicate seasoning.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing

Why it pairs well

A Helles belongs with the meal; the herbal liqueur is the digestif afterwards.

Preparation

Cut the meat into small cubes and put in the freezer for 30 to 45 minutes; it should be partly frozen, not frozen solid. Chill the loaf tin (about 1.5 litres) and grease it well with lard.
Crush the ice cubes to snow ice in a food processor and keep it cold. Quickly mix the partly frozen meat with all the spices.
Pass everything swiftly through the finest plate of the mincer. Pass the snow ice and meat through together a second time until a fine, sticky mixture forms.
To test, shape a little of the mixture into a small dumpling and poach it in hot water that is no longer boiling; if it holds its shape, the consistency is right.
Press the mixture firmly into the tin without air bubbles, smooth the surface with a dough scraper dipped in iced water and, if you like, press in a diamond pattern.
Put the tin on the middle shelf of the cold oven, set a dish of water on the oven floor and bake at 150 to 160 °C (conventional, no fan) for about 75 to 90 minutes, until a nice crust forms and the core temperature is about 70 °C.
Turn out the Leberkäse, cut it into slices and serve warm with potato salad or fresh pretzels.

Drink with it

Pale lager · excellent match
Bavarian Helles on draught
The mild malt sweetness suits the roasted crust, while carbonation and fine hop bitterness clear the fat of the meat emulsion from the palate; the pairing of the Bavarian Brotzeit.
Pils or Helles: What's the Difference?
Herbal liqueur · excellent match
Herbal liqueur, neat or ice cold, after the meal
As a digestif after the rich meat: the bitter herbs set a tart full stop and pick up the marjoram, thyme and mace.
What is Amaro? Understanding Italian bitter liqueurs
Wheat beer · good match
Hefeweizen (wheat beer)
Plenty of carbonation and fruity yeast notes cut through the richness of the meat emulsion.
Wheat Beer: Where Do Banana and Clove Come From?
White wine · good match
Silvaner, dry (Franken)
Earthy spice and fresh acidity stand up to the pork fat without overpowering the delicate seasoning.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing

Why it pairs well

A Helles belongs with the meal; the herbal liqueur is the digestif afterwards.

Leberkäse from the Oven (Bavarian Meatloaf)

Preparation

Drink with it

Bavarian Helles on draught

Herbal liqueur, neat or ice cold, after the meal

Hefeweizen (wheat beer)

Silvaner, dry (Franken)

This pairs well too.

Pichelsteiner Eintopf (Bavarian layered meat and vegetable stew)

Tiroler Gröstl (Tyrolean pan-fried potatoes and beef)

Alsatian Flammkuchen (tarte flambée)

Beer Can Chicken (Barbecued Chicken on a Beer Can)

Leberkäse from the Oven (Bavarian Meatloaf)

Preparation

Drink with it

Bavarian Helles on draught

Herbal liqueur, neat or ice cold, after the meal

Hefeweizen (wheat beer)

Silvaner, dry (Franken)

This pairs well too.

Pichelsteiner Eintopf (Bavarian layered meat and vegetable stew)

Tiroler Gröstl (Tyrolean pan-fried potatoes and beef)

Alsatian Flammkuchen (tarte flambée)

Beer Can Chicken (Barbecued Chicken on a Beer Can)