I remember years ago when I was a younger man, my fathers wife told us about a restaurant serving a German delicacy, leberkase! My brother was the first to try it and made it known to me that we would be headed to this place ASAP! If your wondering what I am talking about well It’s a pork liver meatloaf with crisp top and pink meat inside it’s center, literally translated as liver cheese?
Fidelisback Backerei in Wangen is an institution, one of the seven food wonders of my culinary world!
Back in the day we would ride our bikes along the hill country of Allgau and meander to Wangen for a slice of this meatloaf, served with some mustard, a basket of incredible breads and some seriously monster beers! After partaking somewhat full and feeling light headed we rode off into the hills licking our lips with satisfaction! Just this past August we had been visiting a town close to the border with Germany, I hadn’t even considered leberkase, when we entered a butcher shop with some really swell looking sausages,pates and assorted good things, blam! Right there in front of me on the counter was a specimen of leberkase, I had to have it before I salivated all over the beautiful showcase window! Yes there were jaegerwurst, another favorite, but I can get those here in NYC, leberkase is something completely different!
Grabbing a loaf of 100% rye we made our way to a local park, bio bier in hand and that steaming hot leberkase, calling me till we reached some picnic tables! My sister cut pieces with a swiss army knife, and we smeared our mustard on the bread, then without hesitation I slapped a piece of this succulent beauty onto my rye and took my first bite, god I love this stuff! Next visit if I can afford anything, I am off to Wangen, first stop!
Leberkase
Too me I thought Leberkase was a fancy Spam. Infact, it’s better than Spam, but it’s usually served on a Kaiser roll. Sehr lecker!!!!
I grew up with a VERY German family, and I would beg my Omi and Opa to go down to the butcher for leberkase whenever I would spend my weekends with them. If you like creamed spinach, just the standard packaged kind at the store, try it with that and small white potatoes.
If you live in NYC, there’s a deli across the river in New Jersey, not too far – in the small city of Union called Gaiser’s Deli. It’s where we always got our fresh leberkase. Google it, they’re still (amazingly!) around.
If you ever get there, mail me some meats to St. Louis! Seems they’re only about Italian, and I MISS my German foods!