Meats and Sausages
Aachener Weihnachtsleberwurst (Aachener Christmas Liver Sausage)
Aachener Weihnachts-Leberwurst/Oecher Weihnachtsleberwurst is a spreadable liver sausage. The finished product is filled in natural or synthetic casings or preserved in glass jars or metal cans. The special feature of ‘Aachener Weihnachts-Leberwurst’/‘Oecher Weihnachtsleberwurst’ is the compulsory addition of heavy cream (30% fat) known as "Sahne" and the use of a Christmas spice mix: pepper, coriander, cardamom, ginger, aniseed and cranberries. Adding water is not permitted. The sausage is made of pork meat, pork liver, nitrite curing salt (American Cure #1 or European nitrite curing salts) and spices such as pepper, coriander, cardamom, ginger, aniseed and cranberries. The product always contains coriander, cardamom, pepper and ginger. The sausage is occasionally cold smoked. The liver should fresh freshly frozen and must be cleaned of bile ducts to eliminate possibility of bitter off-flavors. As the sausage is of a spreadable type the soft fat, usually pork belly, is utilized.
The city of Aachen and the surrounding areas has been known for making quality sausages for over 200 years. The sausage has developed an excellent reputation due to its appreciated qualities that come from addition of cream and the use of a Christmas spice mix. Some credit must be given to the skill and experience of Aachen's butchers who have been making the sausage under the same name Aachener Weihnachts-Leberwurst/ Oecher Weihnachtsleberwurst for over 120 years.
The city of Aachens has tradition of making and selling the product only in the Christmas season. As Christmas approaches each year the Mayor of Aachen in town hall conducts an official ceremony that signals the opening of Aachener Weihnachts-Leberwurst new sausage making season. Aachener Weihnachtsleberwurst carries PGI, 2016 classification.
| Meats | Metric | US |
|---|---|---|
| Lean pork | 300 g | 0.66 lb |
| Pork belly | 400 g | 0.88 lb |
| Liver | 300 g | 0.66 lb |
Ingredients per 1000g (1 kg) of meat
| Salt | 12 g | 2 tsp |
| Cure #1 | 2.5 g | 1/2 tsp |
| White pepper | 1.0 g | 1/2 tsp |
| Coriander | 1.0 g | 1/2 tsp |
| Cardamom | 0.3 g | 1/8 tsp |
| Ginger | 0.3 g | 1/8 tsp |
| Anise, ground | 0.5 g | 1/4 tsp |
| Vanilla | 3 ml | 1/2 tsp |
| Heavy cream | 60 ml | 2 oz fl |
| Onion | 50 g | 1/2 onion |
| Cranberries, dried | 2 Tbsp | 2 Tbsp |
Instructions
- Immerse liver for 5 minutes in hot water (below the boiling point). Shower with cold water and drain.
- Boil lean pork and belly at 95° C (203° F) until soft. Save meat stock. Add any solid cooked surface fat to the sausage.
- Grind lean pork and belly with salt and Cure #1 through 5 mm (1/4") plate.
- Dice the onion and fry in lard until glassy.
- Grind liver with onions through 1/8” (3 mm) plate.
- Using food processor emulsify liver until a smooth paste is obtained. Add cream, spices, onion, ground meat, belly and emulsify all together.
- Stuff into 40-60 mm natural or synthetic casings.
- Cook in water or the remaining meat stock at 78-80° C (174-176° F). Allow 10 minutes cooking time per 10 mm (1 cm) of the sausage diameter - 40 mm sausage needs 40 minutes cooking time. Cool for 10 minutes in cold water than finish cooling in air.
Notes
The sausage may be smoked for a few hours with cold smoke at 18° C (64° F). In such a case use natural or permeable casings (cellulose, fibrous) that will permit the smoke to go through.
The sausage often includes material such as nuts, apple slices, raisins and cranberries.
If there is no food processor available grind all materials second time through 3 mm (1/8") plate, then mix with all ingredients.
Aachener Weihnachtsleberwurst (Aachener = city, Weihnachts = Christmas, Leber = liver, wurst = sausage).
The sausage often includes material such as nuts, apple slices, raisins and cranberries.
If there is no food processor available grind all materials second time through 3 mm (1/8") plate, then mix with all ingredients.
Aachener Weihnachtsleberwurst (Aachener = city, Weihnachts = Christmas, Leber = liver, wurst = sausage).
