Homemade Liverwurst

By
Peggy Trowbridge Filippone
Peggy Trowbridge Filippone
Peggy Trowbridge Filippone is a writer who develops approachable recipes for home cooks. Her recipes range from Grandma’s favorites to the latest food trends.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 01/5/23
Liverwurst with crostini and mustard on a white plate

The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

Prep: 45 mins
Cook: 3 hrs
Refrigeration: 10 hrs
Total: 13 hrs 45 mins
Servings: 8 servings

Liverwurst is popular in Europe as a lunchtime treat. It is basically a sausage made of liver and seasonings and can be spread or sliced onto bread. This recipe calls for pork liver, pork butt, and pork fat; the mixture is ground together and then placed in a muslin casing and simmered for several hours. Once refrigerated overnight, the liverwurst casing is removed, and the sausage is ready to be enjoyed as you like. It's commonly spread on white or rye bread with mayonnaise or mustard (or both), sometimes with onions and/or lettuce.

To make the casing, you will need to stitch a piece of unbleached muslin, about 12 inches long by 8 inches wide (or you can use large collagen casings). If your grocery store does not carry pork liver, check with an independent butcher who should be able to order it for you. This recipe is from "Home Sausage Making" by Charles G. Reavis and Evelyn Battaglia with Mary Reilly.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh pork liver, cubed

  • 3/4 pound lean pork butt, cubed

  • 1/4 pound pork fat, cubed

  • 1 large sweet white onion, finely diced

  • 3 tablespoons powdered dry milk

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or more to taste

  • 2 teaspoons paprika

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon marjoram

  • 1/2 teaspoon finely ground coriander

  • 1/4 teaspoon mace

  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. One at a time, put cubes of liver, pork butt, and pork fat through a fine blade of a grinder.

  3. Combine all 3 and grind them together.

  4. Sprinkle onion, powdered dry milk, white pepper, salt, paprika, sugar, marjoram, coriander, mace, allspice, and cardamom over ground meat and mix thoroughly with your hands.

  5. Put mixture through the fine blade of grinder 2 more times, chilling mixture for 30 minutes between grindings.

  6. Pack mixture into muslin casing. It helps to fold the open end down over itself to get things started. This makes it easier to reach the bottom. Pack meat as firmly as possible.

  7. Stitch open end closed or firmly secure it with a wire twist tie.

  8. Place liverwurst in a large pot and add enough water to cover liverwurst by 2 or 3 inches; bring the water to a boil. Put sausage in boiling water and place a weight on it to keep it submerged. Two or 3 large dinner plates work just fine.

  9. When water returns to a boil, reduce heat so that water barely simmers. Cook for 3 hours.

  10. Drain hot water and replace it with an equal quantity of ice water. Let liverwurst sit in ice water until it is cool.

  11. Place liverwurst in refrigerator and chill overnight. Remove the muslin casing.

How to Store

Store the liverwurst sausage in the refrigerator and eat it within 10 days.

Tips

  • If you cannot find pork liver, you can use beef or calves liver.
  • If you don't have a meat grinder, you can use a food processor, but you should freeze the pork cubes beforehand so they don't become mushy when processed.
  • Instead of stuffing into a casing, you can bake the mixture in a loaf pan. Place the loaf pan in a water bath and bake at 300 F for 2 hours. Then refrigerate for 24 hours before slicing and serving.
  • For quicker preparation, cook the liverwurst in jars in a pressure cooker for one hour.

Is liverwurst and braunschweiger the same?

Both liverwurst and braunschweiger are sausages—and sometimes the names are used interchangeably—but there is one characteristic that separates the two. Braunschweiger is smoked, while liverwurst is not.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
360 Calories
25g Fat
7g Carbs
26g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 360
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g 32%
Saturated Fat 9g 47%
Cholesterol 252mg 84%
Sodium 466mg 20%
Total Carbohydrate 7g 3%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 26g
Vitamin C 16mg 80%
Calcium 50mg 4%
Iron 11mg 62%
Potassium 320mg 7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)