Braunchweiger

When I was a kid, my dad sometimes bought Brauschweiger. We come from German descent so I'm not surprised it ran in the family. I never ate it cause it smelled bad and looked nasty.

On a whim, and because I'm on a lower carb diet again and was looking for snacking foods more appropriate to that diet, I bought some Braunschweiger. Without looking to see what was in it, I ate some and it was pretty good!

Soft consistency, with a smoked and onion flavor it went good with crackers and some cheese.

Just checked it out online and it turns out to be Pork liver. What?? Liver is this good?? They said many people eat it on sandwiches. I'm trying that next!

BTW my kid refuses to try it cause it looks like Spam and she hates Spam. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't like it anyway. I think it's a grown-up food.

I don't eat it often but a sandwich on a good rye bread with braunchsweiger, onions and mustard is a great sandwich.

My wife hates it so I only buy it once or twice a year.

I hate the stuff, but Bob likes it and buys it occasionally. I can smell it a mile away, and stay out of the room(s) when he digs it out. Our house is big enough, but when he opens some at the tiny cottage I have to go outside.

You should make your own!

I grew up eating it as a kid. Braunschweiger is great with mayo as a sandwich.

I grew up loving the stuff! Being German as well has something to do with it I think? I liked it on white or Cleveland rye with muenster cheese, lettuce, mayo & stone ground mustard. Onions are good as well.

Homercidal said:

When I was a kid, my dad sometimes bought Brauschweiger. We come from German descent so I'm not surprised it ran in the family. I never ate it cause it smelled bad and looked nasty.

On a whim, and because I'm on a lower carb diet again and was looking for snacking foods more appropriate to that diet, I bought some Braunschweiger. Without looking to see what was in it, I ate some and it was pretty good!

Soft consistency, with a smoked and onion flavor it went good with crackers and some cheese.

Just checked it out online and it turns out to be Pork liver. What?? Liver is this good?? They said many people eat it on sandwiches. I'm trying that next!

BTW my kid refuses to try it cause it looks like Spam and she hates Spam. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't like it anyway. I think it's a grown-up food.

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I hated it when I was a kid too; then I rediscovered it & liverwurst when I was living in Germany. Not sure if there's a difference between the 2. It's really awesome on fresh Vienna rolls or dark rye bread, or even just plain old saltine crackers; especially with a little spicy brown or stoneground mustard. A little sweet or green onion is really tasty too.

I used to eat it for breakfast whenever I could, or lunch, or even a snack. A slice on some pumpernickel bread with mustard, onion & a slice of extra sharp cheddar cheese, nom, nom, nom. I still love the stuff, but it does a number on my digestive system these days, no clue as to why, so I haven't eaten it in a few years. I can't stand beef liver & can barely tolerate chicken liver (in most cases), but pork liver is, for some reason, just better tasting to me.
Regards, GF.

Yooper said:

I hate the stuff, but Bob likes it and buys it occasionally. I can smell it a mile away, and stay out of the room(s) when he digs it out. Our house is big enough, but when he opens some at the tiny cottage I have to go outside.

You should make your own!

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I looked into it, but I don't know where I can get pork liver unless I keep it from the butcher hog. I will probably try different brands for now. It's not like I need another hobby. I am still debating with myself on getting a meat grinder and stuffer. A friend has a meat grinder and if the the opp. arises I may borrow it to try it out.

It sounds fun, but I can't honestly say I'd use it all the time.

+1 You should make your own. No chemicals that way.

http://www.lpoli.50webs.com/Sausage recipes.htm#GERMAN-COOKED

Wow! Braunchweiger!!!

My Dad used to buy it too. I loved it when I was younger. I also loved Souse.

Dad used to make Braunchweiger sandwiches as a snack at night. He'd use a wholesome rye bread, butter, sliced onions, Heinz brown mustard, cheese and braunchweiger. I remember my brother, sisters and I all lining up for a bite of Dad's sandwiches. I've made sandwiches recently with all these ingredients, minus the braunchweiger. After reading this post, I can see me making this sandwich some night this week. Maybe I'll even let my 4 year old daughter take a bite.

Thanks for this thread, it really took me down memory lane.

Wow! Beergolf--- I just saw you mentioned a similar sandwich in a earlier post!

I really like liver and onions.Beef or whitetail.I even like chicken liver but every time I try braunchweiger I just can't get past that pork smell. My dog loves it though.Guess I'll have to try it again.

Ok I was in the grocery store this morning and they had braunschweiger on sale. Might as well try it again.Got home and spread some on saltines with sliced onion and brown mustard.It was really good . Had that liver taste but not that strong swiney smell.I fired down half of an 8 oz chub of it .I guess it depends on the brand.And yes my great grandfather was from Austria so I have some Germanic heritage.

When I was a kid it was called liver sausage. It was good. The braunschweiger I have eaten lately seems to have way to much salt. My stomach objects to overly salted food.

flars said:

When I was a kid it was called liver sausage. It was good. The braunschweiger I have eaten lately seems to have way to much salt. My stomach objects to overly salted food.

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Yeah, I think it's a good level of salty. You certainly don't need anything else with salt to go with it! I'm not a fan of really salty stuff either and it's right at the borderline. Maybe the salt helps with the liver taste?

I stopped at Meijer (Michigan Kroger I think) and asked about pork liver and they guy wasn't sure, but he thinks they get it in once in a while. They didn't have any at the time and it was evening, so I think the real deli guy had already left for the day.

I was at the store and remembered this thread. Picked up some braunschweiger. As aoon as I got home I made a sandwich. yum.

I like it on soft white bread with sweet grainy mustard (Bavarian mustard?).

It's the same as liverwurst. Ate a ton as a kid. Slice of onion, some mustard, that's the ticket.

In Finnish, it's called "maksamakkara" (literally, liver sausage). Even the germans don't call it braunschweiger - they call it leberwurst (liver sausage). Well, probably the people who live in Braunschweig call their own liver sausage as braunschweiger. So, I don't really know how this name took hold in the US.

Anyhow, like any sausage, there are so many different qualities. Some are world-class excellent, and some are total garbage.

One of the best Finnish brands is called "Snellmans". I love to make a sandwich with it using soft, super dark rye bread, butter, and a bunch of large, fresh basil leaves. I invented this sandwich. Even my wife, who claimed she didn't like maksamakkara, loves this sandwich. In fact, we just made them yesterday evening after we came back home from food shopping. Had to go to a second store to find some fresh basil as the first one had sold out.

ericbw said:

I like it on soft white bread with sweet grainy mustard (Bavarian mustard?).

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Soft white bread, yuk. You drink great beer, yet eat the ****tiest bread imaginable. Don't take it personally, this is class-level objective judgement.

Germans don't generally produce sweet mustard, so it might have been french.

vanishingpint said:

I guess it depends on the brand.And yes my great grandfather was from Austria so I have some Germanic heritage.

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The Tiroler-style leberwurst is known to be quite mild in flavour compared to other styles, in addition to having a higher meat content.

I found some today at the grocery store. Just had my first sandwich in 8 years. Brings back memories. Good stuff!

It is my understanding that the difference between liver wurst and braunschweiger is that the latter is smoked. I love them both from my earliest memory.

podz said:

Soft white bread, yuk. You drink great beer, yet eat the ****tiest bread imaginable. Don't take it personally, this is class-level objective judgement.

Germans don't generally produce sweet mustard, so it might have been french.

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Everything has it's place, even Wonder Bread

As for the mustard, check out sweet Bavarian mustard. It's coarse and grainy, with some vinegar, but sweet.

Liverwurst and Braunschweiger aren't exactly the same - read a package of each for ingredients. Liverwurst has lots of "Unidentifiable Parts" in it - Braunschweiger just has pork liver. At least, that's the way it is with the ones I've seen.

As for a delicacy in a sandwich - my favorite of all times is sourdough bread spread with good homemade yellow mustard on one piece and chunky peanut butter on the other. Put slices of Braunschweiger on the mustard bread, spread it out til it's all one smooth layer; top with thin rings of red onion, then the PB bread. It's so dang good!

Temptd2 said:

Liverwurst and Braunschweiger aren't exactly the same - read a package of each for ingredients. Liverwurst has lots of "Unidentifiable Parts" in it - Braunschweiger just has pork liver. At least, that's the way it is with the ones I've seen.

As for a delicacy in a sandwich - my favorite of all times is sourdough bread spread with good homemade yellow mustard on one piece and chunky peanut butter on the other. Put slices of Braunschweiger on the mustard bread, spread it out til it's all one smooth layer; top with thin rings of red onion, then the PB bread. It's so dang good!

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Braunschweiger, in this context, means liverwurst in the style that comes from the German city of Braunschweig. Nothing more, nothing less. Typically, it is smoked.