How does that differ from braunschweiger ... something my dad used to eat.

Yum looks terrific. It must be wonderful to have so much of your own produce to be able to make these excellent food items that I see you do.

And. I do understand the work you put in, in order to have this produce. Much admired.

Cindy, I'm not sure, I just know that the recipe I used was called Liverwurst. I think braunschweiger is smoked, and mine was not, although the recipe did give that option.

LindaC, it still makes an awesome sandwich, I had honey mustard with mine, very yummy. Elery was surprised, said it doesn't really taste "liver-y". In fact, it's mostly gone, I need to take another chunk out of the freezer already.

Neely, it is a lot of work to produce beef, especially, but I like my cows and don't mind spending time checking fences and wandering about. I'm not so wild about filling water tanks on days when it's 20 below zero, but that's just a small part. I actually enjoy gardening, so that doesn't seem so much like work either. Chickens are easy too, but pigs, those are more labor intensive and I don't like them as much as cows. They're smarter, and so they're destructive if they're bored and hard to contain. Cows are mostly kind of dense, but friendly, so it's easier to keep them where they belong and to get them to do what I want them to with just a bucket of "treats", like apples from storage or carrot tops, or garden overflow.

So yeah, it's easier to go to the store and buy a chunk of liverwurst or braunschweiger, but not as good and I like to know what's in my sausage. In commercial sausage, that could be nearly anything!

Annie

My sister has had cows and chickens for years. She particularly likes her cows - highland/angus crosses I believe. She got two cute piglets this year. She is not enjoying them as much. Expensive smart and destructive. They also were not socialized at all before she got them. It is funny because I loved pigs especially runty piglets as a child.

Oh and the liverwurst looks delicious. With mustard on rye..... yum.

agmss, I have highland/Hereford cross cattle. Cold tolerant, docile, small calves that grow fast, and they aren't picky about their pasture, they'll eat the shrubs that other breeds won't touch. They're friendly enough that I can get close to the calves in case of problems and don't worry about getting run down or tossed about. San took this picture when she was here and even a complete stranger didn't draw more than a glance from Mookayla (the mama).

The pigs I had this year were very social, more like a batch of puppies than pigs. The problem was that after they weighed about 200 pounds and had destroyed their feeder, pulled the wood off the side of the building and would rush me for a treat or an ear scratch, it got kind of dicey. I felt like I was being pursued by a pack of ravenous dogs, and I had to check the pen EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. because there was always a new escape route or a fence post broken from scratching or an electric wire shorted out from rooting or something. I don't miss them.

Annie

Annie, lol. My friend with a dairy farm has a few pigs...i was curious to stop and talk about them. He just said, "yeah, well, um, lets move on..."

I'm not sure if i have had liverwurst. I think i would like it. Is it pate'-ish?. I like all pate'. Or a bologna/pate' cross? Hot-dog-ish?

Looking for a good Boudin recipe. My last batch was odd. Good friends are expecting their first child...5 day countdown. They both went to school in NewOrleans and i want to make them a gift batch for their freezer.

We have a new monster grinder i need to start using.

Cindy, braunschwieger is a smoked sausage.

Annie, it looks great! Don't worry about the dryness, Mom will eat it! Next time add a bit more pork liver and fat. You could even make a Berliner liver sausage by leaving some chunks of pork and pork fat. Now all you need is some good seeded rye, a smear of hearty brown mustard and some red onion for a great sandwich. Mayo? Nope, never!

Sleeven, have you had liver sausage? It is the same thing. Most pates are made with chicken or pork liver and some ground finer. Country pate is courser than others.

Here is Magby with her new calf Ruby last spring right after birth. I happened to be at my sister's for the big event. You can see her other cows came over to check out the new family member.

Annie - can you make liverwurst without the casings?

Agmiss and Annie -- I love the cow pictures. I sorta have a farm but it is all hardwood trees with leaves and bark and is not as much fun to look at as baby cows and there is no room for animals other than the wild ones. Some of those taste pretty good though - like turkey and deer. Love to see pictures of y'all's farm critters.

nancy, I also have turkeys (which ate all my Oaxacan Green corn which had been destined for the grinder), geese (which ate all the blueberries as soon as they ripened) and deer (which eat everything, including three newly planted pear trees). It's like Wild Kingdom around here, and I also have pheasants, rabbits (which ate the cabbage), partridge, ducks and an occasional bear! I figure if I feed them, I get to eat them, it's the farmer mentality. (grin)

I think the liverwurst could be made without casings, you could just form your log of sausage, wrap it well in aluminum foil (but be sure it doesn't leak) and then poach it. You might even be able to bake it wrapped in aluminum foil, but the texture might be different.

Sleevendog, it's kind of like pate, but not as spreadable, mine is firmer but not nearly as firm as bologna or hotdogs.

LOL, agmss, cows are snoopy. You've never really been stared at until you've been stared at by a herd of cows.

Peppi, I like it with mayo and I like it with mustard. Sometimes I like it with horseradish. It's all good. You're right, though, next time I'll add more fat, I was counting on the pork to add enough and it just didn't.

BTW, as of Monday I'll have two more beef tongues saved for you!

Annie

I love braunschweiger...I like liverwurst. Many many years ago an old meat butcher told me braunschweiger was smoked...liverwurst was not.

That's what I thought too, Shirl, but I wasn't sure. Elery says he'll smoke the next batch and see how that comes out.

Annie

LOL-ing about the cows staring! It's a family story of my late husband taking our first grandson on a road trip. Grandson was about 4, and had to go to the bathroom NOW....I mean NOW.
They were in the wild coun try of southern Wisconsin...wink wink....and there were no fast food joints nor gas stations. Donn pulled to the side of the road and told him to go at the road side. Well he just couldn't!! He said "Grandpa!! There were cows looking at me!"...They stopped at a highway patrol headquarters, and sweet talked the troupers into taking pity on a little kid!

LindaC, there are a lot of cows in the wild country of southern Wisconsin, and they're mostly Holsteins and they are BIG cows. (grin) Definitely will stare at you. If there are 100 cows, they'll ALL stare at you. I know they are prey animals and all they are thinking is whether that's a predator that's going to eat them, but it can be disconcerting. Especially if you are 4 and don't live around cows, LOL. Thank goodness for the Troopers!

Annie

Oh I really really like sausage, but never buy commercial out of fear. Annie - your sausage is just great!

I love liverwurst something fierce. But even the good commercial stuff is salty and fatty, so I save it for a special treat just once or twice a year. Hadn't really thought about making my own. Hmmmm.

Your liverwurst looks great, Annie! and thanks for explaining the process. It's been years since I've had any and it sounds really good right now... I'd choose pumpernickel with mustard, and some ice-cold beer! :)

Oh, Annie! ! ! That liverwurst looks so-o-o-o--o-oooo GOOD! ! ! ! Liverwurst and braunschweiger were staples in our home when I was growing up. I love them! Although I've never had homemade, (it was among the few things that my parents bought), I imagine the homemade is just as good or better. Yours sure looks good. How I'd love to have a hunk of it about now, with a couple of slices of a good pumpernickel, spread with fresh homemade butter, and a slice or two of onion. Mm-m-m--m-m-mmmmmmmmmmm! Heaven!

Rusty

wintercat, I just don't trust commercial sausage. When I think about it, just about anything could be in there. Maybe it is and maybe it isn't, but it could be, LOL.

Mary, definitely make your own, it was very simple, I was surprised. I got the casings on Amazon. The only thing I might do differently is make smaller rolls, because I had to use my biggest roaster to poach the sausage in, and being big and full of water, it was cumbersome to handle.

party-music, that's how I like liverwurst, on rye with mustard, maybe some horseradish. I'll pass on the beer, thanks. Although I do have a recipe for "beer jam", which is actually a reduction that is to be used with meat, now I've got to think this out......

Rusty, that's how Grandma ate hers, on homemade bread with lots of cold butter and slices of fresh onion. I might have to try that too!

Annie

Casings from Amazon???!!! I'm off to look........

Yup, party-music. They aren't natural casings, they are the synthetic casings which are not water permeable, which makes poaching the liverwurst possible.

Annie