What's the difference between Braunschweiger and Liverwurst?

[bbqboy]

Up until recently, I had always considered them the same. But at Grocery Outlet for the last month, they have had smalll Farmer John's packages of both. Neither seems to be a West Coast favorite, though it was certainly a standard part of my Midwestern upbringing.
Ideas?

[Wolfsbane]

I'm reading all the stuff being added to liverwurst or braunschweiger in sandwiches and I'm horrified. I shudder at adding anything that takes away from the taste of the meat.

I take English muffins, toasted to a golden brown, spread the with mustard on the muffin and then spread a huge chunk of the 'wurst on top. Then eat them open face.

I prefer a brown spicy mustard, never a yellow deli mustard. Guldens, Grey Poupon or other specialty type mustards are good choices. Grey Poupon is a particularly good because they have a version with onions in it. I live in NYC and can get Polish Kosciusko brand which is also a good choice.

[linguafood]

You add mustard.

[derlogi]

Braunschweiger is lightly smoked. To me it is much tastier than plain leberwurst.
I can't find Braunschweiger in Singapore. When in the U. S. I liked Oscar Meyer or Kahn's
One of my favorite sandwiches is Braunschweiger on fresh rye, with butter, mayo, a touch of mustard, a slice of red onion and lettuce. I've been eating it like that since I was a small child, I'm 76 now. My dad used to fry his sometimes.
Another great treat was Usinger (from Milwaukee) Ganzleberwurst (goose liverwurst with pistacio nuts) which was lightly smoked in natural skin casing. After WW II a German DP, named Heinz opened a deli in my hometown of Anaheim, CA; as kids we used to get a slice of fresh rye with Usinger Ganzleberwust for a quarter

[bbqboy]

I've never had goose liverwurst. I'll have to seek some out based on your description. :)

[MGZ]

For a nationally available brand, Schaller & Weber makes a solid goose liver product. Perhaps you can find it near you. Definitely worth trying:

http://www.schallerweber.com/products...

[derlogi]

I checked Usingers website: http://www.usingersdeli.com/bratwurst...
They no longer have goose liverwurst, but a big variety of excellent liverwurst

[malibumike]

I cant remember the brand but in Smart and Final california store they had something called Liverwurst/Braunschweiger on the package. I remember how good it was with mayo, I will try it with onion and maybe swiss cheese?

[UTgal]

Born in '79, grew up eating Braunschweiger sandwiches on white bread. I hadn't had it in a long time until last week. My husband brought some home. So good to taste it again. FYI was raised in Seattle.

[cantbeatgoodfood]

I find the pkg kahns braunsweiger sold in stores is the best,for me a couple of slices on seeded rye bread,and spicy brown mustard.

[FoodFuser]

Agreed that Kahn's is probably best of the national brands. I'm guessing they add a little extra mace.

[derlogi]

Right. I like it on fresh seeded rye too, with butter, plenty of mayo, just a touch of mustard, a slice of red onion and lettuce. I've been eating it like that since I was a small child, I'm 76 now.

[david91406]

Maybe it's like the ingredients in Jello. "They" just don't want us to know!!

[FoodFuser]

I concede that old Oscar has cornered the market....
that braunschweiger is birthed in those clear plastic tubes.

If I lived in a city with traditions of Germans
I would think differently, and in luxury sample
each charcutier's take on best wurst of the liver.

So I made my decision, and bolstered with purchase
an homage to that old Oscar Meyer.

Once home, I trimmed it, two inches each end.
and ate up the middle in a heavenly sandwich,
which means I'm proud owner of two plastic-clad ends
soon to savored by spoon.

Both ends are encased in good plastic wrap.
Nestled in fridge... They await me.

[mariacarmen]

In La Paz, Bolivia they have a German brand called Stege that makes the creamiest, most buttery liverwurst i've ever had. smuggled me home a tube, i did.

[FoodFuser]

After all deep entrail in quest of the question
of whether B'weiger or L'wurst

Let's declare them the same across some continuum
Each to their grind.

I care not for provenance in this unheated discussion
of what finally fills up the tube.

Still searching for ultimate
In best liver sausage
Somewhere twixt the B or the L.

[awalker]

I'm so glad to read this! I grew up in the Midwest, too, and loved braunschweiger with green onions and radishes on thin-sliced pumpernickel as a kid (my mom is Lithuania, raised in Germany). When I got to the East Coast, I couldn't find spreadable braunschweiger anymore and missed it so much!! I hate the sliceable liverwurst I was typically offered instead.... I eventually found one or two outlets, but nothing like the landsleberwurst Treasure Island used to sell (maybe still does?)....

[FoodFuser]

To move to the place of the Liverwurst heaven
I could certainly see how sliced cool crisp radishes
would mix to the gift of slabbed onion.

Now contemplating the red skinned thin ones
run through the Benriner
and also potential of thick radish daikon.

We will see if there is sufficient bunspace
for range of both radish and onion.

Perhaps it is time to upsize my bread
and give room for liver daikon and onions.

But then we would move from sandwich enshrined
as one always built up with Wonder Bread.

[alkapal]

i agree, radishes would be good.

i'm trying to use more radishes in salads, too. i have often simply "forgotten" about them in the produce section, unless it is around the holidays, and the venerable "relish tray" components are contemplated.

what sandwich did i have sliced radish on the other day? maybe it was a smoked turkey sandwich, or a cheddar cheese sandwich? anyhow i like the slightly bitter crunch and moist freshness to cut the fatty mouth feel or "smoky" flavor.

i think i've had canapés or tea sandwiches made with sweet butter and radishes on crustless white bread. oh, i feel like the right lady nibbling on those. ;-).

[FoodFuser]

Does not have to be Pepperidge Farm to be priceless.

[alkapal]

speaking of radishes, my FB friend erika uses the leaves to make pesto with a bite!
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/3EuHI5/...

[don515]

Wow 150 messages and no mention of sliced liverwurst fried in butter with sunnyside eggs and toast-heaven!

DC

[bbqboy]

I've never heard of that. In the interest of science I will have to try. :)

[bluejalopy]

...and no mention of raw fresh cut green pepper. It's the only way Grandma served it here in Cleveland. ...of course rye & mustard too

I'm eating it as i type.

[Wawsanham]

That sounds like something I know from Germany called "Leberkäse" (livercheese). Though, as far as I know not fried in butter (a bit too rich), but with egg and onions.

[kittyangel]

By the way, what's better on it - yellow mustard or spicy brown mustard?

[bbqboy]

Spicy brown on one side, mayo on the other. Slice of red onion and swiss cheese.

[kittyangel]

While I like some onion flavoring, I don't like raw onion. I was reading some posts under a different discussion and saw some mention of putting hard-boiled egg on liverwurst or braunschweiger. Anyone ever tried that?

[alkapal]

i'm not crazy about cheese on this -- but all the rest is good to go! i also like iceberg lettuce on it for texture.

[bbqboy]

iceberg is a good idea. no foo foo greens though. :)

[alanbarnes]

Gotta part ways on that. A sandwich made of crusty chewy bread, liverwurst, and a big fistful of peppery arugula is a thing of beauty.

[FoodFuser]

I give to each chewer their choice of the greens.

But first bite is not sandwich, but instead licking clean
the Mayo and Mustard bedrips the circumference.

Life is a process of soft alternation
of icebergs, arugulas, romaines.

And savor of toothfeel and aroma
of that crisp slab of onion.

[mariacarmen]

ohhhhhhhh yeeeahhhhhh!

[halfcup]

The USDA requires the product must contain a minimum of 30% liver (pork, calf, veal, beef, etc.), lean meat (can include mechanically separated poultry), fat meat, binders and seasonings.[1] A typical commercial formula is about 40% pork liver or scalded beef liver, 30% scalded pork jowl, 20% lean pork trimmings and 10% bacon ends and pieces. Added seasonings include salt and often include white pepper, onion powder or chopped onion, and mace. Curing ingredients (sodium erythorbate and sodium nitrite) are optional.

Braunschweiger has a very high amount of vitamin A, iron and proteins. The meat has a very soft, spread-like texture and a distinctive spicy liver-based flavor

[Snorkie47]

I agree with the addition of mustard and onion, but we always had celery leaves added to the sandwish.

[Nanzi]

After reading the first parts of this post a few months ago I decided to get some. Walmart only had the liverwurst. It was one of the most vile things I have ever eaten and threw the rest of it away. I love a good liverwurst sandwich, and used to eat it at my inlaws. I'm pretty sure the brand Dad bought was Mother Goose. I will try to find that one, but never the ChinaMart liverwurst again.

[bbqboy]

that sounds so weird I might have to try it.

[kittyangel]

Fascinating reading. Although I am of part German heritage and grew up in "Pennsylvania Dutch Country", liverwurst was not part of our diet. I seem to recall years ago a woman I worked with giving me a bite of her sandwich (I think it was with mustard) and while I enjoyed the first taste, it left a bad aftertaste. Maybe I should try it from a real German store. I actually clicked on this link because I am trying to pill one of my kitties who is in CHF and is almost impossible to pill. I know I bought liverwurst paste in the little tube for this purpose several years ago. Now a local grocery store (who doesn't seem to know their ass from a hole in the ground) claims it is no longer made. Can any one give me more info on this? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[bbqboy]

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Oscar-Mayer...

[kittyangel]

Thanx for the quick response bbqboy. It isn't the item I was looking for but might work just the same.

[bbqboy]

If your kitties can discern the difference between Oscar Mayer and Gourmet liverwurst, they are better cats than I.

[kittyangel]

Actually what I meant was that I was looking for a paste that comes in a little plastic squeeze tube with a cap. After some thought, I think the stuff I bought years ago was Anchovy Paste. What made me think of liverwurst paste was that I saw it mentioned on another discussion site while searching on pilling cats. When it comes to my cats (12 of them - all rescues!), their eating habits are quite diverse. Some will eat just about anything you put in front of them while others are very selective. Maybe I should do a taste test :-). As for the 2 dogs we've rescued, the only thing I've ever seen them turn down is lettuce and onion. By the way, would the liverwurst be of a consistency that I could smoosh a small bitter pill in? Thanx again for all help!

[bbqboy]

we used to use this stuff:
http://www.yourpetscount.com/store-pr...
me, I would prefer liverwurst.

[kittyangel]

Thanx for the link but I know he wouldn't go for it. I think he would prefer the liverwurst as well. Maybe I'll try it myself, but I don't like raw onion. Any suggestions for a substitute?

[bbqboy]

actually, cats love the stuff. You're suppose to put it on their paws and they lick it off.

[kittyangel]

I've tried hairball stuff from my vet over the years and couldn't get them to eat it. Maybe that brand has a better flavor? Or maybe my cat's are just finicky.

[Lizzie Sparrow]

Whatever you do, DO NOT give onions or garlic to cats or dogs; it is toxic to them. Just FYI... :)

[alanbarnes]

Only in large amounts. A little onion or garlic in a prepared dish isn't going to cause any harm.

[halfcup]

celery - water chestnut - anything with a crunch. The soft spreadable stuff is great on potato chips, toasted pita bread, etc.
If you know a butcher or farmer who makes the coarse ground liver sausage, try it fried, like breakfast sausage - with syrup or honey on biscuits! YUM

[alkapal]

you are a kittyangel! thanks!

[kittyangel]

I do what I can. :-)

[FoodFuser]

We must not underestimate the worth of the wurst.

For kitties might be way of encasement of pills
for others slabbed onions mayo mustard chopped dill
piled high on a sandwich..

[bbqboy]

first celery leaves and now dill? I'm not sure about this new age cuisine. :)

[FoodFuser]

Sweet journeys occur,apart from braunschweiger
when taking sweet trip into lands of Apiaceae.

Trifoliate leaves, with such sweet bitterness.

Then such great pungency of their sweet seeds.

There is dance with potential to fully entrance
twixt the leaves and the seeds of the Celery
and same with their cousin of Dill.

[bbqboy]

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colb...

[mariacarmen]

that ACTUALLY made me hungry.

[sintflut]

actually, there is a big difference between "braunschweiger" in the u.s. and europe. in the u.s. it is a sort of spreadable liverwurst, while in europe (esp. austria and germany) it is of harder consistence, much like "krakauer" or softer salami.........
so don't be surprised when you ask for "braunschweiger " in Vienna and you get sclices of compact sausage....

[alkapal]

that's good to know. i'd not heard that before.

[mariacarmen]

grew up on the stuff - Farmer John's brand - both Braunschweiger and liverwurst. Parents bought it, coming from Bolivia - where there they had their own version that I got to taste as a young adult. The bolivian version is much creamier, almost pink in color, very fatty, and i ate tube after tube. Here at home, we ate it on toasted white bread, sometimes as sandwiches for lunch alongside a bowl of Campbell's tomato soup. As an adult, whenever I'd visit my parents in O.C., my dad would buy a tube and I would eat it with butter on the most delicious french-style baguettes purchased from vietnamese bakeries. But, really, the best, is grabbing a spoonful and putting it in my mouth and just letting it melt. i don't even buy the stuff anymore, because i can finish a tube in a sitting. and now that i'm shopping for my parents, who live near me now, my dad doesn't buy it much either. but it's still a great love, and probably one of the few items i'd pick for my desert island food supplies.

[mamachef]

Yep, I do the by-the-spoonful thing too. Or if I can get ahold of the real thing (wrapped in thin white paper and pre-sliced), by the slice, taking bites. Ummm. Or if I can wait, on sour Jewish dill rye bread, with hot/sweet mustard, green or red lettuce, and thin sliced onion. Huge dill pickle on the side is mandatory. And when I say mustard, I mean a lot.of.mustard. Not a dabbie.
I like Cel-ray with this. Or for2cplain. Or beer.

[gablegable]

A standing semi-rhetorical question NYC-area friends and I have posed and you have now answered:

Who could drink Cel-Ray soda???

(But then my wife & kids would ask Who could eat liverwurst?)

[GorhamGuy]

I was just searching for the difference between Liverwurst and Braunschweigerand and found this post. I mentioned to my wife that it had been a while since I had eaten liverwurst and she bought Braunschweiger instead. It looks like liverwurst, so I will definitely try it. I did not see anyone who eats liverwurst the way my father, brothers and sisters ate it which was sliced liverwurst on white bread with ketchup! However I do love the sound of liverwurst, mustard, onions & swiss cheese on rye.

[linguafood]

So what's teewurst called in the US? AFAIK, there's no liver in it, but it's a spreadable sausage with a very smoky flavor. I tend to OD on it when in Germany, cause in the States, you can only get really big ones (from Schaller I think), and strangely enough, I don't feel like OD'ing on it there.

[Gio]

According to germandeli.com teewurst is also mettwurst...
http://www.germandeli.com/schallerweb...

[linguafood]

Nah, Mettwurst is different - more coarse (tho you can get coarse Teewurst, but I prefer the fine one), and I've never had smoked Mettwurst. Not saying it doesn't exist. Ze Germans sure make a lot of sausages '-)

[greygarious]

Schaller&Weber teewurst comes in 8oz tubes. Roche Bros/Sudbury Farms, a supermarket chain in the Boston suburbs, carries it and I believe S&W still sells by mail - I have their mail-order flyer from the pre-internet era.

[linguafood]

Yah, 8 oz. is a bit much for me to buy at once. The nice thing about getting it in Germany is you can get as little as 1.5 oz., tho I usually get about 3-4 oz. - things spoil faster in the old country, too.

[alkapal]

it seals up nicely and lasts pretty well. 8 oz. roll is not really that big.

[linguafood]

that's what she said... '-D

[alkapal]

oh linguafood! what can one say? LOL!

[mariacarmen]

linguafood, you are still funny all these months later!

[linguafood]

aw, shucks.

[halfcup]

8 oz. is a healthy lunch...why buy less than a pound at a time...it doesn't spoil fast!

[shaogo]

More about Liverwurst/Braunschweiger: "Braunschweiger" was always what our family bought. However, my dad's friend, Ray, was a die-hard Liverwurst fan (the Braunschweiger was too rich, he said). But then, this guy would put *butter* on his pumpernickle... and never onions... before eating the liverwurst. But then, he'd also make a sandwich out of pickled herring and liverwurst, too.

And another anecdote: It was over ten years ago. I got some filet mignon from Omaha Steaks as a gift (I'd never shop there for meat, and I'm a rib-eye/Porterhouse kinda guy). So what to do with the (tasteless) filets? I grilled 'em with some black pepper, fixed a little brown sauce with red wine and mushrooms, and made ersatz "Tournedos Rossini" by placing the cooked filets on toast, then topping with a slice of liverwurst, then the sauce. Hey... don't knock it 'til you've tried it!

[alkapal]

sounds similar to a wellington's flavors, right?

[shaogo]

Indeed *more* similar to wellington than to rossini. But hey, it's beef, it's liverwurst, and it's all good.

[alkapal]

i'm there, bro!

[chef chicklet]

Oh yes... memories. Growing up with both, on white bread, mayo and white onion. Now? On buttermilk bread toasted with mayo and lots of thin slices of white onion, and pepper! Let's not forget the pepper. I have a new package of Oscar Meyer Braunschweiger in my fridge unopened, and I am struggling to not skip the dinner I"ve prepared and make a sammy! I love Liverwurst!

[FoodFuser]

Dad, born 1923 to immigrant parents in Milwaukee, really grew to miss his Wursts when he married post-war into a southern Mississippi family.

He never complained. But the Oscar Meyer 8 ounce tube was his only available lifeline with his delightful deli past.

About every 2 months he would silently produce a tube of OM Braunschweiger, slice it in half, and hand me one of the tubes, with a spoon. It had been earlier determined by the eeeews and uccccks at the table that I was his sole compadre in the journey into a liver sausage.

At this time, push-up popsicles were very popular, so I would take my 4 ounce allotment and eat it that way, squeezing upwards from the crimped base of the tube, using teeth and tongue only, to chomp it up, letting the spoon to serve only as a stabilizing counterweight for my young body that was swooning and reeling in ecstasy.

But as I watched Dad, slowly and methodically sweeping the spoon in hard scrapes against the plastic case, I came to realize that he was getting 100% of the sausage, where my wolf-like ways were leaving a full ten grams clinging to the case and the crimps. So I too became a scraper of wurst. One can do worse than be a scraper of wurst-es.

Anyhow, as to the OT of the OP, is it time for us to further explore the original question of "what's the difference between Braunschweiger and Liverwurst?" So here's a google thread from which we can foray forth and report back with any substantive results:
http://www.google.com/search?client=f...

[rochfood]

I have 3 lbs of muenster cheese in the fridge waiting for some liverwurst to be purchased.

[Dee S]

OMG!!! I eat muenster plain. Those three pounds would NOT last in my house. Can I come over to play? *grin*

Braunschweiger or liverwurst, they have a place on my rye with hearty mustard.

[shaogo]

Thick bread, braunschweiger, mayo with mustard, ultra-thinly-sliced onion and capers and I'm in heaven. It's one of the few times I'll drink beer with my meal instead of wine...

[roxlet]

I have absolutely no hope of having either liverwurst or braunschwweiger for at least another month, but I am drooling nonetheless. Although liverwurst is not high on my list of things that I eat on a regular basis, I completely crave it a couple of times a year. For me, it has to be on a really good rye bread with a strong, horseradish mustard and finely sliced onions. My father would buy a selection of cold cuts at our German butcher every week, and the butcher would always make an extra slice of liverwurst to give to our dog, who would do a good imitation of a kangaroo, jumping really high to grab the liverwurst slice held aloft by John the butcher. In one month's time I will be leaving Cairo and heading to Germany and I have now put liverwurst on my list of must-haves when we reach Cologne!

[alkapal]

roxlet, i envy your pending proximity to the plethora of perfect <er, no "p" word available> cured meats in germany. i fondly recall a place my mom and i stayed in munich where the breakfast table was filled with beautiful, delicious slices of cold cuts, cheeses, super-fresh bread, poached eggs, yogurt, delicate butter & muesli. i looked forward to breakfast every morning, and it kept us full till late afternoon. it was so wonderful. (and i loved the different "senfs") ;-).

[Gio]

....pending proximity to the plethora of perfect preserved pork products...

[alkapal]

gio!!!

you go girl!!!!!! a *triple* win. pluperfect!

[Gio]

Prego.
and I don't mean the sauce.

I didn't know there is a difference between liverwurst and braunschweiger. Every now and then mother would buy liverwurst and that's what I've always eaten. On rye...with mayo & spicy mustard. sometimes with sliced red onion, sometimes not, Love liverwurst !

[alkapal]

my mom loved a slice of liverwurst with mayo and crisp iceberg, and sometimes that sliver of a slice of white onion. white bread. she would like rye instead, but that wasn't in the house.

i like rye toast at any diner.

[greygarious]

Gio, I know you are in the general area - if you are ever near a Roche Bros/Sudbury Farms, got ot the imported cheese display and look for the 8oz. tubes of Schaller & Weber Liver Pate - which was called liverwurst when I grew up on it. There are several varieties- I recommend the basic one (Gold Medal) and the goose liver version. I get about 6 sandwiches from a tube because it's rich - spread your bread with about the same amount as if it were peanut butter. I usually use about half a tube over the course of a week, so I freeze the rest. I have often frozen a whole one, defrosted and used part, then refrozen and later thawed. No deterioration in quality, so it's something I always have on hand.

[Gio]

Many thanks for the suggestion, greyrarious ! Schaller & Weber Liver Pate @ Roche Bros.. I'll put that on my list of items to search for. I've had the liverwurst from Karl's on Rte. 1 in Saugus. It was fresh, soft and spreadable but also very mild.

[alkapal]

i second the recommendation for schaller and weber. i like the gold, the goose liver, the calves liver, the braunschweiger, and there is one with truffles, iirc. (hmmm, there is a coarser one, too. that's good on rye or pumpernickle, with some mustard).

i like to spread it on water crackers, too.

~~~
edit:
the coarser one is "oldenberger." http://www.schallerweber.com/liverwur...

[MGZ]

If you're in Central NJ, the larger Shop Rite supermarkets tend to carry S&W. The one on 34 in Wall has most, if not all, of the liver pates.

[roxlet]

We're going for a tournament, and I noticed that the tournament hotel (it's unfortunately not well situated and near the convention hall I think) charges $30 per person for the breakfast buffet! It sounded like a lot, but your description makes the possibility seem alluring, but given that my son will have to get up from the groaning board and play a squash match soon after, it's doubtful that we will indulge...

[alkapal]

$30 for a breakfast buffet???? holy smokes, it had better have lots of smoked trout, salmon, and good shrimp!

edit: in germany?

[linguafood]

when in cologne, you'll have to have himmel un ääd - fried blood sausage with mashed potatoes and apple sauce. it's a must have.

[roxlet]

ummm. not sure ;-]. Blood sausage (sangunachio at home) has never been my thing. Can you suggest another 'must have'?

[linguafood]

Well. Apart from Kölsch.... not really. But don't be surprised if you order the "halve Hahn" (= half chicken). It's dark bread with gouda and onions and paprika powder.

[roxlet]

That sounds really good! I don't speak any German, but I can usually figure out a lot of nouns...

[Sharuf]

I've got some in the fridge right now, and am snacking on it by taking some Ak-Mak crackers and spreading a little mayo , then smashing on some braunschweiger. YUM!

[foodfriendly]

I am a big fan of both braunschweiger and liverwurst. I have lived in Germany for years and my personal favorite way to eat it is on an onion roll with spicy mustard and gouda! Unbeatable!

[Ironhand]

Braunschweiger is the goodness of yum. My father introduced me to it when I was a kid. I was always the odd one at school. While every one else was eating PBand J and Oscar Myer sandwitches. I was eating the goodness that is Braunschweiger. Even now when we go shopping. My payment for carting all the food in is Braunschweiger. My favorite brand so far is Usingers and I have not yet found a more creamy goodness then that. Now what I want to know is what is the craziest thing you have mixed with this wonderful nom. Me it was Vanilla Icecream. Don't ask, it actualy tasted good. I'm not going further into how it happened.

[alkapal]

well done, young grasshopper, you have it! "the goodness of yum." that's it, indeed. http://www.whataboutclients.com/archi...

[Will Owen]

Our house brand of braunschweiger was Oscar Mayer. There was in the '40s and '50s a very popular DJ on WMAQ, out of Chicago, who played classical music in the mornings and pops at noon, and at least once every day he would extol the tasty richness of Oscar Mayer braunschweiger. Of course his name fell right out of my head the moment I started writing this (what a drag it is getting old), but whenever I heard it I'd think of that stuff.

[bbqboy]

Oscar Mayer is also what I grew up with in KC in the 50's and 60's.
The Farmland we get sometimes is a thick fat roll just like OM, while the Farmer John's
I referenced originally comes in those weird little 8 oz. tubes.

[cook2son]

YES! YES! I'm NOT the only person who loves braunschweiger with mayo, onions, and soft, white bread!!! Mayo AND braunschweiger. Tryglycerides be damned! Oh the creamy texture of this pate of the gods.
I just discovered that Boars Head Meats has a LITE version that has less sodium, calories, and fat but still tastes (and feels) terrific. When I was stationed in Germany (holy crap, 3 decades ago!), we had our big meal at lunchtime and in the evening had a light dinner of an openfaced sandwich or two. It was called abendbrot - evening bread. A slice of vollkornbrot (dense pumpernickel type bread) spread with sweet cream butter, a slice or two of leberwurst, a smear of senf (mustard), a slice of zwiebel (onion), a side of salat, and a nice glass of bier. Thanks for bringing back some great memories.

[schmoopy]

I grew up with the Oscar Mayer brand too. It was my favorite childhood sandwich... just braunschweiger and Wonder Bread, sliced into quarters, squares not triangles. I would take a plate of that and go sit in my little secret spot nestled in some bushes in the backyard. I must have been 4 years old and I still remember how wonderful that felt.

[Boston_Otter]

This was exactly my experience in elementary school; if my mom had packed my lunch, it'd be PB&J or bologna, which was fine... but I'd always know if my dad had packed it, because there'd be a glorious braunchweiger sandwich made with spicy mustard on white (or rye) bread. Of course, all the other kids would think I was from Mars. It didn't help that my dad's other fave was peanut butter and pickle. Ah, lunchtime.

[halfcup]

Try rye bread, crunchy peanut butter and yellow mustard. Sounds weird, tastes amazing!

[alkapal]

braunschweiger is smoked. liverwurst not.

i like either (in a fairly thick sprread or slice) with sharp mustard and sliced white or vidalia onion on sourdough toast. lots of strong flavors and competing textures.

[BerkshireTsarina]

My young German friend (well, she's over 40, but I'm one of Caroline1's Diamond Debs, so she's young to me!) always has her liverwurst with red jam --- raspberry, strawberry, whatever, so long as it's red. As she said to me, Don't knock it if you haven't tried it, and lo and behold! she's right. It's delicious, and comes right out of the German pattern of savory meats with fruit.

[SonyBob]

My favorite memory: just out of school, I worked as a quality control chemist for Wilson and Co. in Kansas City. The company had won the contract for braunschweiger for the U.S. army. We would take 20# bungs directly from the smokehouse for testing for percentages of fat, protein, salt and moisture. This would take all of perhaps 10 ounces. The rest, still warm from the smokehouses, was up for grabs and man, it was delish!!!
Bob (PS I also like it with mayo and even more, God forgive me, Miracle Whip)

[chowdawggy]

I wondered if anyone was going to cop to the wonders of Miracle Whip with braunschweiger . . . those two ingredients, with raw onion (salted, of course) on WONDER white bread is my idea of heaven.

[Will Owen]

Heathen!!

[perks1018]

Miracle whip and oscar mayer liverwurst on toasted white bread. Four generations of my family were raised on it. I am now venturing on to make my own (liverwurst, that is!) Wish me luck.

[nofunlatte]

Oh, dear, memories from the past. As a kid, I really loved a Miracle Whip and liverwurst sandwich. Haven 't had one in decades--may have to change that!

[HappyBerry]

I think I go just as far into blasphemy land as the rest of you. The way I wat braunschweiger is on white bread, with Miracle Whip, American cheese (and none of that fancy kind, I'm talking about Kraft here) with a leaf of lettuce (not iceberg).

[FoodFuser]

You're absolved, not perdited, for the choices you've cited, as you chow down your succulent sandwich..

But I'd still like to know, as OP asked long 'go:
What's the difference between these two PiggieWursts?

[gablegable]

It appears that alkapal (below) has the basic difference, but braunschweiger usually has bacon in it, which I personally think lends a sweet hint to it. And someone above said liverwurst has PIG SNOUTS in the ingredient list, which makes me think alkapals line should read "braunschweigher is smoked, livefwurst's not". (Say it out loud.)

[halfcup]

Must be a WASP nowhere near a German/Jewish deli...Wonderbread & Miracle Whip? Really?

[alkapal]

chowdawggy grew up in the south i'm pretty sure, so cut her some slack on the condiments that she loves today with braunschweiger. so much of what we all love now is directly because of what we ate as children.

my mom ate liverwurst on white with mayo, red onion and lettuce, so i can relate to chowdawggy. and yes, i am a wasp. bzzzt.

sometimes i'll have that sandwich in memory of my mom. just like sometimes i'll make her lesueur canned peas salad with cheese and onions and mayo. just for the memories....

[FoodFuser]

Me too, from the South, so for years we enshrined
that 8 ounce Oscar Meyer was the best of its kind.

But then a few years ago I drove to Milwaukee
and took cooler with me to pick up some trophies
of local Braunschweigers, transported back on ice.

My Taste-tester crew had assembled for football,
their eyes glued to TV as I shaved them the slices
of pork livers ground, many textures and spices.

The crackers and brewskies that I had assembled
I'd hoped would best give light to subtleties emingled
in the range of Milwaukee Braunschweigers.

But by halftime of game, I sat, sorta single
enjoying ecstatic quiverers of good liver sausage tingle,.
While they sent one to the store to purchase a stash
of Doritos and Dip and Canned Queso and Chili.

For the rest of the game, we all smacked all the while
for each's best dish that engendered a smile.
Me with my liver; they with their chili,
for me to have commented seemed awfully silly
in the Land Oscar Mayer is still King.

But my trip to Milwaukee was not such a waste:
I saw relatives, friends, and purchased good Liver paste,
which, after the debacle
over NFL football,
I put in the freezer for just Me to taste.

[alkapal]

but from the debacle
the wurst you did tackle
and ne'er shall
life be the same

you proffered the paste,
but dispatched with haste
the rest, to your chowhounding fame.

[Alicat24]

I have always thought liverwurst and braunschweiger were just interchangable words for the same thing, that is the soft semi-slicable, also spreadable stuff in the yellow/orange wrapped tube.

I personally can not stand any straight liver (Foie is probably not in my future) but probably because of my early intro to braunschweiger thanks to my Dad, I love it once in awhile.

For our household it was always BS on toast w/ cream cheese and sliced onion. Maybe once or twice a year I'm at the grocery and spot it and think "ohh, that sound's good". I buy it and it sit's in the fridge w/out being touched before it goes bad. I've vowed to myself not to buy it again until I actually have a craving, then I will go get it and eat it that day. Hopefully my tastebuds will tell me to finish the roll!

Hubbies Dad had to eat it quite a bit in WW2 as part of his ration's and to this day refuses to even be in the same room with the stuff!!

[torty]

In terms of the Farmer John product, my recollection is that the ingredient list is very similar but that the liverwurst had liver higher up the ingredient list. I have used either one as an emergency fix when I can't get my favorite mushroom liverwurst from the German deli further from home.

[MGZ]

To the extent any of you wursthouds ever find yourself in, or around, the Jersey Shore - Route 9, Toms River to be more prcise. Go and visit the "German Butcher" as discussed in the following thread.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5991...

Personally, having picked up a couple fresh spring bulb onions and boiled a couple eggs, I am trying to figure out how to disappear for an hour or two to "wurst-up." It is because of you people that I am compelled to make this sojourn. Remember me fondly . . .

[MGZ]

Foul clients and their ceaseless demands prevented me from making the trek to the Mecca of all things meat! Then, to make matters 'wurst you people taunt me with tales of twenty pound 'schweigers! All the while the (to put it kindly) "vibrant" bulb onion looses pungency in my fridge. Arrgghhh!

Then, while running through the local grocery store for everdy sundries, I notice that they carry Schaller-Weber "pates." Not the German butcher, but damn fine for supermarket fare!

[gablegable]

MGZ if you continue down Rt 9, becomes 166, go under the GSP, there's a little strip mall on the right with a few interesting ethnic storefront restaurants, and recently relocated from Lakewood our FAVORITE Polish deli, LUSIA'S. The best fresh kielbasy my wife & I ever had, and a dizzying array of Polish and Eastern European goodies.

[Nanzi]

We lived in Lakewood for 22 years........sadly before Luisa's opened, but it is a must-gotta stop when we go up there now. Have had friends bring it down when they come, but it would be wonderful to be living near it now!! We have nothing like that here in Kent Co DE.

[FoodFuser]

Observe. Drool. Exercise restraint:

http://www.usinger.com/ala_liver.php

Then, pull the trigger:

http://www.usinger.com/alacarte.php?b...

Perhaps the person who orders all 20 varieties will let us know the answer to the OP's question.

[EWSflash]

DH's grandparents were of German extraction (and how). They turned us on to a German sausage company in Phoenix, just east of 48th street on Indian School on the north side of the Indian School. The proprietor gave me a schnibble of liver sausage where the fat just melted away while it sat on my tongue and left me with a great little bite of sausage and a mouth feel I'll remember for the rest of my life, and haven't had the likes of since then. Normally I'm not a fan of liver but I do like braunschweiger sometimes, and that liver sausage, whatever it was at the german sausage place in Phx, I'd eat that every day if I had to eat more lard for medical reasons. I don't need a culinary reason, it was beyond good.

[berkleybabe]

Awesome! Nothing like a great sandwich on pumperickle, hot mustard and thick slices of liverwurst.

I had a great sandwich just like that at McSorley's Bar in NYC this past winter. Just great.

[FoodFuser]

Any B'weiger/L'wurst sandwich can be improved with steaming the pate before building the sandwich.

Just take a wet towel or sponge, nuke for 2 minutes to build up steam in the microwave. Slice your sweet onions, and lay the sliced Braunschweiger on the onion. Place on saucer and insert into steamy microwave at low/defrost. The fat becomes softer.

Construct sandwich, and reinsert into steamy MW and repeat, just to give it a hint of softness. Pre-steaming the wet towel is more important than microwaving the sandwich. Don't overdo it.

[danhole]

That is a good hint. I have microwaved the B'weiger/L'wurst on a lo power before and went too far. Maybe the wet towel will make a difference. Thanks for sharing.

[FoodFuser]

Growing up, "Dad cooks tonight" meant an 8 ounce tube of Oscar Meyer Braunschweiger, flanked by Saltine crackers and canned anchovies rolled around capers. I fondly remember those sodium nights.

Then in early adulthood I discovered deli braunschweiger. They would place the sliced pate on a soft roll, then put it into a stainless steel "grill" that had a pump handle to inject several bursts of pressurized steam.

The microwave wet steam is just an attempt to recreate that setup.

[danhole]

When I was a kid in Chicago my dad would bring home the good stuff from the deli and we would go to town! Good bread, lots of cheese, fresh braunschweiger. I remember I always tried to eat as much as he did, but never could. Of course I was only 10, and he could eat like a horse. Oh and he loved his anchovies, sardines and herrings. I never got into those, but thinking I should just to honor his memory!

[MGZ]

Perhaps I have misunderstood, but I had believed braunschweiger to be a pork liver product (typically smoked) - sort of a subcategory of liverwurst. "Liverwurst" being a term applied to a variety of liver based products, including my personal favorite, coursely-ground calves' liverwurst. (Now, I'm hungry!)

[danhole]

Both liverwurst and braunschweiger are pork liver sausage, but the braunschweiger is smoked (don't think bacon is added, though.) I never noticed them to be smelly, like mcsheridan said, but my family does! Now my dad snacked on pickled herrings and I thought those smelled terrible!

[MGZ]

First, here's an older thread:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/519860?tag=search_results;results_list

Second, liverwurst made from calves' liver (veal) is real and delicious. Try it!

http://www.schallerweber.com/nutritio...

[Will Owen]

I would add that a German deli our lunch crowd frequented in Santa Clara had four or five different liverwursts, including goose liver with pistachios. Oh my oh my...

Oscar Mayer braunschweiger was a staple in our family. When I was about nine I discovered my alltime favorite sandwich, braunschweiger with Swiss cheese and hardboiled egg, plus plenty of mayonnaise. Curled my little toes right up, it did.

[Catskillgirl]

You are the very first person I've ever known who admitted to loving braunschweiger wtih mayonnaise. Thank you. I'm stepping out of the closet now. I'll take your sandwich minus the egg but adding some red onion. With mayo please!

[MGZ]

You can eat it without mayo and onion?????

[cinnamon girl]

Well if you substituted the onion for mustard - but the mayo has to stay. And a grind of pepper on top. (Likely pepper + onion = mustard somehow.) It's especially good on toasted rye. Preferably the dark, thin-sliced rye which gets crunchy when toasted.

[Wolfsbane]

I usually eat just the braunschweiger or liverwurst without any condiments on a toasted English Muffin so I can savor the flavor of the meat.

If I put anything on it, it's mustard. I like a nice coarse Dijon or one of imported Polish mustard types I find in the local food stores. I don't do it often.

A lot of the time when I pick up the Schaller & Weber tubes, it never makes it home. I end up popping the top and twisting the other end make the meat extrude out of the tube, I refer to it as a porksicle. ;-)

[MGZ]

"A lot of the time when I pick up the Schaller & Weber tubes, it never makes it home. I end up popping the top and twisting the other end make the meat extrude out of the tube, I refer to it as a porksicle. ;-)"

I love it!

[danhole]

I'll jump on this bandwagon! Braunschweiger, mayo, swiss (or muenster/havarti/gouda) on a good hearty bread!

Alas, now that I am in Houston, away from the good jewish and german delis that I knew as a child living up north, the only liverwursts around are the plain old pork. Thanks for jogging the memory. I guess I need to start hunting some of the specialty shops in town. Meanwhile I still have Oscar Mayer!

[halfcup]

Try Usingers website from Milwaukee... you will never eat store bought sausage again... shipping can be a little high, so order some brats and other items at the same time for the Holiday season... I use Usingers to send Christmas packages to family every year...

[Morganna]

I bet I still win...

My brother turned me on to braunschweiger, mayo, and peanut butter. :)

[Lizzie Sparrow]

OMG! You too? I thought I was the only one....mmmmm...snouts, mayo & peanut butter....[insert more Homer Simpson drooling noises...] Makes me wanna' go out & make a sandwich right now! :D

[Will Owen]

"You are the very first person I've ever known who admitted to loving braunschweiger wtih mayonnaise."

The mayonnaise is for the sake of the egg. I didn't like plain HB eggs when I was a kid, but egg salad and devilled eggs were fine. The other part is that any meat sandwich in our family was required to have mayonnaise, butter and mustard, the proportions varied according to the contents.

And I'll now take your red onion AND the egg, thanks. I just didn't like raw onion back then.

[greygarious]

Schaller & Weber Gold Medal Liverwurst was my school years lunch nearly every day. After moving to New England, I hadn't had it for decades until I espied it in the gourmet cheese section of the newly-opened Roche Bros. supermarket. I startled the clerk with my shrieking, and grabbed one of each variety. They now call it liver PATE, but it's the same thing. I particularly like the one which also contains goose liver, but I'll gladly take any of them - they freeze well and are so rich that you don't use much per sandwich, which should also contain: chive cream cheese, honey dijon mustard, hard-cooked egg, and raw onion, on marble rye.

[RichK]

You can also order different kinds from Karl Ehmer Stores. All their liverwursts are delicious.

[greygarious]

When I grew up on Long Island in the 50's, there was a Yankees/Red Sox rivalry between devotees of Karl Ehmer and Schaller&Weber. Once I moved to New England I realized what an embarrassment of riches that was!

[Wolfsbane]

Yeah. If you don't consider using the whole tube very much.

[dbandkitty]

OMG... I have never had braunschwieger without mayo. I just came back from the market with some and thought the same thing... what IS the difference between liverwurst and braunschweiger? My dad always ate braunshweiger (and called it liverwurst) on white bread with mayo. Mmmmm. I just checked out the Farmer John website to see what the difference is and it's minimal but notable. Basically liverwurst has some different spices. But it also has corn syrup and PORK SNOUTS! Both have pork, both have pork liver, both have bacon but liverwurst has PORK SNOUTS! I shouldn't have read it.

[alanbarnes]

Mmmm, pork snouts. [Insert Homer Simpson drooling noise here.]

[EWSflash]

LOL- I was just thinking the same thing.

[Delucacheesemonger]

Went to a restaurant in Paris last week called Ribouldingue where on the menu was groin de cochon and muette de cochon. The former is pig snout sliced horizontally and the latter is the nose sliced vertically. What would Homer say now. Still remember when a friend who owned a sausage factory advised me not to ask what goes in salami, l still asked and the answer is beef lips. My response was that doesn;t seem to bad until he said there are three kinds of lips. That answer has haunted me for a long, long time.

[FoodFuser]

The numbers of lips lead to various quips about where the meat grind really comes from.

But then, who's in know'ses, 'bout the number of noses, to know what those schnoz give to grind?

If there's gristle and crunch, and it's pretty good munch, I'll repurchase that maker's emulsion.. But a lack of good grist means the target was missed, and they need help when making that sausage.

[MazDee]

What poetry! I was in the archives, looking for something to do with a hunk of liverwurst when friends come for wine tomorrow. FoodFuser cracked me up!
Now, if someone has an idea how to serve this liverwurst with crackers and make it appealing, let me know. And: Thank you FoodFuser!

[Tripeler]

Yes, MazDee, you have just discovered why FoodFuser is a National Treasure here in the Republic of Chowhound. The finest poet, for sure, with sharp observations.

[anonymouse1935]

I never knew that braunschweiger was a smoked sausage, but love both it and liverwurst. I had liverwurst as a kid, with mayo (that is a no-no?) on wheat bread I think, as close to brown as I got back then.

Now, when I dare, I buy a half pound of liverwurst in a local Polish pork store, which has the best of all kinds sausages, and buy their brown bread, and o/d on liverwurst with mayo and red onion on brown bread.

Heavenly.

Swiss cheese, huh? Can I substitute Beemster Vlaskaas? Yum.

[roxlet]

Where's that Polish pork store?

[anonymouse1935]

On Willett Ave. in Portchester, NY. It's called The Pork Store.

[roxlet]

Thanks! I am passing this along to my DH who likes nothing better than a good Polish pork store!

[cosmogrrl]

I love it with mayo (extra mayo), mustard, onions or pickles, maybe even both, touch of lettuce too. Oh yummy! Everyone thinks I'm crazy to eat that.

[alkapal]

i don't think you're crazy at all. can i come over for lunch? (um, that is...if you have some liverwurst that's not six months old! ;-).

[jencounter]

*raises hand*

I agree, mayo is a must.

[EdwardAdams]

Practically speaking, it is the same difference as between bottled apple cider and bottled apple juice, which is to say, nothing.

[bnemes3343]

Apple cider and apple juice are absolutely not the same. Apple jiuce has been filtered and often has sweeteners added. The latest issue of Cooks Illistrated that I just got actually had a blurb on why you should NOT substitute juice in a recipe that calls for cider.

[alanbarnes]

Don't believe everything you read in Cook's Illustrated. http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fr01119... ("Although the terms 'apple cider' and 'apple juice' may have different meanings throughout the United States, these terms
are used interchangeably" by the FDA).

[eclecticsynergy]

This is our good old FDA that allows factories to call liquefied pink slime "beef."
Just saying...

[sandylc]

Sometimes you find unfiltered pure apple juice - They should just call it cider, though.....

[Wolfsbane]

That depends which apple cider you're speaking about.

I've found there's two types being sold.

The clear apple cider you find in the juice section in sealed clear or colored transparent plastic bottles. I've found that to be no different than apple juice.

The cloudy apple cider in textured translucent 1/2 and 1 gallon milk jugs in the refrigerated or produce sections. It's unfiltered and what I'd consider to be real cider.

[mcsheridan]

In my experience, Braunschweiger is soft and spreadable and commonly sold in tubes, whereas Liverwurst is firmer and sliceable, and generally sold that way.

My experience, BTW, is limited to watching my late father and an ex-spouse eating the damned smelly stuff. >;P

[jmckee]

Oh my. Memories, memories: My dad, when I was a kid, watching TV with us, working on his machine diagrams at a rickety old drafting table, all the while snacking on braunschweiger, Zesta saltines, colby longhorn cheese, and really badly made Sanka.

[Morganna]

Did we have the same Dad? ;) Ok, mine didn't do drafting, he was writing freelance articles, but otherwise, the same. :)

[jmckee]

My long lost sister! :-)

[Michelly]

"badly made Sanka". Isn't that a redundancy?

[jmckee]

Oh, you've no idea......

[Scagnetti]

Alas, I long for the liverwurst of my youth before we found out the evils of organ meats.

I liked sliced liverwurst on rye with unsalted butter and a glass of cold milk.

[Wawsanham]

In Germany, liverwurst (leberwurst) is generally spreadable. It's possible that Braunschweiger is just the type of liverwurst made in the city of Braunschweig (Brunswick in English).

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Traditionally, braunschweiger is either smoked or (more often, I find) has bacon incorporated into it to add a smoky note. However, I've seen things that purport to be braunschweiger that are really just liverwurst, so caveat emptor.

Personally, I like either of 'em on a nice dark rye with some mustard, pickles and onion.

[danhole]

BFP,

I have to apologize that I doubted your statement about bacon being incorporated into braunschweiger. I bought some recently, and on the front of the package it said Braunschweiger in large type. In small type beneath it said Liverwurst. The top 3 ingredients were Pork liver, pork, and bacon. Well, who knew? I sure didn't. Of course this was just from the grocery store and not a deli brand, but hit the spot, nonetheless..