Speckpfannkuchen (lit. pancakes with bacon) is a type of savory pancake from Germany combined with cubes or strips of bacon. The bacon can either be on top of the pancake or used as a filling, but it’s always first fried before being incorporated into the dish.
Besides bacon, the pancake may be modified to include cheese or onions. It is eaten as an appetizer or a hearty breakfast complemented with pickled cucumbers or a green salad.
MOST ICONIC Speckpfannkuchen
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Mettbrötchen is a type of sandwich consisting of a fresh brötchen (a German bread roll) and mett (raw pork mince). The bread roll is sliced, then topped with a layer of mett, which is usually seasoned with salt and pepper and garnished with slices of raw onions on top.
This sandwich is a typical breakfast item in Germany, and it is typically enjoyed in northern parts of the country. Interestingly, Mettwoch is a German custom of savoring mettbrötchen on Mittwoch (Wednesday).
MOST ICONIC Mettbrötchen
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No other dish in Germany is as well known as currywurst, a street snack that has become an indispensable part of Germany’s culinary heritage. The dish is made from two essential parts - boiled and subsequently fried sausage, served whole or sliced, and a smooth and rich curry-spiced tomato sauce.
With a portion of french fries or a kaiser roll on the side, the dish is usually lightly dusted with yellow curry powder. A wide range of sausages are used for currywurst, but the famous German bratwurst is the most commonly used variety.
The real star of this dish is its gravy-like sauce made with puréed tomatoes and infused with the aromatic curry powder.
MOST ICONIC Currywurst
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The term Schweinshaxe is typically used in the southern parts of Germany, predominantly in Bavaria, and it usually refers to a whole pork knuckle that is roasted for hours until it is thoroughly cooked and the skin becomes golden brown and crispy. Pork knuckles are a staple in traditional German cuisine, and they come with various names such as hachse, haxe, haxn, knöchla, hechse, hämmchen, and bötel, mainly depending on the region and a slightly different preparation process.
Eisbein is the northern version of the dish that is typically cured or pickled and then boiled. Though it is commonly found in restaurants throughout the country and the region, Schweinshaxe is a quintessential dish at the popular folk festival Oktoberfest.
MOST ICONIC Schweinshaxe
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Leberwurst is a spicy German sausage consisting of a combination of ground pork liver, onions, and spices. The sausage is traditionally consumed with sauerkraut, although it can also be used in sandwiches, where leberwurst is sliced and paired with cheese, mustard, pickles, and bread.
It might be cooked, but most leberwurst varieties are spreadable and can be consumed uncooked. Apart from Germany and Austria, this sausage is popular in many other countries such as Slovenia, Serbia, and Romania, and today there are many varieties of leberwurst, with additions such as mushrooms and cowberries.
VARIATIONS OF Leberwurst
MOST ICONIC Leberwurst
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Belonging to the category of cooked sausages, blutwurst is a famous German blood sausage with many regional varieties. It is predominantly made with pork and incorporates animal blood, fat, and meat, next to a wide variety of seasonings such as marjoram, allspice, and thyme.
Blutwurst comes in various sizes, and many regional versions include barley, oats, or bread, while some varieties may even consist of diced bacon or innards. Since this blood sausage is typically cooked, it has a firm consistency and is commonly enjoyed as an appetizer alongside other cold cuts.
MOST ICONIC Blutwurst
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Called hackepeter or mett, this unusual German specialty consists of raw pork mince which is meant to be eaten as it is - fresh and raw. The raw meat is typically seasoned with salt and pepper, though it is usually enhanced with crushed caraway, marjoram, nutmeg, and garlic for added flavor.
When raw onions are added to the basic mett, the resulting concoction is called zwiebelmett, while the addition of onions and marjoram makes what is known as a thüringer mett. In Germany, seasoned raw pork mince is typically enjoyed slathered over bread rolls (mettbrötchen) or slices of bread, usually sprinkled with raw onion rings on top.
MOST ICONIC Mett
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Mettwurst is a long and thin German sausage made with a combination of pork and beef, flavored with anything from garlic, pepper, marjoram, caraway, and mace to alcoholic beverages such as rum and cognac. The sausage is cured and cold smoked or air-dried.
Mettwurst can be cooked and served with kale or cabbage, fried, or simply spread on bread and eaten as it is. There are also firmer variations of this sausage, which are often used in a variety of soups and stews.
MOST ICONIC Mettwurst
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As the name suggests, frankfurter würstchen is a variety of sausage hailing from Frankfurt, where it has been traditionally prepared for centuries. Lightly seasoned and slim, the sausage is made entirely with pork and is typically added into a natural sheep casing.
Frankfurter würstchen is boiled and lightly smoked, a process which imparts a pleasant hint of smokiness to this German meat specialty. Since the sausage is pre-cooked, it is usually simply heated in simmering water before being enjoyed with accompaniments such as mustard, horseradish, bread, or potato salad, and it is often washed down with a glass of fine apple wine (Apfelwein).