GERMAN LIVER DUMPLING SOUP – BAVARIAN SPECIALTY

I appreciate that some folks think eating organ meat ( or offal ) is gross, but humans have been consuming animals head to toe since they started hunting and those so-called lesser cut often contain extraordinary flavor. I grew up with the occasional bowl of beef broth with a big old liver dumpling that had been cooked (as in boiled) in the broth.

For some reason the broth was always thin, but flavorful. There were veggies in it, but usually only carrot slices, onion and celery. We weren’t Jewish, but this soup which in the Midwest seems associated exclusively with Jewish food culture was a staple dish on a lot of Milwaukee menus. I hope you like this version.

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The German liver dumpling soup is a Bavarian Specialty and is called in German “Leberknödelsuppe”. “Knödel” means dumpling and “Leber” means liver. If you travel to Bavaria one day, don’t forget to try this soup. It is served in almost every Bavarian Gasthaus (inn).
The recipe’s base is a beef broth, as described in one of my former recipes, and it would be best to make this broth from scratch. In Germany you can buy the Leberknödel pre-cooked in cans or frozen, unfortunately not in the USA (they cannot be imported). The good thing is that we can make them at home. Give it a try. Happy Cooking!

Ingredients German Liver Dumpling Soup

(serves 8)
2 liter beef broth  
– How to Make Beef Broth – 
750 g beef liver
300 g beef
8 older wheat rolls (preferably German rolls)
4 onions
fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives, tarragon, thyme, lovage (Liebstoeckel)
3 eggs
salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste

Cooking Instructions

– Bring the broth in a bigger pan to a boil (Alternatively you can use organic instant beef or vegetable broth).
– Run the beef and liver through a meat grinder.
– Soak the rolls in warm water.
– Peel onions and chop them fine.
– Wash herbs and chop fine.
– Add the meat into a bowl and mix it with onions, herbs and eggs.
– Squeeze the water thoroughly out of the rolls, combine with the meat.
– Add spices to taste.

– With moist hands form dumplings, not too big.
– With a slotted spoon place dumplings into the boiling hot broth.
– Reduce heat.
– Let dumplings simmer for 15-20 minutes on low heat.
– Important: Don’t bring the broth to a boil anymore otherwise the dumplings will fall apart.

Serve the soup with some sprinkled parsley on top.