Make your own Mettigel – a German Party classic
- Type
- Cured sausage
- Level
- Easy
- Rating
- Rate this recipe
In this post, I’ll show you how to make your own Mettigel. The preparation is super quick.
The Mettigel is an unmistakable classic of German cuisine and a popular party snack at the same time. It is typically served with fresh bread, rolls or crackers
With just a few ingredients and a pinch of creativity, you can create your own Mettigel and perfect your own individual taste.
Depending on which spices you add, you can create a varied Mettigel. Below you will find three variations that will give you inspiration for your own creation.
Want to find out more about Mett? Then take a look here.
But enough chatting now…
Here you can find the complete Mettigel recipe as a video or to read through.
Have fun and good luck making it!
Table of Contents
Mettigel – What do you need to make it?
Ingredients per 1 kg
| Ingredient | Grams | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| pork belly | 600 g | 60 % |
| pork shoulder or neck | 400 g | 40 % |
Spices per 1 kg
| Ingredient | Grams |
|---|---|
| Recipe #1: Franconian style | |
| salt | 18 g |
| marjoram | 4 g |
| black pepper | 3 g |
| mace | 1 g |
| allspice | 1 g |
| ginger powder | 0.5 g |
| Recipe #2: A little spicy | |
| salt | 18 g |
| chili | 4 g |
| black pepper | 3 g |
| paprika | 3 g |
| mace | 2 g |
| allspice | 0.5 g |
| Recipe #3: Classic Thuringian style | |
| salt | 18 g |
| white pepper | 1.5 g |
| black pepper | 1.5 g |
| mace | 0.5 g |
| caraway seeds | 0.5 g |
Decoration:
- Salt sticks or onions
- capers
- olives
The equipment to make Mettigel
A meat grinder cuts the meat into small pieces so it can be mixed with the seasoning. Cut the meat into pieces that fit the feed tube before grinding.
Make Mettigel – Step-By-Step Instructions
Cut your meat into strips. The size varies depending on how big your meat grinder is. The bigger the grinder, the bigger your pieces of meat can be.
Put the meat in the freezer for 1-2 hours. This will help later on with the grinding process and the temperature.
Now grind the meat. Depending on how coarse you want your final sausage meat to be, you can use different perforated disks here. I use the coarse perforated disk (8 mm).
Depending on which option you choose, you now need to add the spices to the minced meat.
Mix the whole thing together for a few minutes. Here you can decide how firm you want the mince consistency to be. If you knead the mince, the consistency will be firmer. The firmer the consistency, the easier it is to shape the Mettigel.
Cut the onion into strips for decoration and cut the pretzel sticks into thirds.
Now shape the mince mixture into a Mettigel. To do this, shape the mince into a ball that becomes narrower towards the front and resembles a hedgehog’s head. Keep shaping until you like the shape.
Add hedgehog ears with some ground pork. You can also use radishes for this.
Now it’s time for the decoration. I use capers for the eyes. The nose is an olive. I use salt sticks / onions for the spines.
Your Mettigel is ready.😄 Enjoy the taste.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Mettigel?
What is a Mettigel?
A Mettigel is a hedgehog made of Mett, and the word is those two halves put together: Mett, the German name for raw minced pork that has been seasoned and is eaten as it is, and Igel, the German for hedgehog. So the recipe above is a mincing and seasoning job followed by a modelling job, and nothing on this page is ever cooked.
The spines are what turn one into the other. Pretzel sticks or strips of onion go into the back, capers become the eyes and an olive the nose, which is why the decoration list on this page carries as much weight as the spice list does. Shape the body well and it reads as an animal from the other side of the table, which is the whole of the joke and the whole of the point.
How long is the shelf life of the Mettigel?
How long is the shelf life of the Mettigel?
Your Mettigel will usually keep for 1 – 2 days in the fridge. Alternatively, you can also freeze it to keep it for longer.
The history of the Mettigel
Mettigel is a popular party snack and is part of the German tradition of hearty cuisine. Its origins probably lie in the 1950s and 1960s, when simple and hearty dishes were popular at parties. Today, Mettigel is still an integral part of many festivities and is often served as a rustic addition to the buffet.
