Bunter Leberkäsesalat

Bunter Leberkäsesalat belongs to the Bavarian and Swabian Brotzeit table, the cold plate set down with rye bread, mustard, pickles, and a beer when nobody is cooking a roast. It is picnic food, game-day food, and Monday food after a Sunday loaf of Leberkäse has done its main work. Weggeworfen wird nichts. The leftover slices become the next meal.

Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. In the north you are more likely to meet a Wurstsalat with Fleischwurst or Jagdwurst, cut in strips and sharpened with pickle brine. In Bavaria and Swabia the loaf is Leberkäse or Fleischkäse, the cheese is often Emmentaler, and the salad wants onion, pickle, radish, and enough vinegar to cut the fat. Das ist kein Bierzelt. It is a working cold supper.

The whole dish turns on one technique: cut the Leberkäse small enough and dress it before you rush it to the table. Cold Leberkäse is firm and fat-bound; give it vinegar, pickle brine, mustard, and salt, then leave it alone for thirty minutes so the cubes take the sharpness inside instead of wearing oil on the outside. Add the radish and herbs near the end so they stay crisp. Erst verstehen, dann kochen.

Taste before serving. Cold food needs more acid and salt than hot food because the fat dulls the tongue. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss. If it tastes flat, it doesn't need decoration. It needs another spoon of vinegar.