Chef Klaus
Allgäuer Käsesuppe
The Allgäu's Alpine cheese soup works only if the Bergkäse melts gently off the heat, where it turns smooth instead of stringy.
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Schwäbische Metzelsuppe
Created by
The Swabian slaughter-day soup built from the kettle: pork broth, fresh blood and liver sausages, Spätzle, and the old rule that nothing useful leaves the pot.
Soups & Stews
German
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
35 min
Active Time
2 hr 20 min cook•2 hr 55 min total
Yield6 servings
Schwäbische Metzelsuppe belongs to the slaughter day, the cold-weather kitchen, and the Swabian table. The pig was killed, the sausages were filled, and the kettle that cooked them became supper. Weggeworfen wird nichts, nothing gets thrown away. The broth has the bones, rind, onion, and bay in it; the soup gets its body from the blood and liver sausages that split in the heat and give themselves back to the pot.
Every region has its slaughter soup. In Franconia and Hesse you hear Schlachtsuppe, often sharper with sauerkraut or served beside it. In Swabia the soup leans softer and fuller, with Spätzle, the little egg noodles, catching the dark broth. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. This is not one national recipe in a hat with a feather.
The one technique is heat control. Bring the pork broth up first, then lower it before the sausages go in, because a rolling boil turns the blood sausage grainy and throws fat across the surface. You want the casings to split gently, not explode into crumbs. Then stir once, taste, and put the vinegar in at the end. The acid wakes up the liver and blood; boil it hard and the sharpness leaves before the bowl reaches the table.
Make the broth from bones if you can. If not, buy good pork stock from a butcher who knows what was in the pot. Nicht aus dem Glas. This dish is thrift, not poverty, and it eats well because the cheap parts were handled with sense.
Metzelsuppe, also called Schlachtsuppe or Kesselsuppe in other regions, grew out of household slaughter in autumn and winter, when farm families processed a pig before refrigeration made year-round meat ordinary. The Swabian version is tied to the sausage kettle: fresh blood sausage and liver sausage were poached there, and any sausage that burst enriched the broth instead of being wasted. The dish is old enough in Swabian memory to appear in literary reference, including Ludwig Uhland's 19th-century poem on the Metzelsuppe, where the slaughter meal stands as a full village table rather than a restaurant dish.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
meaty pork bones, neck bones, ribs, or shoulder bones
Quantity
1.2kg
pork belly or pork shoulder
Quantity
250g
in one piece
pork rind
Quantity
150g
well scraped
onions
Quantity
2
1 halved, 1 finely diced
leek
Quantity
1
washed and sliced
carrots
Quantity
2
chopped
celeriac
Quantity
1 small piece
chopped
bay leaves
Quantity
2
black peppercorns
Quantity
8
salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon, plus more to taste
lard or neutral oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons
dried marjoram
Quantity
1 teaspoon
fresh blood sausage (Blutwurst)
Quantity
300g
from a butcher if possible
fresh liver sausage (Leberwurst)
Quantity
300g
from a butcher if possible
fresh Spätzle
Quantity
350g
or 250g dried Spätzle
cider vinegar or mild wine vinegar
Quantity
1 to 2 tablespoons
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
to taste
chives
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| meaty pork bones, neck bones, ribs, or shoulder bones | 1.2kg |
| pork belly or pork shoulderin one piece | 250g |
| pork rindwell scraped | 150g |
| onions1 halved, 1 finely diced | 2 |
| leekwashed and sliced | 1 |
| carrotschopped | 2 |
| celeriacchopped | 1 small piece |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| black peppercorns | 8 |
| salt | 1 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| lard or neutral oil | 2 tablespoons |
| dried marjoram | 1 teaspoon |
| fresh blood sausage (Blutwurst)from a butcher if possible | 300g |
| fresh liver sausage (Leberwurst)from a butcher if possible | 300g |
| fresh Spätzleor 250g dried Spätzle | 350g |
| cider vinegar or mild wine vinegar | 1 to 2 tablespoons |
| freshly ground black pepper | to taste |
| chiveschopped | 2 tablespoons |
Equipment Needed
- •Large heavy soup pot, 5 to 6 litres
- •Fine sieve
- •Slotted spoon
- •Spätzle maker if making fresh Spätzle
Instructions
- 1
Build the broth
Put the pork bones, pork belly or shoulder, rind, halved onion, leek, carrots, celeriac, bay, peppercorns, and salt into a large pot. Cover with 2.5 litres cold water and bring it up slowly, because a slow climb pulls flavour from the bones and rind before the surface clouds. Skim once the foam rises, then lower the heat to a quiet simmer.
- 2
Simmer gently
Let the broth tremble, uncovered or half covered, for about 2 hours, until the pork is tender and the broth tastes round, not watery. Don't boil it hard. A hard boil beats fat and scum into the liquid, and then you spend the rest of the evening pretending cloudy broth was the plan.
If the pork rind is clean and good, leave it in the pot. It gives the broth body and a slight stickiness on the lips, which is exactly what bones and rind are for. - 3
Strain and dice
Lift out the pork and set it aside until you can handle it. Strain the broth through a sieve and discard only the spent vegetables and spices; the meat is not decoration, it goes back in. Dice the pork belly or shoulder small. If the rind is tender, chop a little of it finely as well, because Weggeworfen wird nichts.
- 4
Sweat the onion
Wipe the pot, add the lard, and sweat the diced onion over medium-low heat until soft and pale gold. Keep it below browning, because this soup wants a clean pork taste, not roasted onion bitterness. Stir in the marjoram for half a minute so the fat wakes it up before the broth returns.
- 5
Cook the Spätzle
Pour the strained broth back into the pot and bring it to a steady simmer. Add dried Spätzle now and cook until tender; add fresh Spätzle only for the last 2 to 3 minutes, because they are already soft and will go slack if they sit too long. The noodles should keep a little bite, so they catch the sausage-rich broth instead of dissolving into it.
- 6
Split the sausages
Lower the heat until the soup barely trembles, then add the blood sausage and liver sausage whole or in thick pieces. Let them warm for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until some casings split and the inside slips into the broth. This is the point. A rolling boil makes the blood grainy and greasy; gentle heat lets it thicken the soup like the slaughter kettle did.
- 7
Finish sharp
Stir the soup once or twice to break up the softened sausage, then return the diced pork to the pot. Taste before you salt, because blood sausage and liver sausage bring their own seasoning. Finish with vinegar, black pepper, and chives off the hard heat. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss: the sharpness goes in last, or it cooks flat.
Chef Tips
- •Ask the butcher for fresh blood sausage and fresh liver sausage, not smoked slicing sausage from the cold case. The fresh sausages are meant to poach and soften; a firm smoked one stays separate and misses the point.
- •Use pork bones and rind for the broth. Water with a stock cube is thin and salty, and this soup has nowhere to hide it. Nicht aus dem Glas.
- •Keep the heat low once the sausages go in. The soup should darken and thicken, not turn greasy. Runter mit der Temperatur.
- •A spoon of vinegar at the end is not decoration. Blood and liver need acid the way cabbage needs salt; it lifts the whole pot.
- •Leftovers thicken overnight because the Spätzle keeps drinking broth. Reheat gently and loosen with a ladle of water or pork stock.
Advance Preparation
- •Make the pork broth up to 2 days ahead, strain it, and chill it. Lift off the set fat, but keep a spoonful for sweating the onion because it carries the pork flavour back into the pot.
- •Cook and chill the diced pork with a little broth so it doesn't dry out. Add the sausages and Spätzle only when serving, because both lose their shape if they sit through repeated reheating.
- •The finished soup keeps 2 days in the refrigerator. Reheat below a boil, stirring gently, because hard heat breaks the blood sausage and throws fat across the surface.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 430g)
Calories
710 calories
Total Fat
52 g
Saturated Fat
19 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
28 g
Cholesterol
180 mg
Sodium
1180 mg
Total Carbohydrates
24 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
35 g
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