Läiwerkniddelen

Ingredients

Dumplings

• 500 gpork liver
• 200 gstale white bread
• soaked in milk
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 2eggs
• 60 gplain flour
• or more, to bind
• 1 teaspoondried marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoongrated nutmeg
• 2 teaspoonssalt
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper
• a handful of parsley, chopped
• 3 tablespoonslard or butter

To cook

• 2 litreslight stock
• or salted water

To serve

• 800 gsauerkraut, cooked
• 800 gboiled potatoes
• 50 gbutter, melted
• or bacon fat
• mustard

Directions

1. Keep it cold right up until cooking. It stops the meat proteins tightening up. Squeeze it until it is damp but not wet. Some cooks blend it to a smooth paste.
2. Rinse the liver in cold water. Peel off the thin outer membrane. Cut out any large tubes or gristle. Pull it off from one corner in a sheet. Soak the liver in cold fresh milk. Give it about thirty minutes to soak. Drain it and then pat it all dry.
3. Mince the liver or chop it very finely. It also turns it to a smooth grey paste. Tear the stale bread into pieces. Cover it over with milk in a bowl. Let it soak for fifteen minutes.
4. Squeeze the milk out thoroughly. Break it up with your fingers. Melt the lard in a small frying pan. Add the chopped onions to the pan. Cook them for a good eight minutes. Let them soften and turn golden. Let them cool right down before mixing.
5. Put the minced liver in a large bowl. Add the squeezed bread in with it. Add the cooled onions with their fat. Beat the eggs and add them in. Add the marjoram and the nutmeg. Add the parsley, salt and pepper. Mix it thoroughly with your hands. Add the flour a spoonful at a time. Work it in fully before adding more. Judging the mixture takes a feel. Add more flour only if it will not hold.
6. Bring a small pot of water to a simmer. Drop in one small test dumpling. Cook it there for five minutes. If it falls apart, add more flour. Taste it and adjust the seasoning. Wet your hands with cold water. Shape the mixture into round dumplings. Make them about the size of a golf ball. Keep them all a similar even size.
7. Bring the stock to a gentle simmer. Do not crowd the pot at any point. Keep it barely moving throughout. Give them about fifteen minutes. Cut one open to look right inside. It should be cooked evenly through. Lift them with a slotted spoon. Never pour them into a colander. Set them all in a warm serving dish. Heat the sauerkraut through gently. Boil the potatoes until tender.
8. Drain them and keep them properly hot. Serving it is always done piping hot. Set the dumplings on warm plates. Spoon sauerkraut alongside them. Add the boiled potatoes to the plate. Pour melted butter over the potatoes. Put mustard out on the table too. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• Stale bread soaked in milk and squeezed out is what binds and lightens the dumpling, a panade used across European dumplings; it holds moisture through the cooking and stops the meat proteins tightening, and liver alone would give a dense heavy result. Squeeze it until damp but not wet, since too much milk makes the mixture fall apart.
• Liver is extremely high in vitamin A, which builds up in the body and is genuinely harmful in excess; pregnant people are advised to avoid it entirely, and frequent eating is not advised for anyone. Liver also spoils faster than muscle meat, so buy it the day you cook it.
• Cook one small test dumpling before shaping the batch: if it falls apart add more flour, if it is heavy and dense add less, and taste it to check the seasoning. That one test saves the whole batch.

Substitutions

• Calf or lamb liver stands in for pork liver with a milder flavour.
• Bacon fat in place of melted butter over the potatoes is common.

Variations

• Some cooks blend the liver smooth and others leave it slightly textured.
• Plain kniddelen without liver are a Luxembourgish dish in their own right.
• Sauerkraut and boiled potatoes are the fixed accompaniment.

History

A Luxembourgish home dish using offal from the household pig, eaten in the cold months.

Frequently asked questions

What is Läiwerkniddelen?

Läiwerkniddelen is a main from Luxembourg: pork liver dumplings poached and served with sauerkraut and potatoes. A Luxembourgish home dish using offal from the household pig, eaten in the cold months.

How long does Läiwerkniddelen take to make?

Läiwerkniddelen takes 40 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Läiwerkniddelen?

Yes, within limits. Calf or lamb liver stands in for pork liver with a milder flavour. Bacon fat in place of melted butter over the potatoes is common.

What is the most important thing to get right in Läiwerkniddelen?

Bring the stock to a gentle simmer. Do not crowd the pot at any point. Keep it barely moving throughout. Give them about fifteen minutes. Cut one open to look right inside. It should be cooked evenly through. Lift them with a slotted spoon. Never pour them into a colander. Set them all in a warm serving dish. Heat the sauerkraut through gently. Boil the potatoes until tender.