Mett (), also known as Hackepeter (

Northern Germany Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hambur ...

Eastern Germany The new states of Germany () are the five re-established states of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) that unified with the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with its 10 "old states" upon German reunification on 3 October 1990. The ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

), is a preparation of minced raw

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

seasoned with salt and black pepper that is popular in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is frequently spread on halves of a bread roll, with raw onion optionally on top. Since the 1950s mett has also been offered as a buffet dish decoratively formed into the shape of a hedgehog, with raw onion "spines". German law forbids mett being sold with a fat content exceeding 35%.

Description

The name is derived from

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

''mett'' for "chopped pork meat without fat", or

Old Saxon Old Saxon (), also known as Old Low German (), was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Eur ...

''meti'' for "food". It consists of minced pork meat, generally seasoned with salt and black pepper, regionally also with garlic or

caraway Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Etymology The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been ...

, and eaten raw. It is also possible to add chopped onion, in which case it is known as ''Zwiebelmett'' (onion ). Legally, German is not allowed to contain more than 35% fat. Unless pre-packaged, the German ''Lebensmittelhygiene-Verordnung'' ("food hygiene/health directive") permits mett to be sold only on the day of production. Mett is similar to

tartare Steak tartare or tartar steak is a French dish of raw ground (minced) beef. It is usually served with onions, capers, parsley or chive, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and other seasonings, often presented separately, to be added to ...

, a preparation of minced raw beef.

Varieties

''Schinkenmett'' ("ham mett"), prepared from the upper thigh (ham), is considered especially fine. In contrast to the normally available locally minced mett, coarse pork mett (''Grobes Schweinemett'') is produced in an industrial meat grinder. To preserve its structure, the pork meat is normally processed in a semi-frozen state. Food and health regulations do not permit temperatures over ; ice may not be used for cooling.

Serving styles

Mett is normally eaten on a bread roll (''Mettbrötchen'') or sliced bread, frequently with a garnish of raw onion rings or diced raw onion. At buffets, mett is occasionally served as a ''Mettigel'' (Mett hedgehog, also ''Hackepeterigel'' or ''Hackepeterschwein''). This form of serving mett has been popular since the 1950s. To serve it, a large amount of mett is shaped as a hedgehog, quartered onion rings or pretzel sticks are used as spikes,

olives The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

as eyes and nose. Mett may also be offered in sausage form (German:''

Mettwurst Mettwurst () is a strongly flavored German sausage made from raw minced pork preserved by curing and smoking, often with garlic. The southern German variety is soft and similar to Teewurst. Braunschweiger Mettwurst is partially smoked but st ...

''). In parts of Southern Germany mett (''Mettstange'') can be served on a lye bun instead of a regular bun. In southern

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, influenced by German immigrants, it is known as ''Hackepeter'' or ''carne de Onça'' in

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...

where this dish is very common and served covered with chives. This variation is made of raw beef, not pork. In Italy, salsiccia cruda is a spicy pork

dish. In

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, the " cannibal sandwich" or "wildcat" (seasoned raw beef and sliced onions on rye bread) is sometimes consumed during holidays or family gatherings. Midwest historians typically agree that the continuing culinary practice is a result of 19th century German immigration to the area.

References

External links

Official definition of mett (in German)
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226195901/http://www.fleischwirtschaft.de/dokumentation/fachbegriffe/pages/index.prl?suchid=2134&quelle=16#trefferliste , date=2012-02-26 German cuisine Polish cuisine Brazilian cuisine Cuisine of Wisconsin German pork dishes American pork dishes Uncooked meat dishes

Description

Varieties

Serving styles

See also

References

External links