History

Hackepeter (or Mett in northern Germany) has been a Berlin and German staple since the 19th century, when meat was preserved by salt-curing and the freshest, leanest cuts were eaten raw. The dish is famously breakfast or morning-snack food in Berlin: butcher shops (Fleischereien) sell Hackepeter by the gram from a glass counter, often pre-shaped into a small hedgehog (Igel) with onion rings forming the spines. The structural rule is freshness: Hackepeter must be eaten the same day it is ground. The cliché serving format is a Brötchen mit Hackepeter with raw onion.

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Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 15 minTotal 15 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 400g very fresh pork tenderloin or pork shoulder, ground twice through the fine grinder plate the morning you intend to serve it
  • or ask your butcher to grind it for you very fresh (this is the structural step; pork must be sourced from a trusted butcher and consumed within 4 hours of grinding for safety)
  • 1 large white onion, very finely diced (about 100g)
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground caraway
  • Pinch of grated nutmeg
  • Optional: 1 raw egg yolk (for serving on top of each portion, the classic 19th-century touch)
  • To serve: 4 fresh crispy German Schrippen (Berlin bread rolls) or rye bread slices, halved
  • 1 medium yellow onion, very thinly sliced into rings
  • Cornichons or Gewürzgurken (pickled gherkins)
  • Coarse sea salt and cracked pepper at the table
  • Strong coffee or a small glass of Korn or vodka alongside

Method

  1. On the day of serving, mix the freshly ground pork with the diced onion, salt, pepper, caraway and nutmeg in a chilled bowl with two forks; do not over-mix, keep the texture coarse and fluffy.
  2. Taste a tiny pinch (or do not, depending on your trust in your butcher) and adjust salt; the pork should taste mineral and fresh.
  3. Slice each Schrippe in half (the canonical Berlin presentation is open-faced).
  4. Pile a heaped tablespoon of Hackepeter (about 100g) onto each Schrippe half, mounding generously.
  5. Top each portion with several rings of raw onion (the Berlin convention is to crown thickly).
  6. If using, slip a half-shell raw egg yolk on top of the meat (the older 19th-century classic).
  7. Plate with a few cornichons on the side, a small dish of coarse sea salt and a pepper grinder for self-seasoning at the table.
  8. Serve immediately; the Berlin convention is to eat with a knife and fork or by hand, with strong coffee or a small glass of cold Korn (German grain spirit) or vodka.

Tip from the editors. Pork must come from a trusted German Metzgerei (butcher) and be ground the morning of serving; this dish is not safe to make with supermarket pre-ground pork. The freshness rule is absolute. Eat within 4 hours of grinding; never store overnight.

Where to eat hackepeter (mett)

Hackepeter (Mett) in Berlin

Zur Letzten Instanz ★ 4.1

€€ GermanMitteUntil 22:00 Tue-Sat (kitchen), full service until late

Zur Letzten Instanz, Berlin's oldest restaurant since 1621, serves traditional Prussian tavern food in the Nikolaiviertel through the evening.

TryEisbein, Sauerbraten, Koenigsberger Klopse

Directions

Max und Moritz ★ 4.2

€€ Berlin TavernKreuzberg

Max und Moritz on Berlin's Oranienstrasse has cooked Prussian tavern classics since 1902 in the original ceramic-tiled dining room; the Klopse and rouladen.

OrderThe Koenigsberger Klopse with caper-cream sauce; the beef rouladen with red cabbage in winter.

TipClosed Monday lunch. The original 1902 dining room is the seating to book; phone two weeks out.

Directions

Lutter und Wegner ★ 4.1

€€€ Berlin BrasserieMitte

Lutter und Wegner on Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt has cooked traditional Wiener Schnitzel since 1811; the wood-panelled room runs Sunday classics and the long.

OrderThe Wiener Schnitzel with cucumber-potato salad; the Berlin sauerbraten in winter.

TipSunday lunch from 12:00 is the easier seating than weekday dinner. Book two weeks ahead by phone.

Directions

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