Raw minced pork (Mett) seasoned with salt, pepper and onion, spread onto a fresh Brötchen. A German raw-meat tradition consumed daily at every bakery and market.

Mett is German lean minced pork, traditionally from the shoulder, served raw on bread as Mettbrötchen. The tradition is centuries old in northern and western Germany; food-safety regulations require Mett to be ground and sold the same day. Cologne's Wochenmarkt stalls and Bäckereien like Backerei Zimmermann and Bastians serve it from early morning. The most common breakfast or second-breakfast order at any Cologne market.

Where to eat Mettbrötchen in Cologne

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Make it at home

Serves 210 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 200g freshly ground lean pork shoulder (must be ground the same day, from a butcher you trust)
  • 1 small white onion, very finely diced
  • 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Pinch of sweet paprika
  • 2 fresh Brötchen (German bread rolls) or sourdough rolls
  • 1 teaspoon cold butter
  • 1 tablespoon chopped chives
  • Mittelscharf mustard, optional

Method

  1. Combine the pork with the diced onion, salt, pepper and paprika. Mix gently with a fork; do not overwork or the texture goes pasty.
  2. Split each Brötchen and butter lightly.
  3. Pile half the Mett onto the bottom of each Brötchen, mounded in the centre.
  4. Scatter chives on top and add a fresh grind of black pepper.
  5. Eat immediately within 30 minutes of grinding the pork. Mett does not keep.

Editor tip. Only use pork ground the same day by a butcher who knows the Mett tradition. The Federal Office for Food Safety requires it. Never use supermarket mince.

Common allergens: Gluten.