Landjäger is the pressed, smoked, semi-dried sausage of the Alemannic Alps — Liechtenstein, Switzerland, southern Germany, and Austria — traditionally made on farms as a portable, long-keeping snack.
Slice a landjäger and it is dense, dark-red, and chewy, the surface dry and the inside deeply smoky and savory. Bite: rich beef-and-pork with a firm, jerky-like snap, the garlic and caraway warming, the smoke pervasive, a faint tang from the gentle fermentation. Made to last and travel, it is the pocket sausage of Alpine herders and hikers.
Coarse-minced beef and pork, salted and pressed flat, lose moisture evenly; cold-smoking and air-drying concentrate the flavor and preserve the sausage without cooking. The pressing gives the flat, rectangular shape; a touch of sugar and time allow a gentle fermentation tang. Salt and smoke are the keepers.
Variations
All-beef. Spicier with more pepper. With a touch of red wine. Hot-smoked for a softer texture. Thinner snack-stick form. With juniper.
On the Palate
Where Landjäger sits in the Liechtensteiner flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
7 steps · 1 hour active + 3 hours waiting
- 115 min
Mince 500 g beef and 300 g pork (with 200 g pork back fat) coarsely; keep very cold.
Watch outKeep the meat and fat near-frozen through mincing — if it warms up, the fat smears and the sausage turns greasy instead of firm and dry.
- 26 min
Mix with 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp caraway, 2 tsp coarse pepper, 22 g salt, and a little sugar.
- 314 min
Knead until tacky, then stuff into narrow beef casings and twist into pairs.
- 425 min
Press the sausages flat between boards under a weight overnight in the cold.
Watch outPress the pairs flat under a weight overnight in the cold — even pressure is what gives Landjäger its signature flat rectangle and squeezes moisture out evenly.
- 560 min
Cold-smoke over beech 6-8 hours (or as your setup allows).
Watch outKeep the smoke cool, never hot — if the sausage warms and cooks, the fat leaks and you lose the dry-cured texture.
- 6120 min
Air-dry in a cool, airy place several days until firm and dark (here, abbreviated).
- 74 min
Once firm, store cool; eat sliced as a snack with bread and pickles.
