(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Make and eat a real party animal -- a hedgehog out of raw pork! This culinary delight became popular in the 1970s and is still around today. The pork is spread on bread or rolls, like liverwurst, seasoned and eaten fresh.

About Eating Raw Pork

Eating raw pork and raw beef is common in Germany. Germans buy raw pork already ground for raw consumption at the butcher's, where it is made fresh daily. There are many government guidelines for grinding this type of meat in order to keep it safe. Americans are much more cautious about their pork, especially since people worry about trichinosis, a pathogen which can infect humans. Eat any raw meat at your own risk.

USDA National Trichinae Fact Sheet describes the parasite and methods of detection. There is also a certification program for US farmers to prove that their herd and product is free of Trichinella.

The guidelines (Hachfleischverordnung)* in Germany include keeping the pork at 2°C at all times, grinding semi-frozen meat and selling the pork the day it is made. The ground meat is made from muscle with no tendons and should have a fat content of no more than 35%.

*Update: Hackfleischverordnung became obsolete in 2007 and rules for meat processing are now contained in the two documents: Tierische Lebensmittelhygiene-Verordnung and the TierischeLebensmittel-Überwachungsverordnung. All texts in German.