Liver sausage, abandoned by Boar's Head following a listeria outbreak, was once a staple

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Boar's Head liver sausage filled his latest lunch box.

Boar's Head announced last Friday that it would stop making the most controversial charcuterie in the deli aisle.

Liver sausage is suffering from the fallout from a listeria outbreak that has led to a massive product recall.

BOAR'S HEAD SHUTS DOWN PRODUCTION, SHUTS DOWN PLANT LINKED TO 'INDEFINITE' LISTERIA OUTBREAK

“Our investigation identified the root cause of the contamination as a specific production process that existed only at the Jarratt, Virginia, plant and was used only for liverwurst,” the company said in a statement.

“Following this discovery, we have decided to permanently stop the production of liver sausages.”

Liver sausage sandwich

Once a staple of the American breakfast, liverwurst has become unpopular and hard to find in recent years. Pictured here is a sandwich from Schaller & Weber in New York City. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

It may be an unpleasant moment for the food manufacturer, but the reality is that liverwurst, a once beloved flavor, has fallen out of favor.

“Every time I eat liverwurst, everyone is disgusted.”

“Liver sausage is probably one of the least popular sandwiches in New York,” wrote Robert Sietsema of fine dining restaurant Eater NY in an April essay about his quest to find liver sausage sandwiches in a city famous for its old-school deli culture.

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“A sandwich filling made from rye, rye or whole wheat bread, seasoned with mustard and sometimes raw onions, liverwurst was part of many children's lunches 30 years ago, although even then it seemed strangely old-fashioned.”

Boy with sandwich and lunch box.

A boy with a lunch box in the 1950s, a time when liver sandwiches were popular among American consumers. (Debrocke/ClassicStock/Getty Images)

This year, the author sought out foie gras sandwiches at five different Manhattan delicatessens.

“No one seemed to have one,” he wrote. He added that “the older sandwich makers at least knew what it was.”

Liver sausage is – and in a growing number of examples was – an emulsified sausage of German origin made from pig liver and other organs mixed with spices.

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Liver sausage was generally affordable for families, and in the American culinary tradition, it was often sliced ​​into supermarket white bread sandwiches for a quick boxed lunch.

Some versions of liverwurst were softer, like a pâté, and spread on bread.

Boar's Head Reminder Signs

A Boar's Head deli meat recall notice is seen at the deli counter of a grocery store in Queens, New York. (Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Liver sausage was popular enough during World War II to spark outrage over rationing.

“Liver sausage caused a minor crisis last week,” Time magazine reported in 1943.

“Rationed at seven points per pound, it lost most of its appeal. Since liver pâté only keeps for a few days, merchants looked on glumly as their stocks rotted.”

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The publication ranked it among the best “honest meat products…steaks, chops, liverwurst and everything in between.”

Liver sausage seems to have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity after the war, or at least in relevance, until the 1980s.

Sandwich menu at McSorley's Old Ale House

A sandwich board seen at McSorley's Old Ale House in New York City. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

It was the best of times.

Today we are living through the worst times.

“Every time I eat liverwurst, everyone is disgusted,” wrote one outraged defender of the cured delicacy on Reddit last year.

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“I ask the lady at the deli how many people order liverwurst, and she tells me I’m literally the only one in the past year who has had it,” wrote @spvcebound.

“What's with all this hatred for liverwurst?”

Liver sausage is primarily reserved for those who can tolerate ridicule and minced pork liver.

Liver sausage and Elvis Presley sandwich

Liver sandwiches were a popular and affordable lunch option in postwar America, but have largely disappeared from the 21st century diet. (Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images; Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital; Lambert/Getty Images)

“A foie gras and mustard sandwich is probably the perfect lunch for me,” the same person wrote.

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“Its taste is somewhere between mortadella and bacon, it's such a rich flavor… the texture is great too.”

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