Christmastime at a Wisconsin table will feature the regular American holiday staples, but the appetizer course often features something that would shock non-Midwesterners.

It's called a cannibal sandwich, even though it's not exactly a sandwich. The dish is simple, a slice of rye bread topped with raw ground beef and a few slices of raw onion.

The tradition of eating cannibal sandwiches can be traced to German immigrants in the Midwest, although it's unclear how it became associated with Christmas.

Wisconsin experienced a massive wave of immigrants from Germany in the 1800s and they brought with them their culinary traditions from the motherland.

There is a similar German dish called mett, which is traditionally made with ground or minced pork, although on rare occasions, beef may be used instead.

Like the cannibal sandwich, mett is often paired with raw onion (in which case it is called “zwiebelmett”) and served on bread (“mettbrötchen”).