Ok, since you seem to be asking for background as much as anything, I'll include this, from Walter Staib's "Black Forest Cuisine"
It is difficult for me to convey the precise meaning of Schlachtplatte. More than a single recipe, it is a way of presenting specific foods, celebrating a particular event, and remembering a way of life. Basically, Schlachtplatte refers to the variety of sausages and cuts of meat prepared and served after a family has slaughtered a pig. Although virtually every family in my hometown was skilled at keeping livestock, even in my day, no one slaughtered their own pigs. It was just too big of a job. Instead, butchers like my uncle Walter traveled to farms to complete the task. When this personal service ceased, folks would take their pigs to local butchers for the same purpose. In both cases, butchering a pig was a big event and called for a celebration we call Schlachtfest. Literally translated as "Festival of the Butchering," the event is a time for family and friends to join in preparing and feasting upon pork in various forms - sausages , chops, etc. - always accompanied by large amounts of delicious sauerkraut.
I include schlachtplatte here, because gasthaus restaurants commonly offer it and, at various times during the year, hold Schlachtfest. When my aunt and uncle ran the Gasthaus zum Buckenberg, they had a butcher's shop and retail store on site, so it was natural for them to hold this event. Even gasthaus restaurants without butcher's shops still celebrate this festival, taking pigs from their own farms to neighborhood butchers and serving a wide selection of pork items on their menus.
Today, schlachtplatte is listed on restaurant menus throughout the year, regardless of whether there is an accompanying festival, the presentation of delicious pork and tangy sauerkraut is a reminder of days gone by--of traditional foods and ways of life that were vital, and gave great joy, to generations of Black Forest communities.
--Walter Staib, "Black Forest Cuisine"
