Rullepølse is a traditional cold cut made in the Scandinavian countries. In Denmark you normally make rullepølse from pork belly, but you can pretty much make it from the meat of your choice.

When we had the big family lunches at my Godmothers house we always got a lamb version of Rullepølse. I really liked the delicate taste, so here is my take on the Lamb rullepølse.

Makes 1 rullepølse.

Ingredients:

1 - 1½ kg (2-3 pound) lamb belly or boneless leg of lamb
3-4 tablespoons coarse sea salt
½ teaspoon sodium nitrite (food grade) optional*

Spice blend:

½ onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 large bunch of parsley, finely chopped
3 teaspoons freshlycoarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2-3 packets (21 g) gelatine

Cooking broth:

water, to cover
2-3 teaspoons salt
10-15 whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves

Direction:

If you are using a leg of lamb, you need to cut the meat into a large rectangle about ⅕ inch (1 cm) thick.

Cut off any large chunks of fat, but don't make it too lean. Trim the ends so they are straight. Trim any really thick places if that side is too thick when you roll it up. Lay the lamb flat on a cutting board and sprinkle salt and sodium nitrite all over. Fold the meat up, and place it in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours.

Rinse the meat, and pat it dry with paper towel. Lay the meat flat on a cutting board, and sprinkle it with ⅓ of the gelatin powder. Spread the chopped onion on top. Sprinkle a good amount of pepper and allspice blend on top, ending with the rest of the gelatin.

Carefully roll or fold up the meat into a large sausage. Use cooking twine to tie the meat up all the way.

Bring water to a boil, and place the rullepølse in the water with salt, peppercorns and bay leaves. Cook the rullepølse for 1½-2 hours at a simmer.

When cooked, place the rullepølse in a press. If you do not have a rullepølse press you can use two loaf pans and tie it up hard with more twine. Put the rullepølse in a large ziplock bag and into the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

Remove the twine, and slice the rullepølse in thin slices, and serve it on rye bread or another good bread, as an open faced sandwich.

Enjoy!

*Sodium nitrite makes the rullepølse keep the pinkish color