Lammerullepølse - Lamb spiced cold cut

Lammerullepølse - Lamb spiced cold cut

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

Danish Ham Salad - Skinkesalat

Danish Ham Salad

This is one the easiest lunch salads to make, and a very tasty one. If you like to get a lighter version, use half mayonnaise and half sour cream or yoghurt.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 10 slices ham, diced
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• ¼ onion, grated
• salt & pepper to taste
• chives, for sprinkling

Directions:

Mix ham, mayonnaise and onion in a bowl, season with salt and pepper. Serve the ham salad on a slice of Danish rye bread as an open-faced sandwich. Sprinkle some chopped chives. I love tomatoes with this salad, it give the sandwich a nice balance.

Enjoy!

Pølsesalat - Danish Sausage Salad

Pølsesalat - Danish Sausage Salad

Pølsesalat, or Danish sausage salad, is a typical mayonnaise based lunch salad served on rye bread in Denmark. I remember standing at the butcher shop's deli section with my mom or dad, and the sausage salad would be my pick, if I had a say. And sometimes I was allowed to get it. I do believe that I was the only one in the family who liked it. As an adult, I still bought it now and again, for a trip down memory lane. Most deli's would have pieces of cold boiled potatoes in their sausage salad, but I left them out here. 

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon ravigotte sauce, or a sweet mustard
• 4 german franks, boiled, cooled, sliced
• chives, for sprinkle

Directions:

Put the german franks in a Bowl and pour over boiling water, let stand for about 5 minutes. Remove the franks and put them into a bowl with ice-water, set aside to cool.

Mix the mayonnaise and ravigote sauce together in a bowl. Slice up the franks, and mix them into the dressing. 

Serve the sausage salad on a slice of Danish rye bread, as an open-faced sandwich. Sprinkle some chopped chives on top.

Enjoy!

Skidne Æg - Eggs in Mustard Sauce

Skidne Æg - Eggs in Mustard Sauce

Eggs in mustard sauce is a classic old Danish easter lunch dish eaten Saturday before easter. In Denmark easter is two sets of two religious holidays. Skærtorsdag (Maundy Thursday), Langfredag (Good Friday), Påskedag (Easter Sunday) and 2. Påskedag (Easter Monday). In between the sets of religious holidays, is Saturday. This Saturday called skiden lørdag (dirty Saturday . because it was used to clean up from all the entertaining Thursday and Friday, and make the house presentable for more entertaining during the easter days.  So the Danes wanted an easy dish to serve on this busy day, and the dish eggs in mustard sauce was born, and got the weird name dirty eggs or skidne æg.

In my family we didn't have egg hunts or easter egg roll. We got easter eggs, and we had the first of the 3 big family lunches of the year. I loved these lunches, because it was here we saw all our cousins and extended family. And we alway went for a walk in the forest close to my aunts house, and we saw the first real signs of spring, with the small flowers under the trees.   

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 2 large tablespoons all-purpose flour

• about 2 cups milk

• 2-3 tablespoons mustard, I used haft a coarse mustard and half dijon

• salt & pepper to taste

Topping: 

• cress or peppergrass sprouts

Direction:

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Carefully add the eggs and boil until a little more than soft boiled. I cooked my large eggs for 7 minutes.  Cooking time varies depending on egg size.

Cress or peppergrass sprouts.

Drain the water from the eggs, and pour cold water into the pot to stop the cooking. Peel the eggs and set aside.

While coking the eggs make the sauce. Melt the butter in a small pan, you don’t want the butter to brown. When the butter is melted add flour and a pinch of salt and whisk vigorously, making the flour absorbing all the butter. Add the milk a little of a time, while whisking, until you have the right consistency, like a béchamel sauce. Let the sauce cook for 1-2 minutes, this with remove the floury taste. Season the sauce with mustard, salt and pepper. You want to have a strong mustard taste, so use your favorite non-sweet mustard.

Add boiled eggs to a serving dish, and pour over the sauce and sprinkle with cress sprouts. Serve the eggs with a slice of toasted danish rye bread. 

Enjoy!

Pickled Herring in Dill Dressing

Pickled Herring in Dill Dressing

12th Day of Christmas.

When pickled herring being a vital part of the Danish holiday lunch parties, you sometime want to change up the flavor profile. The classic dressing/sauce is the curry version, is a must have. But this Dill version has a very delicate and fine flavor, and comes in as a close second in my home.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 pickled herring fillets (marinede sildefileter)

Dressing:

• ½ dl (¼ cup) creme fraiche or sour cream
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon pickling solution from the herring
• ½ lemon, the juice from
• 1 teaspoon capers
• a good handful chopped fresh dill, cleaned well, and dried
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all the ingredient for the dressing, and season with salt and pepper. Cut the herring fillet into bite-size pieces and cover the herring bites with the dressing. Let the herring marinate in the dressing for a few hours before serving.

Serve the herring on a pies of Danish rye bread.

Enjoy!