Smørrebrød – Danish Open-Faced Sandwiches

Given my strong bond with the Nordic countries, it is unacceptable that Denmark has yet to make an official appearance on TFD!

To rectify this heinous omission, allow me to share a number of recipes for the Danish national custom for Smørrebrød, which means “buttered bread”.

Smørrebrød is an open–faced sandwich: squares (or triangles as the case may be) of dense, buttered rye or white bread are topped with a variety of seafood, meats, and cheeses often in combination with dill, onions, capers, and other herbs and vegetables.

As noted by NPR:

Denmark’s smørrebrød custom became entrenched with the onset of industrialization in the 19th century.

Factory workers were no longer able to return home for a midday meal, so they packed a lunch of open–face sandwiches, which in their simplest form included slices of rugbrød (dense, dark rye bread) smeared with butter or animal fat (which helped to prevent the juices from seeping into and softening the bread), topped with cold meats, smoked fish or leftovers from dinner the night before.

This tradition took hold over time, moving into the Danish mainstream. Families cultivated hand–me–down recipes, restaurants served more elaborate and creative variations, and the open–face sandwich secured its place at the holiday table.

The prescribed accompaniment to a meal of smørrebrød is a large glass of Danish beer and a small glass of Danish aquavit, which is always taken neat and ice cold. Traditionally, the aquavit is used to wash down the herring portion of the meal.

Smørrebrød Etiquette for your reference:

Smørrebrød is eaten in only one order: Herring first, followed by other fish, then meat, then cheese.

Before adding a topping, smear the bread with butter or duck fat.

Use only rye bread with herring.

Do not eat with your hands; only a knife and fork will do.

Toast frequently.

Place the smoked salmon on buttered white bread only

Do not use the same when switching from the fish to the meat course

When toasting, raise your glass first, looking everyone in the eye and saying “skol”.

I found most of these recipes on a Website many years ago and share them with you now in the hope that you will try this wonderful Danish custom for yourself!

Battle on – The Generalissimo

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Pickled Herring Smørrebrød (Danish Open-Faced Sandwich)

1 slice rugbrød (dense Danish sourdough rye bread), about ⅓-inch thick
½ teaspoon unsalted butter, slightly softened
5 pieces jarred pickled herring
Thinly sliced red onion, for garnish
1 tablespoon dill, roughly chopped

If not already trimmed, cut rye bread to a 3- by 5-inch rectangle.

Spread butter evenly all over top side of bread.

Arrange pickled herring on butter, covering the surface evenly. Tuck red onion between the pieces of herring and garnish with chopped dill. Serve right away.

Anchovy Paste – Ansjoscreme

1½ cups soft butter
1½ ounces anchovy paste
4 hard-boiled eggs

Spread small rounds of bread with softened butter, then with anchovy paste. Cut narrow strips of the boiled egg whites to arrange in petal shapes. Fill center with sieved yolks.

Chicken Liver Spread – Smørecreme af Hønselever

1 pound chicken livers
1 onion
¾ cup melted butter
4 tablespoons onion — grated
1/3 cup chicken fat
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon mace
1½ teaspoons dry mustard
1 pinch anchovy paste
1 tablespoon brandy

Wash the livers carefully. Put in a saucepan with the onion, cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer 20 minutes. Drain, and discard the onion.

Put the livers through a food grinder 3 times until very smooth, or run in an electric blender 10 to 15 seconds. Add melted butter and mix well.

Render the chicken fat until smooth and liquid. Add with salt, pepper, mace, mustard and anchovy paste to ground livers. Mix until smooth. Add the brandy, mixing well.

Place the mixture in a mold, pressing it down until firm. Chill 3 hours. Turn out on a serving platter. Slice about ¼” thick and place on thin rounds of bread of your choice. Heap high with garnishes and serve with a knife and fork.

Chicken Spreads – Smørecreme af Hakket Kyllingebrød

¾ cup cooked chicken — minced
⅓ cup crushed pineapple — drained
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 cup cooked chicken and giblets — chopped
1 cup toasted almonds — chopped
1 teaspoon onion — grated
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ cup mayonnaise
1 cup cooked chicken — ground
2 teaspoons cooked bacon — chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 drops Tabasco sauce

Mix the ingredients for each of these spreads well before spreading on open-faced sandwiches and garnishing.

Chive Butter – Purløgsmør

½ cup soft butter
¼ cup chives
4 drops Worcestershire sauce

Cream butter. Chop or grind the chives and mix with the butter and sauce.

Danish Blue Cheese – Danablu-Creme Danish Blue Cheese

Danish blue cheese
Sweet soft butter
Cold roast beef
Chopped chives

Spread white or whole-wheat bread with equal parts Danish Blue Cheese and soft sweet butter, mixed together until smooth.

Top with slices of cold roast beef and sprinkle with chopped chives.

Egg Sandwich – Æggesmørrebrød

¼ cup soft butter
1 tablespoon chives — finely chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
cheese — thinly sliced
4 hard-boiled eggs
2 ounces anchovies — drained and mashed
1 teaspoon onion — minced
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
¼ cup salad dressing of your choice
paprika

Cream the butter, add the chives and lemon juice and mix until very smooth. Spread on thin-sliced bread. Top with cheese slices. Cover with second slice of bread.

Mix the chopped eggs, anchovies, minced onion, dry mustard and mayonnaise until smooth. Spread on top part of double decker. Sprinkle with paprika.

Horseradish Butter – Peberrodsmør

½ cup soft butter
¼ cup fresh horseradish — grated

Mix horseradish well with the butter.

Liverwurst Spread – Leverpølse-Creme

salt and pepper
1 cup liverwurst
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup broiled baby beef or chicken liver — chopped
1 tablespoon onion — chopped
½ teaspoon prepared mustard
2 tablespoons catsup

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Cream until liver bits are completely integrated with other ingredients. If not soft enough to spread, add 2 additional tablespoons mayonnaise.

Shrimp Sandwich

2 slices French loaf bread, ½-inch thick
Lightly salted European-style butter
2 large Boston lettuce or Romaine leaves
6 ounces bay or small baby shrimp
4 tablespoons creme fraiche or Greek-style yogurt
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Dill sprigs
Lemon wedges

Spread each bread slice with butter. Cover with a lettuce leaf. Arrange shrimp in rows on lettuce. Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons creme fraiche or yogurt over shrimp. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with dill sprigs and serve with a lemon wedge.

Mashed Anchovies – Ansjos-Smørecreme
1 cup anchovies — mashed
2 hard-boiled eggs
1 teaspoon onion — minced
strips pimiento

Mix first 3 ingredients together well. Spread on dark bread and garnish with strips of pimiento.

Pressed Lamb

1 pound salt
½ teaspoon saltpeter
¼ cup sugar
2½ quarts boiling water
1 lamb breast, double
1 tablespoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon allspice
1 tablespoon onion — grated
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon saltpeter

To prepare brine: add salt, sugar, and saltpeter to boiling water; stir until all are dissolved. Remove from heat and chill.
Remove bones and sinew from meat and wash and dry thoroughly.

Sew pieces together for large square or rectangle. Flatten out and sprinkle on entire surface salt, pepper, allspice, onion, parsley, and saltpeter. Also be sure to cut off all the meat from the bones and spread scraps over the surface.

Roll very tightly and hold with a meat fork while sewing ends and sides. Tie around as you would a rolled roast and place in the brine, which should be chilled thoroughly.

After 10 days, remove meat from brine and cover with boiling water. Boil slowly for 2 hours. Place in press until cold. If you do not have a press, place between two flat surfaces and place a weight on top. The weight should be evenly distributed. Slice thin as a cold cut or on open-faced sandwiches.

NOTES : One can also use beef or veal flanks.

Roast Beef
Cover a slice of buttered white bread with a piece of thin underdone beef large enough to overlap well on all sides. Garnish with cut gherkins, remoulade, horseradish, meat jelly, liverpaste, or anything you fancy.

Roast Duck – Andesteg
The bread is best “buttered” with duck dripping. Spread lightly with foie gras. On this place slices of duck breast flanked with rich meat jelly.

Salami Sausage – Spegepølse
Place a slice of salami on a not-too-thin piece of buttered white bread. Add a thick slice of tomato and top this with a slice of hard-boiled egg. Crown with an olive and possibly a dab of tomato sauce.

Salmon Spread – Laks-Creme
1½ cups canned salmon
¼ cup mayonnaise
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 pinch salt
white pepper
1/3 cup soft butter
1 avocado
Pimiento

Mix half the salmon and the mayonnaise, a little of the lemon juice, salt and white pepper. Spread small slices of dark bread with butter and cover with mixture.

Mix other half of the salmon with mashed avocado and spread on small rounds of white bread. Garnish with strips of pimiento.

Smoked Herring with Egg – Røget sild med æg

Loosen the skin and bones from freshly smoked herrings by beating with the flat of a knife, and remove. Split each herring and place on buttered bread. Lay an onion rind on this and place a whole raw egg yolk in the onion ring.

Tongue Spread – Tungesmør
1 cup cooked tongue — finely chopped
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon soft butter
¼ teaspoon paprika
1 hard-boiled egg yolk
1 lemon, juice only
1 dash nutmeg

Chop the tongue very fine. Add balance of ingredients in order given and mix well.

Pickled Cucumbers – Syltede Agurker
8 medium cucumbers — peeled
1 quart vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seed
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cloves, ground

Cut the cucumbers into 1½-inch chunks. Cover with boiling water and let stand overnight. In the morning drain well.

Boil the vinegar with the remaining ingredients for 10 minutes. Put the cucumbar pieces into the hot liquid and heat through. Do not allow them to boil, or they will lbecome mushy.

Put in sterilized jars with the syrup in which they were cooked, and seal at once.

Pickled Herring

3 herring — salt
1½ cups vinegar
1½ cups water
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon allspice — crushed
salt and pepper
½ cup carrots — sliced
½ cup turnips — diced
½ cup onions — chopped
½ cup celery — sliced
¼ cup leeks — chopped
¼ cup fresh dill

Rinse herring, let stand in cold water overnight.

Mix vinegar, water. sugar, allspace and seasoning. Heat a little and stir until sugar melts. Let cool. Pour over vegetables and dill.

Drain fish, split skin and remove bones. Lay fillets in deep crock and cover with vegetable mixture. Cover and stand in refrigerator 5 or 6 days.

Pickled Herring II

8 large herring
3 medium onions, sliced
2 tablespoons horseradish, grated
1 carrot, grated
3 tablespoons whole allspice
2 tablespoons mustard seed
6 teaspoons fresh ginger root
10 bay leaves
1½ cups vinegar
1½ cups sugar
2 cups water

Wash the herrings well; clean, scrape, and cut off the heads, tails and fins. Rinse several times in cold water until water is clear. Cut the fish into 1-inch pieces. Place in layers in a crock with the onions, horseradish, carrot, spices and bay leaves between the layers.

Heat the vinegar, sugar and water just to the boiling point. Let cool. Pour over the herring. Press down firmly with a plate, putting a weight on top, and let stand in refrigerator about 6 days.

The Hirshon Smoked Salmon Smørrebrød

Smoked salmon, thinly sliced
White bread, crusts trimmed
Butter mixed with mashed capers
Dill
Cracked black pepper
Salmon caviar

Butter bread thickly, sprinkle chopped dill over it, lay on salmon, more dill, pepper and some salmon roe on top for garnish.

Blue Cheese And Apple With Bacon

4 slices applewood-smoked bacon
Lightly salted European-style butter
2 pieces rye bread
Danish blue cheese
1 Granny Smith apple, halved, cored, thinly sliced
½ lemon
Fresh chives
Freshly ground black pepper

Fry bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Spread rye bread with butter. Cut cheese in slices 1/4-inch thick and lay over bread. Rub apple slices with lemon half. Arrange apple slices over cheese.

Snap each bacon slice in half. Arrange bacon over apples. Garnish with chives and freshly ground black pepper.