Smørrebrød

Ingredients

Base

• 12 slicesdense sourdough rugbrod (Danish rye bread), 1 cm thick
• 150 ggood salted butter, at room temperature

Marinerede sild (pickled herring)

• 4pickled herring fillets, drained and cut into 3 cm pieces
• 1small red onion, sliced into paper-thin rings
• 2 tbspcapers
• 1 tbspchopped dill

Æg og rejer (egg and shrimp)

• 4eggs, boiled 8 minutes, cooled and sliced
• 200 gsmall cold-water prawns, peeled
• 3 tbspmayonnaise
• 1lemon, half juiced, half in wedges
• dill fronds

Roast pork

• 250 gcold roast pork with crackling, thinly sliced
• 4 tbsppickled red cabbage
• 2 tbspprunes, halved
• 1orange slice, quartered

Directions

1. Cut the rugbrod thin, 1 cm at most. It is dense and sour, and a thick slice swamps whatever goes on top.
2. Butter every slice right to the edges, in an even layer. The butter is a waterproof seal that stops the bread going soggy, so no corner may be left bare.
3. For the herring, lay the pieces overlapping down the length of the slice, so no bread shows. Top with raw onion rings, capers and dill.
4. For the egg and prawn, arrange overlapping egg slices, season with salt, then pile the prawns high in a mound. Add a small spoon of mayonnaise, a squeeze of lemon and a frond of dill.
5. For the roast pork, shingle the meat slices, tuck the crackling in upright so it stays crisp, and add red cabbage, a prune and a twist of orange.
6. Assemble no more than 20 minutes before eating, and keep them cold but not fridge-hard.
7. Serve in the correct order and eat with a knife and fork: herring first, then the other fish, then meat, then cheese. That order exists so the strong pickle does not wipe out the delicate toppings.
8. Pour cold beer, and a small ice-cold snaps alongside the herring.

Technique

• Smorrebrod means buttered bread, and the bread is not a vehicle, it is an ingredient. Proper rugbrod is a long-fermented rye with cracked grains and seeds, sour and chewy.
• The classical rule is that the topping should hide the bread entirely, and there should be no second slice on top. It is an open sandwich by definition.
• Dyrlaegens natmad, the vet’s midnight snack, is the other benchmark: liver pate, salt-cured beef, onion rings, aspic and cress on one slice.

Substitutions

• No rugbrod: a dense German pumpernickel or Vollkornbrot is the nearest thing. Do not use ordinary sliced bread, it collapses.

Variations

• Stjerneskud, shooting star: fried and steamed plaice on white bread with prawns, asparagus and caviar.
• Leverpostej, warm liver pate topped with sauteed mushrooms and crisp streaky bacon.

History

Open rye sandwiches were formalised in nineteenth-century Copenhagen; Oskar Davidsen’s restaurant listed 178 varieties on a metre-long menu from 1888.

Frequently asked questions

What is Smørrebrød?

Smørrebrød is a main from Denmark: open rye sandwiches topped with herring, egg-shrimp, or roast pork. Open rye sandwiches were formalised in nineteenth-century Copenhagen; Oskar Davidsen’s restaurant listed 178 varieties on a metre-long menu from 1888.

How long does Smørrebrød take to make?

Smørrebrød takes 45 min of preparation and 10 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 people, 3 pieces each. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Smørrebrød?

Yes, within limits. No rugbrod: a dense German pumpernickel or Vollkornbrot is the nearest thing. Do not use ordinary sliced bread, it collapses.