Dyrlaegens Natmad

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small saucepan for warming the stock
• •Shallow dish for setting the aspic (about 15cm square)
• •Mandoline for the onion
• •Sharp knife for the salt beef
• •Serrated knife for the rugbrod

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the aspic

   Start with the aspic. It needs at least two hours in the fridge and you can't rush it, so do this first. Soak the gelatin leaves in a bowl of cold water for five minutes until they go soft and floppy. While they soften, warm the beef stock in a small saucepan until it's hot but not boiling. Lift the gelatin out of the water, squeeze gently, and drop it into the warm stock. Stir until it dissolves completely. Pour the stock into a shallow dish, about a centimetre deep, and refrigerate until fully set. The aspic is the thing that makes this dish what it is. Without the cool trembling cubes against the pate, you've just got a pile of cold cuts on rye.

   Good beef stock matters here. The aspic is almost pure flavor. If your stock is weak, the cubes will taste of nothing.
2. 2

   Slice the onion

   Peel the onion and slice it into rings as thin as you can make them. A mandoline is the right tool. Thick rings stay harsh and dominate the whole piece; paper-thin ones sit softly on top and carry just enough bite. Separate the rings with your fingers and set them aside on a plate.

   If your onion is very strong, give the rings a quick rinse in cold water and pat them dry. This takes the edge off without killing the flavor.
3. 3

   Butter the rugbrod

   Lay the four slices of rugbrod on your work surface. Spread each one with a generous layer of butter, going right to the edges. Don't be shy. The butter isn't just flavor here. It's a barrier between the dense rye and the pate, and without it the bread drinks up all the fat and the whole thing goes heavy. Cold butter, soft enough to spread, is what you want.

4. 4

   Layer the leverpostej

   Spread a thick, even layer of leverpostej over the buttered rugbrod. Use the coarse kind with visible fat and pieces of liver, never the smooth spreadable version. That smooth pate is for a different dish. Go right to the edges so every bite has pate underneath. This is the foundation of the architecture, and it needs to be generous.

5. 5

   Lay the salt beef

   Drape the thinly sliced salt beef over the leverpostej, covering most of the surface but letting a little of the pate show at the edges. Slightly folded and lifted, never flat. Cold cuts pressed flat look sad, and this dish deserves better. Saltet oksebryst is the Danish name for this salted brisket; if you can't find it, a good quality corned beef works, sliced very thin.

6. 6

   Dice and scatter the aspic

   Take the set aspic out of the fridge. Turn it out onto a cutting board and cut it into small cubes, about five millimetres across. Scatter the cubes over the salt beef, leaving some of the meat visible through them. Don't cover everything. The aspic is meant to shimmer in little pools across the top, not form a lid. This is the detail that tells you this is dyrlaegens natmad and not any other smorrebrod.

   Work quickly with the aspic. It's fine at room temperature for a few minutes, but the longer it sits out, the softer the cubes get. Cut and scatter and move on.
7. 7

   Crown with onion and cress

   Arrange two or three onion rings on top of each piece, stacked loosely so they catch the light. Then take the cress and snip a generous pinch over each one with kitchen scissors. The cress is not garnish. It's a flavor: peppery, fresh, alive, the green note that cuts through all those dense browns and pinks. Finish with a twist of black pepper and serve immediately. Knife and fork, never fingers. You'll know when it's right because when you cut through all five layers and lift a piece onto your fork, everything holds together. Tak for mad.

Chef Tips

• •The leverpostej you buy matters more than anything else in this dish. Look for the coarse kind, labelled grov leverpostej if you find a Danish brand, with visible pieces of fat and liver. The smooth spreadable pate is a different product for a different purpose. If you have a good Danish or German deli nearby, go there.
• •Salt beef is called saltet oksebryst in Danish, a brined and slowly cooked brisket eaten cold. If you can't find the Danish version, a good quality corned beef or cured brisket from a proper butcher works. Slice it paper-thin against the grain, as thin as you can manage with a sharp knife.
• •Drink beer with this, and a small glass of aquavit if the occasion calls for it. A cold pilsner cuts through the richness, and the snaps does what centuries of Danish lunch tradition have trained it to do. Coffee comes afterwards, never with.

Advance Preparation

• •The aspic must be made at least two hours ahead to set properly, and it can be made up to two days in advance and kept in the fridge. If anything, the flavor improves overnight.
• •The onion can be sliced an hour or two before serving and kept covered in the fridge. Any longer and it starts to lose its crispness.
• •Assemble the smorrebrod just before serving. The cress wilts, the aspic softens, and the bread darkens if the layers sit for too long. This is a dish built at the last minute and eaten immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 160g)