Frikadeller

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy frying pan (cast iron or stainless steel)
• •Box grater for the onion
• •Wide spatula for turning

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the meat

   Combine the pork and veal in a large bowl with the grated onion, egg, flour, salt, and a good grinding of black pepper. Stir it together with a fork or wooden spoon, working in one direction. This matters. Mixing in one direction develops the protein strands that hold the frikadeller together. If you stir randomly, the mixture stays loose and falls apart in the pan.

   Grate the onion on the fine side of a box grater. You want onion juice and pulp, not chunks. The onion should dissolve into the mixture, adding sweetness and moisture you can taste but not see.
2. 2

   Add the sparkling water

   Pour the cold sparkling water into the mixture in a steady stream, stirring as you go. The mixture will look too wet. That's correct. The water needs to be sparkling and it needs to be cold. The bubbles create tiny air pockets inside the meat that survive the frying, and the result is a frikadelle that's light and tender instead of dense and heavy. Still water doesn't do this. Let the mixture rest for ten minutes so the flour absorbs the liquid and the whole thing firms up slightly.

   Open a fresh bottle. Flat sparkling water is just still water with regret. You need the bubbles active when they meet the meat.
3. 3

   Shape the frikadeller

   Wet your hands with cold water. Take a generous spoonful of the mixture, about the size of a small egg, and shape it between your palms into an oval patty, slightly flattened. Not a round ball. Frikadeller are oval and flat, like a thick patty. This gives you more surface area in the pan, which means more crust, and the crust is where the flavor concentrates. Set each one on a damp plate as you go. You should get about sixteen.

   Keep your hands wet. The mixture is sticky by design. Wet hands stop it from clinging to you instead of holding its shape.
4. 4

   Heat the pan

   Set a large heavy frying pan over medium heat. Add the butter and oil together and let the butter melt and foam. Butter alone burns before the centers cook through. Oil alone tastes like nothing. Together they give you the golden crust and the nutty richness that makes frikadeller taste the way they should. Wait until the foam subsides and the butter smells warm and faintly of hazelnuts. That's the moment.

5. 5

   Fry the first side

   Lay the frikadeller into the pan, leaving space between each one so they fry rather than steam. Don't crowd the pan. Work in two batches if you need to. Let them cook undisturbed for four to five minutes. Don't move them, don't press them, don't peek underneath every thirty seconds. The crust forms when the meat is left alone against the hot fat. When the edges start to turn golden and opaque about a third of the way up, it's time to turn.

   If the frikadeller stick when you try to turn them, they're not ready. A properly crusted frikadelle releases itself. Give it another minute.
6. 6

   Finish cooking

   Flip each frikadelle carefully with a spatula. The underside should be a deep, even golden brown. Cook the second side for another four to five minutes. Lower the heat slightly if the butter is darkening too fast. When they're done, the outside is richly browned and firm to the touch, and the inside is cooked through but still juicy. Cut one open to check if you're unsure. There's no shame in checking. The center should be cooked with no pink remaining, but still moist, not grey and dry.

7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Transfer the frikadeller to a warm plate and let them rest for two or three minutes. This lets the juices redistribute so they don't run out the moment you cut in. Serve with boiled new potatoes, pickled red cabbage, and a spoonful of remoulade or brun sovs if you have it. This is Tuesday night in Denmark. This is how we greet each other at the table after a long day. Tak for mad.

Chef Tips

• •Use sparkling water in the mixture, not still. It sounds strange but it makes the frikadeller lighter. The bubbles create tiny air pockets that survive the frying. This is something you learn by watching, not by reading, and now you've read it anyway.
• •Flatten the frikadeller slightly before they go in the pan. They're not round meatballs. They're oval and a little flat, like a thick patty. This gives you more crisp surface, which is where the flavor concentrates.
• •Fry in a mixture of butter and oil. Butter alone burns before the center cooks through. Oil alone tastes like nothing. Together they give you the golden crust and the nutty richness that makes these taste right.
• •The mixture should rest for ten minutes before shaping. This gives the flour time to absorb the liquid and the whole thing tightens up just enough to hold its shape. Skip this and you'll be chasing loose meat around the pan.
• •Leftover frikadeller, cold on rugbrod with remoulade and pickled cucumber, make one of the best lunches in the Danish repertoire. Cook extra. You'll want them tomorrow.

Advance Preparation

• •The raw mixture keeps in the fridge for up to a day. Cover tightly and shape just before frying.
• •Cooked frikadeller keep for three days in the fridge and reheat gently in a pan with a little butter. They're also excellent cold on rugbrod for lunch the next day.
• •You can freeze shaped, uncooked frikadeller on a tray and then transfer to a bag. Fry from frozen, adding two minutes per side.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 155g)