Smørrebrød

Three Danish open sandwiches on thin buttered rye: pickled herring with onion, liver pâté with beetroot, and egg with prawns and dill

Origin: Copenhagen & Denmark

From the journey of Rye.

Smørrebrød is a contraction of smør og brød, butter and bread, and both words are exact. The butter goes on thickly, right to the edge, and it is there to seal the slice so that the topping does not soak into it; the bread is a thin slice of dense Danish rye, and it is less a sandwich than a plate that happens to be edible. Smørrebrød is eaten sitting down, with a knife and fork. Its origin is usually traced to the rye bread spread with fat that Danish farm workers carried out to the fields, with whatever was left from the evening before laid on top. Copenhagen turned it into something grander in the late nineteenth century. In 1888 Oskar Davidsen took out a licence as a wine merchant in the city, and his wife Petra began making open sandwiches to go with the drink; the family's list of varieties eventually ran to 178 and was long enough to be displayed as a scroll well over a metre in length. The business, now run as Ida Davidsen, has passed through five generations of the family, and its own account is the source for the figures. There is an order to a smørrebrød lunch, and Danes keep to it. Herring comes first, then other fish and shellfish, then meat, and cheese last, and the herring is traditionally accompanied by a glass of chilled akvavit and a beer. The three here follow that sequence: marineret sild, pickled herring with raw onion; leverpostej, the warm or cold liver pâté that is the most everyday topping in Denmark, with pickled beetroot; and egg with the small, sweet cold-water prawns of the North Atlantic. Without rye, it does not exist. Wheat bread under these toppings goes soft within minutes, whilst a well-rested slice of rugbrød holds its shape to the last forkful.

Ingredients

Bread

6 slices Danish rye bread (rugbrød), about 5 mm thick
60 g salted butter, softened

Herring

4 whole pickled herring fillets, drained
0.5 whole small red onion, sliced into very thin rings
1 tbsp capers, drained
4 sprigs dill

Liver Pâté

150 g Danish liver pâté (leverpostej)
6 slices pickled beetroot
1 handful cress

Egg and Prawns

3 whole eggs
150 g cooked peeled cold-water prawns
2 tbsp mayonnaise
0.5 whole lemon, cut into thin wedges
4 sprigs dill

Method

Lower the eggs into boiling water and cook for nine minutes, then cool them in cold water, peel, and slice them evenly.
Butter all six slices of rye generously, taking the butter right to the edges.
For the herring, lay two slices of bread on a board and arrange the fillets across them, cut to fit. Top with the onion rings, a scattering of capers, and the dill.
For the liver pâté, spread two slices thickly with the pâté, warmed gently in a low oven if you like, and lay the beetroot slices along the top. Finish with the cress.
For the egg and prawns, overlap the egg slices on the last two slices of bread, pile the prawns on top, add a small spoonful of mayonnaise, the dill, and a thin wedge of lemon.
Serve on a board or plates, to be eaten with a knife and fork, beginning with the herring.

Notes

The bread matters more than the toppings. It should be a dense, well-rested Danish rye, sliced thin; see the recipe for rugbrød. Danish pickled herring comes in several cures: plain vinegar-pickled, curried, and with sherry or spices. Any of them works, and a plate of two or three kinds is common. Other classic toppings include roast pork with crackling and red cabbage, rullepølse with aspic and raw onion, and stjerneskud, fried and steamed plaice with prawns and asparagus, which is one of the few built on white bread. Chilled akvavit and a cold lager are the traditional drinks with the herring.

The Gastrographer

Name: Smørrebrød
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Copenhagen & Denmark
Ingredients: 6 slices Danish rye bread (rugbrød), about 5 mm thick; 60 g salted butter, softened; 4 whole pickled herring fillets, drained; 0.5 whole small red onion, sliced into very thin rings; 1 tbsp capers, drained; 4 sprigs dill; 150 g Danish liver pâté (leverpostej); 6 slices pickled beetroot; 1 handful cress; 3 whole eggs; 150 g cooked peeled cold-water prawns; 2 tbsp mayonnaise; 0.5 whole lemon, cut into thin wedges; 4 sprigs dill

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control