In our last post we got down and made some traditional agurkesalat a.k.a. Danish cucumber salad. And since I still had some leftovers the following day I decided to make myself a simple yet delicious Danish lunch with frikadeller.
What is Frikadeller?
I honestly don’t know why I don’t make frikadeller more often, because they are so damn tasty! It typically features a 50/50 combination of pork and beef (or veal as they would traditionally do in Denmark). Which is then combined with grated onion, garlic, egg, milk, bread crumbs, and a few spices.
The overall flavor is simple yet rich. While the heavy use of milk gives the meat a light almost airy texture that is out of this world good!
A Special Technique for Forming the Meatballs
There’s isn’t much else to be said about frikadeller. You form the meat dough and fry them in a pan. But there is one special thing about traditional frikadeller that I feel needs a little bit of attention.
And that’s how they are formed.
You see unlike pretty much every other type of meatball you can think of, frikadeller typically aren’t formed into spherical balls. Instead, the shape is often like an oval, or as I prefer to describe them, mini American footballs.
And while it’s not entirely necessary to shape your frikadeller this way it does make them easy to cook and give them a uniqueness that I love.
So how do you form these football shaped meatballs?
Well, basically it all comes down to the use of a regular old spoon. First, you scoop some of the meat dough out with a spoon. Then you use another spoon (or your hands if you’re an expert at forming frikadeller) to scoop, form, and mold the meat dough into that unique football shape.
And don’t get me wrong you won’t be perfect at this the first couple of meatballs. But once you’ve done it a couple of times you’ll get the hang of it.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- While I generally like to eat my frikadeller plain, sometimes I like to make a simple gravy out of the drippings. To do this simply remove all but 2 tablespoons of the butter and drippings from the pan after cooking. Then sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of flour and slowly whisk it in with the drippings until it forms a light roux. Finally, add roughly 1 to 2 cups of beef stock (depending on how thick you like your gravy) along with some salt and black pepper. And whisk everything together until it is all incorporated.
- Traditionally frikadeller are served with boiled potatoes and a few different types of pickles like agurkesalat and pickled beets.
- Don’t worry if you have some meatballs left over because they are great the next day. You can simply eat them plain as a snack or use them to make a frikadeller smørrebrød a.k.a. an open face sandwich.
Frikadeller (Danish Meatballs) Recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes
Servings: Roughly 15 to 20 meatballs (depending on how big you make them)
Ingredients
Meatball ingredients:
½ Lb of ground pork
½ Lb of ground beef
1 Medium onion, grated
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
1 Egg
½ Cup of whole milk
¼ Cup of flour
2 Tablespoons of bread crumbs
1 Teaspoon of salt
½ Teaspoon of ground pepper
Pinch of ground allspice (optional)
Pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)
For frying the meatballs:
4 Tablespoons of butter
1 to 2 Tablespoons of neutral-flavored oil
Instructions
- Make the meatball dough: Get out a large mixing bowl and add the pork, beef, onion, garlic, egg, half of the milk, flour, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and spices if using.
Use either your hands or a spoon to stir and roughly combine all of these ingredients together. Then add the remaining milk and stir again until everything is thoroughly incorporated. The consistency should be like a thick and sticky paste.
- Get out a large pan or skillet and place it over low heat. Add the butter along with the oil and let the butter melt completely.
- Form meatballs and add them to the pan: Get out a small bowl, fill it with water, and dip two medium-sized spoons in it so that the meat dough doesn’t stick to them. Use one of the spoons to scoop out some of the meatball dough.
Then use the second spoon to scoop the meat dough from the first spoon so that it starts to form an oval or egg shape.
Repeat this process a couple of times until the meat dough forms a smooth yet firm oval/egg shape. Once done, drop the meatball into the pan and repeat the process until all meatballs are formed and in the pan.
- Cook the meatballs: Turn the heat up to medium and let the meatballs cook undisturbed for 5 to 7 minutes.
Then use either a fork or a small spatula and turn each of the meatballs over. Let them cook on the other side for an additional 5 to 7 minutes undisturbed. You will know that the meatballs are fully cooked when they are firm to the touch.
If you want to be extra sure they are done then simply take one meatball out of the pan, cut it in half, and see if the inside is fully cooked.
- Remove the cooked frikadeller from the pan and place them on a large plate.
- Serve the frikadeller with some traditional Danish pickles, or cooked potatoes, and enjoy!
Frikadeller (Danish Meatballs) Recipe
Ingredients
Meatball ingredients:
- ½ Lb of ground pork
- ½ Lb of ground beef
- 1 Medium onion grated
- 2 Cloves of garlic minced
- 1 Egg
- ½ Cup of whole milk
- ¼ Cup of flour
- 2 Tablespoons of bread crumbs
- 1 Teaspoon of salt
- ½ Teaspoon of ground pepper
- Pinch of ground allspice optional
- Pinch of ground nutmeg optional
For frying the meatballs:
- 4 Tablespoons of butter
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons of neutral-flavored oil
Instructions
- Make the meatball dough: Get out a large mixing bowl and add the pork, beef, onion, garlic, egg, half of the milk, flour, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and spices if using. Use either your hands or a spoon to stir and roughly combine all of these ingredients together. Then add the remaining milk and stir again until everything is thoroughly incorporated. The consistency should be like a thick and sticky paste.
- Get out a large pan or skillet and place it over low heat. Add the butter along with the oil and let the butter melt completely.
- Form meatballs and add them to the pan: Get out a small bowl, fill it with water, and dip two medium-sized spoons in it so that the meat dough doesn’t stick to them. Use one of the spoons to scoop out some of the meatball dough. Then use the second spoon to scoop the meat dough from the first spoon so that it starts to form an oval or egg shape. Repeat this process a couple of times until the meat dough forms a smooth yet firm oval/egg shape. Once done, drop the meatball into the pan and repeat the process until all meatballs are formed and in the pan.
- Cook the meatballs: Turn the heat up to medium and let the meatballs cook undisturbed for 5 to 7 minutes. Then use either a fork or a small spatula and turn each of the meatballs over. Let them cook on the other side for an additional 5 to 7 minutes undisturbed. You will know that the meatballs are fully cooked when they are firm to the touch. If you want to be extra sure they are done then simply take one meatball out of the pan, cut it in half, and see if the inside is fully cooked.
- Remove the cooked frikadeller from the pan and place them on a large plate.
- Serve the frikadeller with some traditional Danish pickles, or cooked potatoes, and enjoy!
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