Shrimp (Rejemad med Surbrød)
Shrimp open-faced sandwiches are a true Danish classic, and are straightforward to make. However, to get that really authentic Danish flavor it takes a bit of effort. Of course, you could simply butter a piece of french bread and toss a handful of shrimp on top. To be sure, this would be tasty, and would make a great smørrebrød any day of the week - but it would not be a true Danish rejemad!
For it to be a true rejemad, you need the tiniest, hand-peeled North Sea shrimp - and not just a few - you want to build a monumental pile! Each little pinkish-gray tidbit is packed with a delicate flavor that requires no additional adornment except for maybe a bit of pepper and, of course, the right kind of bread smeared with butter.
Even in Denmark, the sublime little cold water delicacies are expensive. Outside of Europe, they are quite hard to find. If you can find them, great! But, while finding the perfect shrimp will be difficult in North America, there are reasonable alternatives. In Montreal you can find small (not tiny) North Atlantic shrimp that are also very tasty. One option that I do not recommend is canned cocktail shrimp. While these can be appropriately tiny, they are devoid of taste. North Atlantic shrimp are a much better option.
Tiny fjordrejer (or crevettes grises)
As for the bread, you need something that is quite light in body. Dark Danish rye bread is too overpowering in taste and texture for shrimp, and as such, should not be used with rejemad. The ideal bread is much lighter in texture and flavour and is called surbrød. You can find a close approximation to surbrød in local supermarkets: Jewish rye bread. But if you are like me, you are not looking for a close approximation - you want the real thing - so you'll have to make it yourself. And anyway, surbrød (as with dark Danish rye bread), even if you could find it, is much better if you bake it yourself. And it's really easy. The recipe is provided below.
Are there variations? Yes. In fact, there are many different way to enjoy shrimp on bread. But in my opinion, they mostly involve embellishments that are not really necessary. For instance, some people like to prepare shrimp open-faced sandwiches with mayonnaise and a twist of lemon. Others like boiled egg with their shrimp. Do mayonnaise, boiled egg, dill, or lemon improve on a basic shrimp open-faced sandwich? Purists say no, and I agree if you can get the proper north sea fjordrejer. The best way to decide, is to try variations for yourself and see what works best with your local ingredients.
Here is a recipe for surbrød, which, in English, translates to sour bread (but is made with yeast, instead of sour dough, as the name seems to imply).
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp bread yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 200 ml buttermilk or yoghourt
- 400 ml warm water (about 95F)
- 2 tbsp honey (or malt syrup)
- 2 tbsp coarse salt
- 1 tbsp cracked caraway seed
- 300 g rye flour
- 700 g unbleached wheat flour
Instructions:
- Dissolve the yeast in about 150ml of the warm water and about 1 tsp sugar. Let sit until yeast is very frothy.
- Combine yeast mixture and other ingredients, then knead until the dough is elastic and no longer sticky.
- Place dough in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size - 1 to 2 hours.
- Punch dough down and form into two oval loafs and place on large cookie tray covered with parchment paper. You can also use a bread form if you prefer your bread with straight edges.
- Score the top of each loaf with diagonal cuts from a sharp knife. This helps with rising.
- Dust the top of each loaf with flour, cover with plastic wrap and allow bread to rise for about 2 hours.
- Preheat over to 225C and bake bread for about 25-35 minutes, until the bread is done.
- Cool thoroughly before serving.
Can't decide what variation you prefer? Try 'em all!
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