Wonderful Skagen Sild à la Nyhavn Færgekro

The point of my blog has always been to educate people about the wonders of the Danish open-faced sandwich - while eating good food and having a bit of fun at the same time. And when I set out on this adventure, I had no idea if anybody would ever read anything I posted.

Back-alley smørrebrød raid circa 1960

I optimistically imagined that quite possibly there was - somewhere out in cyberspace - clandestine groups of smørrebrød aficionados lurking in online chat rooms and disreputable torrent sites seeking any glimmer of pålæg to satisfy their secret smørrebrød fetish. Moreover I believed that deep down, these misfit Dan-o-files really just wanted a home where they could go to collectively profess their love of the Great Danish Culinary Tradition with the comforting knowledge that they were not alone.

Well, a bit more than a year has gone by, and I feel that it’s safe to say that with www.danishsandwich.com we now have a comfortable online home for those of us outside Denmark who want to indulge in their love of smørrebrød. I also feel that through the blog and the support of everybody out there, more people know about smørrebrød today than they did a year ago – and I feel very grateful to all my followers for the support and encouragement. Hopefully year 2 will bring even greater smørrebrød enlightenment! 

Aside from introducing new-comers to the wonder of smørrebrød, another great benefit of the blog is that it has allowed me to meet and get to know people across Canada and in the rest of the world who share my passion for Danish cuisine and culture. Many of these people have generously shared their personal stories with me, and even introduced me to their favorite recipes, including some for new Danish smørrebrød that I did not know about!

So in this blog post, I'm going to share one of these recipes with you. It comes courtesy of Steve (A.K.A @StreetCuisine) from Toronto, whose blog AdventureFood has many rich and entertaining posts about food from around the world - including several posts about Danish food.

The recipe is for Skagen Sild, which is a sandwich topping made from pickled herring in a creamy white sauce. The word Skagen refers to a magical place in Denmark (read more about it here), and Sild means herring. So, Skagen Sild is basically a herring salad from Skagen. Yum!

To me, Skagen Sild seems very similar to another famous Danish sandwich topping - called Frokostsild (meaning lunch herring). I had never made such a smørrebrød topping before, so I was very eager to try out Steve’s recipe! And the provenance of the recipe is stunningly impeccable, as Steve used to work as a chef in a well-known Copenhagen restaurant. So you know you're getting the real deal with this one!!!

As far a smørrebrød goes, this recipe is easy to make (Danish Degree of Difficulty: Easy) provided you already have pickled herring filets. If you do not have pickled herring, you can either buy it in jars (for instance, at IKEA), or read about how to make it here.

Skagen Sild in my kitchen

So, without further ado, here is the recipe for Skagen Sild (with a big thanks to Steve @StreetCuisine).

• 6 pickled herring fillets, rinsed and cut into 1 cm pieces
• 3 tbsp sour cream
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 shallot, finely diced 
• half an apple, diced
• 1 tsp cracked pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped dill
• Slices of buttered Danish rye bread

The instructions are straight-forward. Combine all the ingredients (except for the bread) in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. This helps blend the flavours together nicely. Finally, serve with buttered rye bread and chopped chives. And as always, enjoy with fork and knife!

If you’d like to read Steve’s post on Skagen Sild, you can find it here.

Now, let's discuss that restaurant in Copenhagen. It's called Nyhavns Færsekro, and while I have never been there, I have been told by experts that it is one of the few respected establishments in an area rife with tourist traps - Nyhavn. In fact, this is arguably the most touristic part of Copenhagen (akin to the Champs-Elysees in Paris, Las Ramblas in Barcelona, or Crescent Street in Montreal).

Nyhavn: Pretty by day, pretty lively at night!

Originally Nyhavn served as a gateway from the sea to the city centre and it had a bad reputation: it was a disreputable hangout for sailors in search of beer and hookers. But, alas, no longer! Nevertheless, Nyhavn is worth a visit: it is a very pretty pedestrian canal street in the centre of town, chock full of beautifully restored sail boats and lined with picturesque multi-colored row apartments housing over-priced cafés - together it has all become emblematic of Copenhagen and has a visual aura that harkens back a couple of centuries. 

The word Nyhavn can be translated as follows: Ny=new, havn=harbor. Thus Nyhavn means New Harbour. You can learn more about Nyhavn here. 

 

Me, chillin' in Nyhavn, 
waiting for my Stjerneskud

So if you find yourself in Nyhavn, and are craving a smørrebrød, seek out the restaurant called Nyhavns Færsekro. Or if nothing else, grab a seat at a Nyhavn cafe, order a cold beer and sit watching the people go by - it's a great way to absorb Danish culture when you're in Copenhagen.

Stjerneskud - AKA "The Shooting Star"

I'm finally back from a long summer vacation full of Danish-inspired, soul soothing activities: rod fishing for herring in the Roskilde Fjord, making elderflower cordials and rosehip jam in Lolland, sunbathing topless in Skagen, bicycling around Bornholm... and I'm ready to get back to bloggin'. Think of this as the season premiere of Danish Sandwich. And what always happens in the season premiere? You start with a bang!!!

Now, when it comes to open-faced sandwiches, there is no bigger bang that the over-the-top Stjernesjud (or Shooting Star in English). So that is what this blog post is about...

Easily Denmark's craziest concept open-faced sandwich, the Shooting Star is both a treat to the eyes and an extravaganza to the taste buds. How can I describe this famous construction? Well, it's basically a combination of every known fish and seafood topping you find in the common sandwich toolkit - it's what the average Dane could potentially make with the leftover smørrebrød toppings from a large family gathering - and in fact, that is why I am making this very treat - loads of leftovers!

The concept is based on the 1st cardinal rule of gastrony: that if one yummy thing tastes good, then therefore it stands to reason that five yummy things must taste five times better!  

What makes up a stjernekud?

The essential ingredients are the following (recipes are available with other blog posts):

• Buttered Danish Rye Bread (Rugbrød)
• Fried Plaice (or Sole) Filet
• Pickled Herring
• Smoked or Cured Salmon
• Caviar
• North Atlantic Shrimp
• Optional green stuff: Dill, Lettuce
• Lemon Wedge

Basically, you pile it all up on the bread, fitting it all as best as possible, not worrying too much about spill over. Then go to town with fork and knife and beer. Decadent! Scrumptious! Awesome! Words can barely describe...

Anyway, you shouldn't take my word for it. Make it yourself and enjoy. However, if you aren't able to make this yourself, but you happen to be visiting Denmark, here are a few excellent spots where you can find a professional Danish-chef who will gladly make a stjernesjud for you.

NYHAVN - The postcard-beautiful 17^th century street that sits in the heart of the Copenhagen harbour district is rife with tourist-friendly eateries (like Told & Snaps) that will gladly overcharge anybody for the pleasure of eating stjerneskud, and other, dramatically emblematic smørrebrød. Trust me. I’ve paid more than my fair share at a couple of these places – but it’s OK – I chalk it up to culinary research and move on.



Nyhavn

Told&Snaps: A fancy smørrebrød joint on Nyhavn



Ferry boat: Great place for smørrebrød

Scandline ferry from Germany to Denmark  - Once upon a time, there was no quicker way of getting to Copenhagen from continental Europe than taking a ferry boat. My preferred route went from Puttgarden in Germany to Rødby on the Danish island of Lolland. As soon as the boat was a sea, I’d dash to the cafeteria ahead of the rest of the crowd (who were apparently more concerned with buying cartons of duty free cigarettes) so that I could be first in line to order the Scandline ferry version of the stjerneskud – usually a simple open sandwich of fried Plaice filet covered in a heaping mound of shrimp and a dollop of remoulade. Nothing said “Welcome to Denmark” more effectively. The blue neon sign in Kaastrup International Airport baggage hall is a distant second.

GILLELEJE - I love this picturesque little fishing village on the northern coast of Sealand (Copenhagen’s island). Here you can find local specialties like smoked eel and herring, Thai noodles, and heaping platters of stjerneskud. My advise – it’s all good, but don’t bother with the Thai noodles.