Sous Vide Frikadeller (Danish Meatballs)

June 19, 2024

Sous Vide Frikadeller (Danish Meatballs)

Sous vide frikadeller are the same meat mixture Danes have shaped and fried for generations, but cooked in two separate steps instead of one. The frikadeller first spend a long time in a water bath at a precise temperature, and the pan-searing comes afterward, purely for the sake of the crust.

The method solves a problem built into the traditional frikadelle: a mixture of ground meat has to be cooked through to a high core temperature to be safe to eat, but the same strong heat that ensures it’s cooked through easily dries the mixture out along the way. In the water bath, the frikadeller sit at a temperature they can never exceed, so they cook evenly and fully through from edge to edge without losing their juices.

The mixture itself is the classic one: ground pork and veal, onion, egg, breadcrumbs, flour and whole milk, stirred together and shaped into oval frikadeller. The blend of pork and veal is a common Danish standard, but pure pork works just as well. After the water bath, the frikadeller are missing only one thing that sous vide can never give them: a browned, crisp surface. That comes from a short, hard turn in butter in a very hot pan, where the only purpose is color and flavor - the meat is already cooked through.

The flavor is mild and lightly seasoned, with a clear, clean taste of pork and veal, while the crisp crust from the pan-searing adds a lightly nutty, buttery flavor. Frikadeller are a fixture of Danish everyday and Sunday meals and are traditionally served with boiled potatoes, brun sovs (Danish brown gravy) and pickled beetroot. The sous vide version doesn’t change that experience - it just makes it easier to hit the juicy, fully cooked frikadelle every time.

Ingredients

Serves 4

300 g ground pork (8-12% fat)
100 g ground veal
10 g salt
1 onion, finely grated
2 eggs
1 dl breadcrumbs
1 tbsp wheat flour
2 dl whole milk
1 tsp pepper, freshly ground
butter, for frying

Directions

Stir the ground pork and veal together with the salt and pepper until the mixture begins to come together. Add the onion, eggs, flour and breadcrumbs, and stir well. Add the milk a little at a time, and stir the mixture together thoroughly into a light, cohesive mass.

Let the mixture rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour, ideally overnight - it makes it easier to shape and holds together better. Shape the mixture into 16-18 oval frikadeller of about 45-55 g (1½-2 oz) each and around 3 cm thick.

Vacuum-seal the frikadeller, ideally 2-3 per bag in a single layer without pressing too much against each other, and put the bag in a sous vide water bath at 149°F (65°C) for 3 hours.

Take the frikadeller out of the bag and pat them thoroughly dry with paper towels - moisture from the bag causes steaming instead of browning in the pan. Melt plenty of butter in a very hot pan and sear the frikadeller for 1-2 minutes on each side, until they have a golden, crisp crust. The frikadeller are already fully cooked from the sous vide bath, so the pan-searing is only about color and flavor, not further cooking.

Serve at once, ideally with boiled potatoes, brun sovs (Danish brown gravy) and pickled beetroot.

Notes

The ratio of pork to veal can be varied freely. 3:1 is a common Danish standard, but pure ground pork also works if veal isn’t on hand.

The pan-searing after the sous vide bath is not optional. Without it, the frikadelle lacks the browned crust and buttery flavor that are part of the dish.

For a juicier, more burger-patty-like texture, the water bath can be lowered to 136°F (58°C) for 2 hours. This does, however, depart from the traditional, fully cooked frikadelle that most Danes associate with the dish.