Smørrebrød with Rullepølse, Meat Jelly and Mustard

December 26, 2014

Smørrebrød with rullepølse, meat jelly and mustard © kvalifood.com

Rullepølse is one of the most iconic Danish cold cuts with a long history rooted in farmhouse cooking, where the pork shoulder was salted, seasoned, rolled and boiled as a way to preserve the meat. The process takes several days — the meat is rubbed with salt, pepper and allspice, brined for three days, boiled for an hour and a half, then pressed overnight — but the result is a firm, spiced sausage cut into paper-thin slices. The flavour is salty and well-spiced with a soft, fatty texture that melts on the tongue. Meat jelly in cubes and raw red onion are the classic accompaniments, and a stripe of Dijon mustard provides the necessary sharpness. It is the fixed pairing of the Danish Christmas lunch alongside roast pork and herring.

Rullepølse with meat jelly and mustard assembly © kvalifood.com

Ingredients

Yields 4 servings

Homemade rullepølse

1 pork shoulder (about 1.5 kg), butterflied flat
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp black pepper, coarsely crushed
1 tsp allspice
2 bay leaves, crushed
1 onion, diced (for boiling)
5 peppercorns (for boiling)

Assembly

4 slices rye bread (or sifted rye bread)
butter, for the bread
meat jelly (see recipe #36)
1 red onion, cut into thin rings
Dijon mustard
watercress
coarsely crushed black pepper

Directions

Rullepølse

Rub the flat piece of meat with salt, sugar, pepper, allspice and bay leaves. Roll it tightly and tie with string. Place in a brine of 1 litre water plus 100 g salt for 3 days in the fridge. Then boil in water with onion and peppercorns for 1½ hours. Leave to cool in the cooking liquid, then press under a heavy weight in the fridge overnight.

Assembly

Butter the bread. Cut the rullepølse into paper-thin slices and cover the bread. Scatter the meat jelly cubes on top. Lay on the red onion rings and a stripe of mustard. Garnish with watercress and pepper.