Smørrebrød with Sylte, Mustard Cream and Pickled Beetroot
Sylte with Mustard Cream and Pickled Beetroot © kvalifood.com
Sylte is one of the oldest Danish charcuterie products and has been a fixture at the Christmas lunch for centuries. It is pressed, jellied pork — typically made from cheeks or trotters — cooked with bay leaves, pepper and allspice until the meat falls apart. The result is slices with a firm, jelly-like texture and a mild, spiced flavour that goes well with sharp mustard cream and tangy beetroot. Making sylte from scratch takes patience, but the process is simple and the result is far more flavourful than anything you can buy.
Ingredients
Yields 4 servings
Sylte (simplified)
- 1 kg pork cheeks (or trotters)
- 1 onion
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 peppercorns
- 5 allspice berries
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 sheets gelatine
Mustard cream
- 2 tbsp coarse-grain mustard
- 2 tbsp crème fraîche
- 1 tsp honey
- Salt
Assembly
- 4 slices dark rye bread
- Butter, for the rye bread
- Pickled beetroot (see recipe #32)
- Watercress
- Coarsely ground black pepper
Directions
Sylte
Cook the meat with onion, bay leaves, pepper, allspice and salt for 3 hours until it falls apart. Pull the meat into pieces, removing bones and sinew. Strain the cooking liquid and reduce to 3 dl. Dissolve the gelatine in the liquid. Mix the meat and liquid together, pour into a tin lined with cling film. Press under a weight in the refrigerator overnight.
Mustard cream
Mix together mustard, crème fraîche and honey.
Assembly
Butter the rye bread. Slice the sylte and lay on the bread. Arrange pickled beetroot. Add a dollop of mustard cream. Garnish with watercress and pepper.