Smørrebrød with Sylte, Mustard Cream and Pickled Beetroot

November 23, 2020

Prep 1 hr 10 min Total 9 hr 10 min

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.

Sylte assembly with mustard cream and pickled beetroot © kvalifood.com

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.