Frikadeller are flat meatballs, pan-fried, typical of Danish cuisine, but the dish is generally associated with Nordic, German, and Polish cuisines.
They are one of the most popular meals in Poland, where they are known as kotlety mielone.
In Germany, they are known as Frikadellen, Buletten, Fleischküchle, or Fleischpflanze.
In Sweden, the word frikadeller refers to meatballs that are instead boiled, not pan-fried.
In Denmark, traditionally, they are made with ground veal, pork, or beef (or a mix of two of these meats), onions, eggs, milk (or water), breadcrumbs (or oats or flour), salt and pepper.
They are pan-fried in pork or beef fat, or more commonly in modern times, in butter, margarine, or vegetable oil.
A popular variant is the fiskefrikadeller, which replaces meat with fish (mainly cod, but sometimes cod and salmon) as the main ingredient and is often served with remoulade.
As a main dish, they are served with boiled potatoes and gravy (brun sovs) accompanied by pickled beets or cooked red cabbage. Alternatively, they can be served with creamed white cabbage.
Frikadeller are also eaten on rye bread (rugbrød) with red cabbage or slices of pickles as the traditional Danish smørrebrød.
The combination of frikadeller and cold potato salad is very popular during picnics or shared lunches, as both ingredients are easy to transport after cooking.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Danish
Frikadeller Ingredients:
- 1.1 lbs ground beef (and/or pork and/or veal)
- 1 onion
- 3 1/2 oz breadcrumbs (or flour)
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup milk (or water)
- 5 tbsp butter
- to taste salt and pepper
Preparation
Chop the onion and add it to the ground meat.
Add the other ingredients: milk (or water), flour (or breadcrumbs), eggs, salt, and pepper.
Mix to combine all ingredients.
Let rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
Form balls using a spoon to get the right size of frikadeller and flatten them.
Melt the butter in a pan and cook the meatballs on both sides.
Serve with boiled potatoes and sweet and sour red cabbage.
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What are frikadeller like in Indonesia?
Frikadeller are also known in Indonesian cuisine through the influence of Dutch cuisine and are called perkedel, however, the main ingredient is not meat, but mashed potatoes, sometimes slightly mixed with ground meat or corned beef.
The mixture is shaped into flat and round patties and dipped in egg yolk before being fried.
In addition to mashed potatoes, cabe rawi, scallions, shrimp, shelled corn, or crushed tofu fritters are also common as ingredients of perkedel.What is brun sovs?
A brown French sauce based on beef broth, thickened by reduction and sometimes with the addition of a browned roux, somewhat similar to a gravy.
