(; originally , "butter and bread"), smørbrød "butter bread" ( Norwegian), or smörgås " butter goose" ( Swedish), is a traditional open-faced sandwich in the cuisines of Denmark,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

that usually consists of a piece of buttered rye bread (, a dense, dark brown bread), topped with commercial or homemade cold cuts, pieces of

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

or spreads, and garnishes.

Bread

Bread is a very important part of the Scandinavian diet, primarily , which is

sourdough Sourdough is a type of bread that uses the fermentation by naturally occurring yeast and lactobacillus bacteria to raise the dough. In addition to leavening the bread, the fermentation process produces lactic acid, which gives the bread its dis ...

rye bread. It is a dark, heavy bread which is often bought sliced, in varieties from light-coloured rye to very dark, and from refined to whole-grain. Some toppings are served on ('French bread'), a very light, crusty wheat bread. The bread is usually buttered, though for some variants, a spread of lard is customary.

Toppings

Traditional toppings include pickled herrings (plain, spiced or curried), slightly sweeter than Dutch or German herrings; thinly sliced cheese in many varieties; sliced cucumber, tomato and boiled eggs; pork liver-paste; dozens of types of cured or processed meat in thin slices, or smoked fish such as salmon; mackerel in tomato sauce; pickled cucumber; boiled egg, and rings of red onion. Mayonnaise mixed with peas, sliced boiled asparagus and diced carrot, called ('Italian salad'), remoulade or other thick sauces often top the layered open sandwich, which is usually eaten with utensils. It is custom to pass the dish of sliced bread around the table, and then to pass around each dish of toppings, and people help themselves. More festive meals can be loosely divided into courses: fish toppings first (such as herring, shrimp, or smoked salmon) followed by cold cuts and salads, and finally cheese with bread or crackers and fruit. One or several warm dishes are often served with the meats on special occasions, such as breaded plaice filet, fried sausage, with pickled red cabbage, or (pork tenderloin with sauteed onions or a creamy mushroom sauce). Toppings change with the seasons and some are mostly associated with Easter or Christmas lunches, like head cheese and (lit. 'apple pork', roast pork or bacon in apple sauce). Summer offers lighter fare such as smoked mackerel, (lit. 'summer salad', radish and cucumber in a smoked cheese dressing), new potatoes, and freshly peeled shrimp.Open faced sandwiches – Smorrebrod – Danish food by Adina in Where is my Spoon ?
/ref> Hundreds of combinations and varieties of are available, and some traditional examples include: * (Danish: 'veterinarian's midnight snack') – on a piece of dark rye bread, a layer of liver pâté, topped with a slice of salt beef and a slice of meat

aspic Aspic () or meat jelly is a savoury gelatin made with a meat stock (food), stock or broth, set in a mold to encase other ingredients. These often include pieces of meat, seafood, vegetable, or eggs. Aspic is also sometimes referred to as ''aspic ...

. This is all garnished with raw

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

rings and garden cress. * Eel – smoked eel on dark rye bread, topped with scrambled eggs and sliced radishes or chopped

chives Chives, scientific name ''Allium schoenoprasum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae. A perennial plant, ''A. schoenoprasum'' is widespread in nature across much of Eurasia and North America. It is the only spe ...

. * – warm rough-chopped liver pâté served on dark rye bread, topped with

bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

, and sautéed

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

. *

Roast beef Roast beef is a dish of beef that is roasted, generally served as the main dish of meal. In the Anglosphere, roast beef is one of the meats often served at Sunday lunch or dinner. Yorkshire pudding is a standard side dish. Sliced roast beef ...

– thinly sliced and served on dark rye bread, topped with a portion of remoulade, and decorated with a sprinkling of shredded

horseradish Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes Mustard plant, mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and us ...

and toasted onion. *Eggs and prawns – Thin slices of egg and prawns on either rye bread or white bread topped with tomato, mayonnaise, and lemon, and garnished with garden cress. * Roast pork – thinly sliced and served on dark rye bread, topped with red sweet and sour

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of '' Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.& ...

and thinly-sliced pickles and garnished with a slice of orange. * Salmon – slices of cold-smoked salmon or ( cured salmon) on white bread, topped with

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

and garnished with a slice of

lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

and fresh dill. * Spiced meat roll – thin-sliced cold cut, garnished with a thick slice of ''

sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

'', raw onion rings and garden cress. *''Stjerneskud'' (lit. "shooting star") – on a base of buttered white bread, two pieces of

: a piece of steamed white fish on one half, a piece of fried, battered plaice on the other half. On top is piled a mound of shrimp, which is then garnished with a dollop of

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, Salad#Bound salads, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various o ...

, red

caviar Caviar or caviare is a food consisting of salt-cured roe of the family Acipenseridae. Caviar is considered a delicacy and is eaten as a garnish or spread. Traditionally, the term caviar refers only to roe from wild sturgeon in the Caspi ...

, and a

slice. * Tartar – raw lean beef mince with salt and pepper, served on dark rye bread, topped with raw onion rings, grated horseradish and a raw egg yolk.

References

Literature

* Katrine Klinken, ''Smørrebrød – Danish open'', Thaning & Appel, 2008. * Ida Davidsen and Mia Davidsen, ''Open your heart to the Danish open... the Davidsen dynasty and their best recipes'', Lindhardt og Ringhof, 2006. . * Inge Lotz, ''Danish open sandwiches'', Aschehoug Fakta, 1997. . * Troelsø, Ole (2012), Smørrebrød i Danmark - Stederne, stykkerne og historien, København: Forlaget Lucullus, .

External links

"Dine with the Danes"
- video of Danish open-face sandwiches {{DEFAULTSORT:Smorrebrod Danish cuisine Norwegian cuisine Swedish cuisine Scandinavian cuisine Culture of Denmark Foods featuring butter Cheese sandwiches Rye breads National dishes Open-faced sandwiches

Bread

Toppings

See also

References

Literature

External links