Frikadeller med Kartoffelsalat
Pan-fried pork and veal patties, light enough to hold together loosely, served with a creamy mustard potato salad.
- prep
- 25 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total
- 45 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- easy
Frikadeller are the everyday meat patty of Danish cooking, made from a mix of pork and veal beaten with milk until the mixture turns light and almost too loose to shape.
That looseness is deliberate - it is what keeps the inside tender, where a firmer, more burger-like mix would fry up dense.
Part of our 20 best Danish recipes list.
method
Mix the pork, veal, grated onion, egg, flour and salt in a bowl, then beat in the milk a little at a time until the mixture is light and slightly loose, not stiff.
Rest the mixture in the fridge for 15 minutes - this firms it up just enough to shape.
Wet your hands and shape into oval patties about 8cm long; they should feel soft, not packed tight.
Fry in butter over medium heat, 5-6 minutes per side, until deeply golden and cooked through.
For the potato salad, whisk the mayonnaise, sour cream and mustard together, fold through the warm potatoes, and scatter with chives.
Serve the frikadeller warm or at room temperature with the potato salad alongside.
chef's tips
- The mixture should feel almost too loose to hold its shape before chilling - that looseness, not a firm pack, is what gives frikadeller their light, tender texture.
- Shape with wet hands rather than flouring them; flour on the outside toughens the crust instead of letting it brown evenly.