DenmarkSandwichLunch

Smørrebrød med Marinerede Sild

Name: Smørrebrød med Marinerede Sild
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Denmark
Ingredients: 4 slices rugbrød (Danish rye bread); 40 g butter, softened; 300 g pickled herring fillets, drained (jarred matjes or similar); 1 small red onion, thinly sliced into rings; 1 small bunch fresh dill; 2 tbsp capers; 2 hard-boiled egg, sliced; 2 tbsp sour cream

Buttered rye bread topped with pickled herring, red onion rings and dill, the open sandwich that anchors a Danish lunch table.

prep: 20 min
cook: 5 min
total: 25 min
serves: 4
level: easy

Smørrebrød is the Danish open sandwich, built one deliberate layer at a time on dense, dark rye, and marinated herring is the topping most associated with it.

Butter goes on first and all the way to the crust - not for flavour alone, but because it is the barrier that keeps the bread from turning soft under the herring's brine.

Part of our 20 best Danish recipes list.

method

Butter the rye bread slices right to the edges - this keeps the bread from going soggy under the toppings.
Lay the pickled herring fillets over the butter, slightly overlapping, covering the bread edge to edge.
Scatter over the red onion rings and capers.
Add a small dollop of sour cream to one corner of each slice.
Top with a few slices of hard-boiled egg and a generous amount of fresh dill.
Serve immediately, open-faced, with a knife and fork.

chef's tips

Butter to the very edge of the bread - it is what stops the rye from turning soft once the herring and its brine sit on top.
Good jarred matjes herring (not plain vinegar-pickled) gives the right balance of sweetness and bite; taste and adjust the onion quantity to match its sharpness.