Medisterpølse
Long, thick Danish sausage, seasoned with cloves and allspice. It is pan-fried, then served with potatoes and a brown sauce.
| Lean pork shoulder | 650 g |
| Fatty pork belly | 350 g |
| Fine salt | 18 g |
| Ground white pepper | 2 g |
| Ground allspice | 2 g |
| Ground clove | 1 g |
| Grated onion | 50 g |
| Wheat flour | 30 g |
| Iced water or cold milk | 100 ml |
| Hog casing (Ø 36–40 mm) | — |
- Preparation: Cut the meats into 3 cm cubes. Chill hard to −2 °C.
- Mincing: Mince finely using a 3 to 4 mm plate. The texture must be very fine and homogeneous.
- Emulsion: With a beater or food processor, mix the minced meat with the salt, the spices and the grated onion. Gradually add the ice water and the flour, beating until smooth and emulsified.
- Resting: Cover and refrigerate for 2–4 hours to let the forcemeat firm up.
- Stuffing: Stuff into the hog casings, forming one long continuous sausage of 30 to 40 cm. Do not twist.
- Resting: Rest for 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator before cooking.
- Cooking: Pan-fry over medium heat in butter for 20 to 25 minutes, turning regularly, until fully golden. Serve with kartofler (potatoes) and brun sovs (brown sauce).
The medisterpølse stands apart from the other fresh sausages in this book by using wheat flour as a binder in the forcemeat. The flour regulates moisture and gives a tight consistency that the Danish butchers regard as a technique in its own right, not as a mere economical filler. The seasoning of clove and allspice in a savoury preparation reflects the use of sweet spices in Danish charcuterie since the Middle Ages.
Its name derives from the Low German mettwurst (mett, minced meat, wurst, sausage), whose first element became medister in Danish. The term attests the influence of the Hanseatic cities of the Baltic coast on Danish charcuterie. The Hanse controlled the salt trade, indispensable to meat preservation, and its merchants spread Germanic charcuterie techniques that gradually merged into Scandinavian cooking. It has no codified regional variants. Its composition varies from butcher to butcher, with no specification or geographical protection.
It is eaten hot, served with potatoes and a brown sauce (brun sovs). It is also sliced cold for the smørrebrød (the Danish open sandwich on buttered rye bread, the rugbrød), with gherkins and fried onions. This use in the smørrebrød has appeared in Danish cookbooks since the nineteenth century.
Denmark has more than 13 million pigs for 6 million inhabitants, and the Danish Crown Group is among the largest slaughterers in Europe. The industrial medisterpølse dominates production. The family butchers (slagter) maintain an artisanal offering as a mark of distinction. The medisterpølse is little known outside Denmark and the Nordic countries.
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