Frikandel Speciaal

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Food processor
• •Kitchen scale
• •8 baking parchment rectangles and 8 foil rectangles
• •Steamer basket with lid
• •Kitchen thermometer
• •Deep heavy pot or fryer, 4-liter or larger

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the panade

   Stir the breadcrumbs or crushed beschuit, potato starch, cold milk, and egg white into a thick paste. Let it stand for five minutes while you measure the spices. This little paste is not filler for shameful reasons; it holds moisture and helps the frikandel slice smoothly instead of crumbling like a tired meatball.

2. 2

   Work the meat

   Put the cold pork, chicken, beef, salt, onion powder, white pepper, coriander, nutmeg, mace, ginger, and the panade into a food processor. Pulse, then process until the mixture becomes very smooth, sticky, and pale, adding the ice-cold water a spoonful at a time. Stop once the paste pulls together and clings to the side of the bowl. Cold is structure here; warm meat turns greasy and loose.

   If your processor is small, work in two batches and mix the batches together by hand at the end. A crowded bowl chops badly and warms the meat before it has bound.
3. 3

   Shape the rods

   Cut eight rectangles of baking parchment and eight slightly larger rectangles of foil. With wet hands, or a piping bag with the tip cut wide, shape each portion into a smooth staaf, rod, about 18cm long and 2.5cm thick. Roll each first in parchment, then in foil, twisting the ends firmly like a wrapped sweet. The parchment keeps the meat from touching the foil, and the tight wrap teaches it the frikandel shape.

4. 4

   Steam to set

   Set a steamer basket over a gentle simmer and steam the wrapped frikandellen for 13 to 15 minutes, until the center of one reaches 74C. Do not let the pot rage. You are setting the proteins, not punishing them. This first cooking is the quiet safety step that lets the fryer do its proper work later: browning the outside.

5. 5

   Chill and dry

   Unwrap the frikandellen and lay them on a rack or plate. Refrigerate uncovered for at least one hour, or up to overnight. The surface should feel dry and a little tacky, not wet. Water on a frikandel makes hot oil spit and gives you poor browning, and we have enough trouble in life without inviting that.

6. 6

   Fry until brown

   Heat the oil in a deep heavy pot or fryer to 175C. Fry two or three frikandellen at a time for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until deep brown with fine little wrinkles along the surface. Drain briefly on a rack or paper towel. If the oil drops below 165C, wait for it to climb back before adding the next batch.

   Fill the pot no more than halfway with oil and dry the frikandellen well before frying. Hot oil forgives many things, but not water.
7. 7

   Serve speciaal

   For frikandel speciaal, slice each frikandel lengthwise without cutting all the way through, making the open ruggetje, little open back, that every snack bar knows. Spoon mayonnaise or frietsaus down one side and curry ketchup down the other, then scatter finely diced raw onion over the top. Eat at once, preferably from a tray, because this is not food improved by porcelain manners.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for a fine mince, or grind the meat twice if you grind at home. A frikandel should be smooth, not rustic; rustic has many virtues, but this is not where it lives.
• •Keep the spice measured. Nutmeg and mace are part of the everyday Dutch spice cupboard, the VOC cargo made ordinary, but a snack-bar frikandel should whisper spice rather than announce a lecture.
• •Frietsaus is sweeter and lighter than mayonnaise, and very Dutch in this setting. Mayonnaise is richer. Both are acceptable; the raw onion and curry sauce are what make speciaal taste like speciaal.
• •For a cheaper version, use 400g pork and 300g chicken and leave out the beef. Keep some fat in the mix and still cook to 74C; thrift is no excuse for dry or unsafe food.
• •Serve with thick fries if you want the full cafetaria table. A cold pils alongside makes sense, for obvious reasons.

Advance Preparation

• •The frikandellen can be steamed and chilled up to two days ahead, then fried just before serving.
• •Freeze the steamed and cooled frikandellen on a tray, then bag them for up to two months. Thaw overnight before frying, or fry from frozen at 170C for 5 to 6 minutes and check that the center is hot.
• •Dice the onion the same day you serve it. Old chopped onion becomes harsh and watery, and the speciaal topping loses its clean bite.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 140g)