Kalvefrikadeller med Dildsmor

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy frying pan, cast iron or stainless steel
• •Box grater for the onion
• •Two tablespoons for shaping
• •Cling film for the butter log

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dill butter

   Combine the softened butter, finely chopped dill, lemon juice, and a pinch of flaky salt in a small bowl. Work it together with a fork until the dill is evenly distributed and the butter is green-flecked throughout. The lemon is there for brightness, not sourness, so keep it to a teaspoon. Shape the butter into a rough log on a piece of cling film, roll it tight, and set it in the fridge to firm up while you make the frikadeller. Cold dill butter melting slowly over a hot meatball is the whole point of this dish.

   If your butter isn't soft enough to work easily, beat it with a wooden spoon for a minute. Don't microwave it. Melted butter won't hold the dill in place.
2. 2

   Mix the veal

   Put the ground veal in a large bowl. Add the grated onion, flour, egg, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Grate the onion on the fine side of a box grater so it breaks down into a wet pulp. You don't want pieces of onion in the mixture. You want its moisture and sweetness distributed through every bite. Stir everything together with a wooden spoon, then pour in the cold sparkling water and beat the mixture vigorously for a full minute. The sparkling water does something that still water can't: the bubbles create tiny air pockets throughout the mixture, and those pockets survive the frying. The result is lighter, softer frikadeller. This is the same principle as the pork version, and it matters even more with veal because veal is already lean and needs all the help it can get.

   The mixture should be soft and loose, almost like a thick batter. That's right. If it's stiff enough to hold a ball on its own, you haven't added enough liquid. Veal frikadeller are shaped with wet spoons, not dry hands.
3. 3

   Rest the mixture

   Cover the bowl and leave it in the fridge for at least twenty minutes. The flour hydrates during this time, absorbing moisture and binding the mixture so it holds together in the pan. Skipping this rest is the most common reason frikadeller fall apart when you try to turn them. The cold also firms the mixture slightly, making it easier to shape.

4. 4

   Shape the frikadeller

   Fill a small bowl with cold water and keep it beside the stove. Using two tablespoons dipped in the water, scoop a generous portion of the veal mixture and pass it between the spoons a few times to form an oval, slightly flattened patty. They're not round meatballs. Danish frikadeller are oval and a little flat, like a thick patty. This shape gives you more surface in contact with the pan, which means more crust, which is where the flavor concentrates. Lay each one on a plate as you go. You should get about sixteen.

   Wet spoons are the trick. Dry spoons stick to the mixture and you'll fight with every one. Keep dipping them in the water between shapes.
5. 5

   Fry in butter and oil

   Heat the butter and oil together in a large heavy frying pan over medium heat. Butter alone burns before the centers cook through. Oil alone tastes like nothing. Together they give you the golden crust and the nutty richness that makes frikadeller taste right. When the butter is foaming and the foam has just begun to subside, lay the patties in the pan. Don't crowd them. Work in two batches if you need to. Cook for four to five minutes on the first side without moving them. You'll see the edges turn pale gold and firm up. That's your signal to turn. Flip them gently and cook for another three to four minutes. The surface should be deep golden brown, and if you press the center lightly with your finger, it should feel firm but give slightly. That's cooked through but still juicy inside.

   Resist the urge to press them flat with the spatula while they cook. Pressing squeezes out the juices and undoes everything the sparkling water did for you.
6. 6

   Finish with dill butter

   Transfer the frikadeller to a warm serving plate. Take the dill butter from the fridge, unwrap it, and cut it into thin rounds. Lay a coin of dill butter on top of each hot frikadeller. Don't stir it around. Let it sit there and melt slowly, pooling into the crevices and running down the sides in pale green rivulets. The heat of the veal does the work. That slow melt is what carries the dill flavor into every bite, and the cold butter meeting the hot crust creates the contrast that makes this dish more than the sum of its parts. Serve immediately alongside new potatoes tossed in butter and a simple cucumber salad with white vinegar and dill. Tak for mad.

Chef Tips

• •Use sparkling water in the mixture, not still. The bubbles create tiny air pockets that survive the frying and make the frikadeller lighter. This is something most Danish cooks learn by watching rather than reading, and now you've read it anyway.
• •Veal is lean and unforgiving if overcooked. Pull them from the pan when they're just firm to the touch. Carry-over heat finishes the last degree for you. If you wait until they feel hard, they'll be dry by the time they reach the plate.
• •Be generous with the dill in the butter. More than you think. Dill is not a garnish here. It's the second voice in the dish, and it needs to be heard.
• •If you can't find good veal, a mixture of half veal and half pork works well. That's actually how many Danish grandmothers make it, and they're not wrong.
• •Serve with cold Danish beer or a glass of dry white wine. The lightness of the veal and the freshness of the dill want something equally clean alongside.

Advance Preparation

• •The dill butter can be made up to three days ahead and kept tightly wrapped in the fridge. It also freezes well for up to a month.
• •The veal mixture benefits from resting in the fridge and can be made up to four hours ahead. Shape and fry just before serving. Frikadeller are best straight from the pan.
• •Leftover cooked frikadeller keep in the fridge for two days and are good cold on rugbrod with remoulade and cucumber, which is a different dish entirely and a fine one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 180g)