Danish Meatballs with Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage
- Total Time: 2 hours 48 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Repurpose the meatballs and cabbage into a Danish smørrebrød, an open-faced sandwich, the next day for a delicious lunch.
Ingredients
Rødkål (Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage)
- 1 head of red cabbage
- 1 cup (240 ml) apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups (480 ml) water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) sugar
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) red currant jelly
Frikadeller (Danish Meatballs)
- 1 medium onion, grated
- 1 lb (450 g) ground pork
- 1 lb (450 g) ground veal
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) seltzer water
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) butter
- Brown gravy (optional)
Instructions
Red Cabbage
- Remove tough outer leaves and white core of the cabbage. Slice the remaining cabbage into thin strips.
- In a preheated saute pan, place the cabbage, vinegar, water, salt, sugar and pepper over medium heat. Stir occasionally and cook until tender for about 2 hours. Before serving, stir in the red currant jelly.
Meatballs
- Mix together the onion, pork and veal until well combined. Forget all of the admonishments about overworking the meat for similar dishes. Stir the milk, eggs, bread crumbs, and flour into the meat mixture until well incorporated. Stir in the seltzer water, allspice and salt and pepper. Mix should be moist and more wet than a traditional meatloaf, but it should not be so overly wet as to lack consistency. Additional breadcrumbs or flour may be called for if the mixture is too wet. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- Heat the butter in a heavy bottomed skillet. Using a large spoon, pull oval shaped meatballs out of the mixture and fry in the butter, turning when well browned. Do not crowd the pan, or the meatballs won’t develop a nice brown crust. Remove meatballs when cooked through and set aside.
- For the optional gravy: add 1/4 cup chopped onion to the leftover butter remains in the pan. Sauté until translucent. Add a tbsp (or so) of flour and brown. When the flour reaches a nice color for gravy, add beef or chicken stock slowly, while whisking, until you get the gravy consistency you want. Add salt and pepper as needed.
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hours 3 mins
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: Danish
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 meatballs
- Calories: 480
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does this recipe say to ignore the usual warning about overworking the meat?
The instructions explicitly say “forget all of the admonishments about overworking the meat.” Danish frikadeller are designed to be dense and tender rather than light, so the pork-veal mixture is stirred thoroughly with the milk, eggs, breadcrumbs, flour, and seltzer water until fully incorporated before chilling for 30 minutes.
What does the seltzer water do in the meatball mixture?
The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of seltzer water stirred into the meat mixture. The carbonation lightens the texture slightly, helping the dense frikadeller stay tender rather than becoming rubbery, despite the thorough mixing the recipe calls for.
Can I use leftovers in a different way?
Yes — the excerpt specifically suggests repurposing the meatballs and red cabbage into a Danish smørrebrød (an open-faced sandwich) the next day for a delicious lunch. 
I purchased a Danish cookbook in Solvang, CA two years ago. My daughter-in-law asked me to make Red Cabbage for Thanksgiving this year, and I couldn’t find my book with the recipe I used last year. I searched the web and came up with yours. It’s perfect and I know it’s the same as my great-grandmother’s. She came here from Copenhagen. Very soon I will make the Frikadellers, also. Again – perfect. I had this dinner in Solvang and it brought back such fond memories. (Even thinking of my Dad and how we laughed when someone said “Frikadeller” and he said, “Don’t say that naughty word!”
Thank you so much. Off to make my red cabbage.
fru Winther,
Thank you so much for your wonderful comments!! I will most definitely try your suggestions, especially with the red cabbage. I’m a big fan of duck fat!
Dear Dawn.
As a Dane, it pleases me to see good old fashion Danish recipes by non-Danes :)
I must say, though, the all-spice in frikadeller is a subject for discussion that never seems to find it’s place within the Danish population. My family don’t use it, my family in law does ;)
In old recipes for rødkål, duck fat is used. Before you add sugar and liquids, heat the duck fat and stir in the cabbage until it collapses a bit in the pan/pot. The fat works as lid in the jar, and will keep the rødkål for longer. If you haven’t eaten it :)
I’ll share with you the easiest (and perhaps best) recipe for agurkesalat – pickled, sliced cucumber:
1 cucumber
1 cup of vinegar (nothing fancy)
1 cup of sugar
salt and peppar
Slice the cucumber thinly. Stir vinegar, sugar and salt and peppar together. Add the cucumber. Leave them for at least and hour and a half. Stir occasionally.
Really good with frikadeller, pork or chicken roast, on leverpostej (paté) and in hotdogs :)
I enjoy your recipes and your pictures a lot, thanks
mrs. Winther