by VimFuego » Thu Apr 20, 2006 2:46 pm
Now we're talking turkey (and pork, beef, chicken and a mystery ingredient I'll get to in a minute)... I LOVE Frikadellen.
I'm not bothered about the German variety; suspicious grey meat patties probably closest to a rissole in the UK, but which are often actually passed off as burgers in Germany (we all know those establishments selling 10 second meals called things like Ganzgutgrosseubercheeseburgerja). I've had some luck soaking them in Tabasco overnight, but the end product is still exceedingly dull. The best thing I can say about them is if you freeze them they'll bring joy to your table, but only if it's an air-hockey table.
The Dutch (also Belgian) variety though are the midnight snack of champions, going down (and, indeed, coming up) especially easily after 17 pints of Oranjeboom or a deep breath of that special Amsterdam air, if that's more your kind of thing. For those who've never tried them, they're a sausage "link" with a crisp skin and what appears to be boiled, almost sponge-like meat inside. They have a mild curry taste and are, like most things in life including politicians, best when deep fried.
I would have no idea how to go about making them, and for a very good reason. These babies are a mixture of most meats known to man, but some unknown (or at least unacknowledged) to Anglo-American man, namely horse. I suspect the proportion of horse is pretty small in comparison to the turkey, chicken, beef, pork, wombat etc but nevertheless it's there in the ingredients (which, as an aside, I recommend you NEVER read on Dutch snack foods as it seriously impairs the enjoyment). This is actually the second best thing about frikadellen after their sublime flavor; feed them to your friends and, once they've raved about them, inform them of the equine presence. They turn the same color as the sausage they've just eaten.
I would highly doubt these would be allowed to be imported into North America, so I'm not going to even try to find them here. There's certainly none available in the strip district in Pittsburgh, and they'll sell *anything* they're legally able to. I have found them in the UK, however, in those bulk frozen food shops dealing in 50p meals from Poland (possibly with an original best before date of 1987) that permeate northern towns. Eldon Foods in Newcastle or Sunderland Foods in Sunderland are good places to start if you're in the north-east, they tend to get overstocks of them a couple of times a year.
In summary, all hail the frikadellen. Delicious, nutritious, and one of the only foods available from those Dutch hole in the wall vending machines that don't come out the other end 100% intact 20 minutes later. And at least now we know what happened to Shergar!