{"id":5782,"date":"2026-09-10T17:31:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T17:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/adventure\/?p=5782"},"modified":"2026-09-10T17:34:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T17:34:45","slug":"danish-meatballs-frikadeller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/adventure\/danish-meatballs-frikadeller\/","title":{"rendered":"Danish Meatballs: Frikadeller"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Clara Hyldahl Stave and daughter Carol Virginia Stave<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I grew up eating meatballs \u2013 but this was not due to having a grandmother hailing from Italy. On the contrary, it was the result of having a Danish\/Swedish grandmother on my mother\u2019s side of the family. My Grandmother Stave had a knack for making anything taste good. I\u2019m sure this had something to do with raising six kids during the height of the Great Depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her specialty was comfort food. She could make the cheapest roast from the market as tender as butter. Her secret was to bake and baste for sometimes up to 24 hours. Her mashed potatoes were a thing of wonder; fortunately a culinary gift that was passed on to my mother \u2013 of course, doesn\u2019t everyone\u2019s mother make the best mashed potatoes. My favorite dish of hers, though, was her meatballs \u2013 a legacy handled down to her from her Danish ancestors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Bite of History<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meatball is an iconic food item known throughout the world. The ancient Roman cookbook Apicius<\/em> included many meatball-type recipes, but today they are known in Italy as polpette<\/em>. In Greece, fried meatballs are called keft\u00e9des<\/em>, usually served over rice; while in Indonesia, meatballs are referred to as bakso<\/em><\/a>, used in soup. The other Scandinavian versions in Norway (gehaktbal<\/em>) and Sweden (k\u00f6ttbullar<\/em>) are most often made with beef.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My grandmother\u2019s meatballs, known in Denmark as Frikadeller<\/em><\/a>, are made with pork, generally served with mashed potatoes and gravy (which my grandmother referred to as \u2018the goodness.\u2019) I was in comfort food heaven long before the term existed. On a trip to Copenhagen<\/a>, I couldn\u2019t wait to sample this sublime but simple dish on its home ground. And sample I did; having them with mashed potatoes, sliced on open-faced bread (sm\u00f8rrebr\u00f8d<\/em>), and even carrying a bag around as a snack. Now I know why the Danes are reportedly the happiest people on the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Left: Bakso Malang<\/em> \u2013 meatball and fried wonton soup from Malang, East Java, Indonesia. Photo by Gunawan Kartapranata, via Wikimedia Commons \/ CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>; Right: Danish Frikadeller<\/em>. Photo courtesy of Pinterest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Frikadeller<\/em> are typically fried, and made out of ground pork, onions, eggs, salt and pepper. They are then formed into balls and flattened somewhat, so they are pan ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n