Dyrlægens Natmad
Dyrlægens Natmad·(dyoor-lay-ehns naht-mal)
Matpakke & Smørrebrød: Rhythms of the Nordic Midday
In 1920s Copenhagen, a veterinarian named Sigurd Kejlgaard spent his nights tending to the royal stables before heading to Oskar Davidsen’s restaurant for this exact, towering construction of protein. They named it after him—The Veterinarian’s Midnight Snack. It’s a masterclass in texture: dense rye, rich liver paste, the salt of cured beef, the sharp bite of raw onion, and the unctuous melt of savory meat jelly. While a purist might spend a week curing veal and rendering spiced lard, you can achieve the exact same authentic flavor on a Tuesday night using high-quality deli staples and a quick gelatin trick for the beef consommé.
Before you start
Make the sky (meat aspic) ahead of time.
Pour 1/4 cup of cold beef consommé into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin powder over the top to bloom for 5 minutes. Heat the remaining 3/4 cup of consommé until simmering, whisk it into the bloomed gelatin until completely dissolved, and pour the liquid into a flat container so it sits about 1/4-inch thick. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until fully firm.
Ingredients
- high-quality beef consommé1 cup
- unflavored gelatin powder2 1/2 tsp
- dense dark rye bread4 large slice
- European cultured butter3 tbsp
- Braunschweiger or coarse deli liverwurst8 oz
- mild deli-style corned beef8 slice
- red onion1/2 small
- fresh watercress or micro-arugula1 small handful
- black pepperto taste
Method
- 01
Waterproof the bread.
Spread a generous, edge-to-edge layer of butter on each slice of rye bread to ensure the dense crumb doesn't get soggy.
- 02
Hide the bread with the liver paste.
Spread a thick, even layer of Braunschweiger or liverwurst over the butter, making sure it goes completely to the edges so the bread is entirely hidden from view.
- 03
Layer the cured meat.
Take two slices of thin corned beef per sandwich, folding them gently in half to create height and volume, and lay them slightly overlapping across the liver paste.
- 04
Drape the meat jelly.
Turn your firm sky (meat aspic) out onto a cutting board, slice it into thin strips, and lay three or four strips diagonally over the corned beef.
- 05
Finish with a sharp garnish.
Top the sandwich with a few raw red onion rings, a generous pinch of fresh watercress, and a crack of black pepper before serving immediately.
Notes
The bread must never be seen.
In the respected Danish profession of smørrebrød, the rye bread is merely a structural vehicle. If you can see the bread from the top down, it is dismissed as a common packed lunch. Hide it completely.
Eat with a knife and fork.
No matter how structurally sound your sandwich appears, true Danish open-faced sandwiches are never eaten with the hands.