Dyrlægens natmad is almost as ethnic Danish as you can get it. Dyrlægens natmad directly translates to the Veterinarian’s night snack or food. It belongs to the Smørrebrød tradition in Denmark. Smørrebrød is an open-faced sandwich where you almost always use rugbrød, the traditional Danish dark rye bread. And then it consists of the traditional Danish liver paté leverpostej, salted sliced veal known as saltkød, and topped with red onion rings and small cubes of the Danish variant of meat stock aspic: sky.
Why is it called the veterinarian’s night snack – dyrlægens natmad?
The smørrebrøds’ sandwich has changed over time. It was a veterinarian named Sigurd Keilgaard who originally invented the composition. He came every night to the famous Danish chef Oskar Davidsen’s restaurant after taking care of the horses in the royal stables and was served this specific piece of open sandwich.
Back then, it consisted of a piece of rye bread smeared lengthwise with first a strip of butter, then a strip of liver pate, and finally a strip of seasoning fat. Then a thick slice of power cloud was laid. In addition, thin slices of salted meat were spread, which covered the whole loaf.
Everything else – onion rings, greens, etc. – came later.
Also have a look at some of our other Danish recipes like biksemad, frikadeller (danish meatballs) or brunede kartofler (caramelized potatoes)
