Tomorrow is the semi-finals for the EUFA That is the European Union Football Association for those who may not know. Apparently, it is Brittan Against Denmark so it’s sure to be a fun game.

Why am I talking about this on a food blog? You see, I received a request to prepare some Danish and British dishes to bring over to our local pub. D’s Bottle Shop in Wake Forest, North Carolina. They typically do not serve food but one of the owners, Nathan felt it might be fun to provide some complementary food for their patrons.

Me being who I am naturally was up for the challenge. I set off to find some traditional recipes that could be fun to make. For the English side, I will make English Meat Hand Pies and for the Danish side, it’s going to be Frikadeller. aka Danish meatballs. Partly because meatballs are easy to make and mainly because I just like saying Frikadeller. It sounds a bit naughty, almost like I am cursing but I am not.

These little “sausage-y”, “oniony” meatballs were delicious and decadent because they are fried in butter. Then add to that the fact that the gravy is made from the pan drippings. Yes, all the sausage grease and butter! I can feel my arteries clogging just writing this.

The Danes that were at the pub offered some honest feedback for me which was, the Frikadeller were delicious and well-received however, they asked if I used any spice. Apparently, Danish cooking is quite bland, traditionally they rarely add anything beyond salt or pepper. I have to admit I added sage from my garden, a clove of garlic, a bay leaf in the gravy, and lots of black pepper, One of the Danes surely picked up on that! Oops

Well, Nicole always says start with a recipe and elevate it, make it your own, and apparently, I did just that. Sorry Denmark for kicking up the Freakin Frikadeller. Oh and sorry you lost to England yesterday, but they loved my lucky English meat pies!

Ingredients

• 1 Pound of Ground Pork
• 1/2 Pound of Ground Beef
• 1 Large Onion Shredded
• 2 Chicken Eggs or 5-6 Quail Eggs
• 1.2 Cup of Bread Crumbs
• 2 Tablespoons of Butter
• 4-5 Fresh Sage Leaves (chiffonade)
• 1 Clove of Garlic
• 1 Pint of Half and Half
• 1-2 Bay Leaves
• 8 Tablespoons of Flour
• 2 Beef Boullion Cubes
• Pepper and Salt to Taste

Instructions

1. Grate the onion using a box grater (make sure you have wet paper towels handy and wear a cut resistant glove)
2. In a bowl combine the ground pork and beef with the eggs, breadcrumbs, onion, sage leaves, and garlic.
3. Add in 4 tablespoons of flour
4. Slowly add in 1/8 of a cup of half-and-half mixing everything with your hands. Do not over mix!
5. The meatballs should be moist but be able to be formed into balls
6. Lay each one onto a pan lined with a silpat until you have filled the pan
7. Add the butter to a frying pan
8. Fry the balls in the melted butter until fully cooked. I wait until the start to firm up, them insert a thermometer in each one to ensure they are 170F internal.
9. Remove the balls into an oven safe dish to be kept warm at 250F or place them directly into a warm crockpot with lid while you make the sauce
10. Add the bouliion to melt in the hot pan drippings
11. Add the rest of your flour to the pan drippings to make a rue.
12. Slowly add the rest of the half-and half until you have reached the desired consistency. Pop in the bay leaf and let is sit on low for 10 mins or so then add to the meatballs.