scrumptious smoerrebroed!!!

Before I decided to travel to Denmark, I had never even heard of smoerrebroed. (It's actually spelled with an "o" that has a line through it, not with an oe, but my keyboard doesn't have danish characters...)  But, as soon as I started reading travel guides and doing online research about Denmark and Copenhagen, I saw the word everywhere.  Smoerrebroed is/are(?) little Danish open-faced sandwiches.  They are (usually) served on Danish rye bread that is spread with a little butter, and then topped with a variety of delectable and beautiful delicious things.

I'm just wondering why it took me more than a week to actually try one (or three!).  Here are some photos of my first smoerrebroed experience.

See...they come in a nice box...and they are carefully covered in waxed paper.  Are you getting excited yet?  Scroll down for the unveiling of the smoerrebroed!!!

And here are individual smoerrebroeds with descriptions:

This one is egg with shrimp(s), some mayonnaise, a lemon slice, and some micro-green things.  You can sort of see the lettuce peeking out, but the bread is hiding under the egg!

This one is chicken salad, with bacon, tomato, and chives.  It was a bit too mayonnaisy for my taste.  Plus, there were mushrooms in it, but I didn't know what they were until I was almost finished eating the sandwich.  Have you ever eaten mushrooms without knowing what they were?  It's an unsettling experience...  I might try this one again at a different smoerrebroed shop, though...

This one is roast beef with fried onion, shredded horseradish (?), chives, and a lovely, crisp pickle slice.  The pickle slice defies description.  I liked this smoerrebroed very much.

This one was better in theory.  I love smoked salmon, so I thought I'd love this sandwich.  But, in reality, it was not as tasty as I thought it would be.  Smoked salmon, mashed egg, chives, purple onion, and a cucumber slice.  I probably won't get this variety again.

So far, this is my FAVORITE of all the smoerrebroeds I've had.  It's a fried fish filet, slapped on top of a tiny piece of whole rye bread, topped with a tangy remoulade (that tastes NOTHING like American tartar sauce!), a cherry tomato slice, a lemon slice, and tiny micro-green things.  I love this one.  Mmm!

And finally, this one is a hearty, meaty smoerrebroed.  It's a giant danish meatball thing, cut in slices (this sandwich had 2 slices), topped with a tasty danish potato salad and chives.  I'm not sure what I think of this one--personally, it seems to need something sour, like a pickle slice, or some red beets or pickled cabbage, or some mustard.  But that is probably breaking some sort of smoerrebroed rule.  And there are rules aplenty for making and eating smoerebroed!  Just check the internet!  I'm pretty sure my dad would like this one a lot.  I think I might have to try it again to decide...

All of these smoerrebroeds came from a little place on Classensgade a few blocks from where I'm living.  The guy who runs the place is super friendly, and he has plenty of regulars.  It's tricky getting in there for smoerrebroed, though, because he keeps really short hours; he's only open a few hours a day, Monday through Friday.  I was super impressed because he even bakes his own bread.  I'll try to get some photos of him and his shop for a followup post.

My landlady suggested I try the smoerrebroed her butcher makes.  It's right around the corner, also on Classensgade, at one of the last old-fashioned butcher shops in Copenhagen.  And, from what I was told by the butcher there, all of the sauces and accoutrements are homemade.  The smoerrebroeds from this shop aren't quite as pretty (or, quite as hefty) as the first ones I tried, but I'm willing to give them a shot, based on my landlady's advice.  I also found the butcher to be very sweet and helpful, so I'm for sure going to try some of these.  Here is what they look like in the case.  I'll do a followup post in a few days to let you know the results of the taste test...

For more info about smoerrebroed, this guy actually has an entire blog dedicated to his obsession with Danish sandwiches: my obsession with smoerrebroed.  Also, midway down through this link, there is a little video you can watch that shows how to put smoerrebroed together properly: danish food culture and cooking.  This link also contains a ton of information about Danish food in general.  Like, did you know that the Danes are the most pork-eating people around?  I didn't!

Do you have any experiences with smoerrebroed?  If so, please share in the comment section!