open-faced denmark dispatch.

i recently found myself in the lovely country of denmark for the wedding of my oldest my friend in the world.

while there, i discovered my new favorite snack, smørrebrød.

danish smørrebrød is basically smaller open-faced sandwiches made using rugbrød, which is a dark, heavy sourdough rye bread. i have not been able to find any in NYC yet, much to my dismay. there are literally hundreds of combinations for smørrebrød using traditional scandinavian toppings, which is what makes it such an amazing snack. they are also complimented by the light pilsners that are popular in the region, like carlsberg and tuborg. in the U.S. i'd recommend combining them with higher end pilsners like a brooklyn pilsner or an oskar blues' mama's little yella pils.

some of the traditional smørrebrød toppings, which can be used in any and all combinations are: smoked eel, pickled herring, cured lox, roast beef, ham, thinly sliced cheeses, shredded horseradish, steamed or fried whitefish, scrambled or boiled eggs, raw onions, remoulade, mustard, chives, tomatoes, cucumbers, liver pate and on and on.

here is a photo of some smørrebrød i had in a café, from left to right: roast beef/shredded horseradish/crunchy fried onions, fried whitefish/remoulade/tomato/lemon, ham/seafood salad/tomato/cucumber.

it also came a with a traditional shot of gammel dansk and a carlsberg pilsner.

i also made my own smørrebrød for lunch prior to the wedding, and it was great with champagne. pickled herring in mustard and edam cheese with sausage and tomatoes.

i returned from denmark obsessed with smørrebrød. they are perfect for a snack or for any meal. i've been scouring new york city for traditional ingredients as well, so if anyone has any tips, please leave them in the comments! skål til danmark og smørrebrød!

natthelibrarian resides in brooklyn where she dreams about chickens (live ones), gardens, cheese, beer and libraries. she is employed as a research librarian in manhattan. for further nosing around, check out her les foodtrepreneurs column here on eat!drink!snack! or see her on twitter and at her blog.