January is a slow time for us at work, so we decided to make what is possibly the world's largest Big Mac for staff meal.
A homemade giant burger bun, 10 sliced dill pickles a liter of "special sauce", 2 heads of iceberg, 2 5lb beef patties, and 48 slices of cheese were used to put this monstrosity together.
We didn't have a scale big enough, but we figure it was around 20lb in total weight. After fooling around taking pictures we ate it, and it had a very authentic taste. More than 10 people participated and we still couldn't finish it.
French fries with mayo would be considered a standard snack in Belgium, Scandinavia and many other places in Europe, but only in the Netherlands does this cultural fusion exist. In Dutch patatje oorlog means "war chips" and is a tasty combination of French fries, mayo, raw onions and Indonesian sate sauce.
Sate is one of Indonesia's most famous dishes. A spicy mix of peanuts, turmeric, ginger, kecap manis, chili and other regional spices are blended with coconut milk as a sauce for various meat skewers. The colonial spice trade brought this dish back to Holland, and like rijsttafel has been assimilated into Dutch culture.
Hotdogs and hotdog stands are popular almost everywhere, but I don't think anywhere takes the concept of sausage and bread as seriously as the Danes. A Danish hotdog stand called a pølsevogn can be found on almost any major street or torv in Denmark. Much larger and more involved than a typical North American hotdog cart, the pølsevognis more like an outdoor mobile kitchen along the lines on an imbiss in Germany.
The first hotdogs were officially sold on the street in 1910 and quickly grew in popularity. There were over 400 pølsevogn in Copenhagen by the 1950's. Rødpølser one of the first types of hotdog sold, is a long skinny wiener that was originally dipped in red dye as to hide the fact that they could be "day old" and looked more fresh. They are still traditionally dyed that colour today and over 100 million are eaten each year in Denmark. Pretty impressive for a country of 5.5 million!
Pølservogn menus are fairly standard and posted with pictures on the side of the stand.
The first time I ordered a hotdog pølse in Copenhagen they asked me if I wanted bread. I said "of course" having never eaten a hotdog that wasn't in a bun. When I got this tiny dinner roll on the side I couldn't help but laugh out loud, but this is how most sausages are served. Whatever sausage you choose comes on a plate with a squirt of mustard and hotdog ketchup (a ketchup with a texture and flavour that's unique) and a bun on the side.
Standard Danish Hotdog Configuration
A ristet hotdog does come inside a bun and is topped with pickled cucumber, crispy onions, mustard, ketchup, and remoulade ( a sweet mayo pickle and herb sauce)
Ristet Hotdog
Possibly the most popular item sold is a fransk dog which is a hollowed out baguette filled with a special tangy mayo and a hotdog stuffed inside.
a medister pølse is a sausage that's spicier and more like a bratwurst and a pølse i svob is wrapped in bacon. All types are traditionally eaten with a cocio chocolate milk
A pølsevogn is usually motorized and can be driven from place to place. In the mornings these slow moving vehicles can cause traffic jams, but everyone seems to except it as part of city life. here is a video of a typical Danish hotdog stand.
Pølsemanden are considered a special breed in Denmark and can always be relied on for interesting conversation. Young and old can be seen eating hotdogs day and night in Copenhagen. You must visit a pølsevogn if you ever visit Denmark. See more pictures of pølsevogn at my photoblog
I love discovering unique hotdogs from around the world. Galette saucisse is a speciality of Rennes in France. A buckwheat pancake is wrapped around a fresh grilled sausage and served from carts in markets.
It is very popular and is a tradition to eat them before football games. The local team Stade Rennais has a song involving the galette saucisse. You can read the lyrics and hear it HERE.
I made some for staff at work using a simple recipe for Galette bretonne and some good veal and pork sausages I bought at a butcher in Kensington. I spread a mixture of Dijon mustard and mayo on the galette before wrapping the sausage. They were great.
My Galette Saucisse
I found this interesting video of a man making these snacks on a Haute-Bretagne tourist site:
Here's a recipe for the crepes if you want to try these at home.
Galettes de Sarrasin
½ cup buckwheat flour
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp water
Whisk all ingredients together and let rest for an hour. Heat a non-stick 8 inch pan. Pour 3 to 4 tbsp of batter into the heated pan while tilting to spread the batter over the bottom of the pan. Turn the crepe over when the edges are dry and crispy and cook for just a few more seconds before taking it out of the pan. To make the galette saucisse, spread the hot crepe with mustard and wrap around your favourite sausage
A homemade giant burger bun, 10 sliced dill pickles a liter of "special sauce", 2 heads of iceberg, 2 5lb beef patties, and 48 slices of cheese were used to put this monstrosity together.
