Restaurant Schønnemann

Copenhagen, Denmark

Schønnemann has operated from the same basement on Hauser Plads since 1877, making it one of the oldest continuously running lunch restaurants in Denmark. The room has dark wood panelling, green walls, and white linen that has barely changed in a century. The menu runs to several dozen smørrebrød, each assembled to order on dense rye bread baked in-house. Medisterpølse appears as a warm open-faced sandwich, the thick pan-fried slices laid on rugbrød with a spoon of red cabbage and a scattering of fried onions. The aquavit list exceeds 140 varieties. Reservations are required weeks in advance.

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Sausages served here

Medisterpølse

Copenhagen & Zealand, Denmark

Medisterpølse is a coarse, lightly spiced pork sausage that has been a fixture of the Danish kitchen for at least two centuries. Coiled into long spirals or formed into fat, loosely linked rings, it is sold at every Danish butcher and supermarket, most often pan-fried or griddled until the exterior develops a dark, crackling crust while the interior stays loose and juicy. The sausage is made from coarsely minced pork with a high fat content, seasoned with allspice, cloves, and salt, and stuffed into natural pork casings. No curing, no smoking: medisterpølse is a fresh sausage meant to be cooked and eaten the same day. It appears on the Danish Christmas table alongside flæskesteg and rødkål, and on ordinary weekday plates with boiled potatoes and brown gravy. It is also one of the few traditional Danish meat preparations that works convincingly as a smørrebrød topping, sliced thick and laid on rugbrød.

porkDanishpan-fried