Winter & Christmas

Medisterpølse

Medisterpølse is a thick, well-spiced sausage of minced pork that is fried in one piece and only cut at the table. It appears on many Danish Christmas tables and at the julefrokost – with red cabbage, caramelised potatoes or creamed white cabbage.

Fried medisterpølse with potatoes, carrots and gravy on a plate
Photo: Nillerdk / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0
Preparation
10 min
Cooking/baking time
25 min
Servings
4 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

Sausage

Stuvet hvidkål (creamed white cabbage)

Method

  1. Place the medisterpølse in a wide pan of barely simmering, lightly salted water and poach for about 10 minutes – do not let it boil or the skin will burst.
  2. Lift out the sausage, drain well and pat dry.
  3. Heat the butter in a frying pan and fry the sausage over medium heat for 10–15 minutes until golden brown on both sides.
  4. For the cabbage, cook the white cabbage in salted water for 5–8 minutes until tender and drain. Melt the butter, stir in the flour, gradually add the milk and cook into a smooth sauce. Fold in the cabbage and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
  5. Cut the medisterpølse into pieces and serve with the cabbage and boiled potatoes.

The story behind the dish

Medisterpølse is a Scandinavian speciality: a thick, spiced sausage of minced pork in pork casings. Typical spices are allspice, cloves, salt and pepper.

The name comes from the Middle Low German “Metworst” – meat sausage. It is first mentioned in the household book of the Swedish bishop Hans Brask from the early 16th century.

Traditionally the sausage is first boiled or blanched, then fried and only then cut. At the Danish julefrokost it is one of the warm dishes alongside flæskesteg, frikadeller and leverpostej.

Enjoy it at Dansk Cottage

On a grey December evening nothing is cosier than a medisterpølse sizzling in the pan while the wind sweeps across the fields near Søby.

The cottage kitchen · Discover Søby · Experience Ærø

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In the mood for Denmark?

Dansk Cottage near Søby can be booked from 1 May 2027 – with a spacious kitchen for exactly this kind of dish.

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