Danish Food: 5 Must-Try Dishes in Aarhus

more than a year ago

Eat your way into the heart of the Danes (not literally) by embracing the local food in the restaurants of Aarhus. Culture and cuisine are intrinsically linked, and there are few better ways of getting a handle on a place than by devouring some seriously delicious traditional grub. These are the dishes to look out for in Aarhus.

Smørrebrød

It might go against everything we’ve ever believed about sandwich construction, but once you’ve tasted your first Smørrebrød you’ll be a convert. An open-faced sandwich that is pretty much ubiquitous throughout Denmark, the sandwich comes with a variety of toppings and usually on different types of bread. The absolute king of Danish snacks.

Æbleflæsk

The Danes are famous for pork and they are famous for apples, so what do you get if you combine the two? Æbleflæsk of course! Nobody is entirely sure where the dish originated, but who cares, we’re here to eat for salted pork belly, apple and herbs.

Fiskefrikadeller

They say you are never more than 10 metres from a meatball in Scandinavia. Is that true? Of course it is, don’t even think about doubting our working there. Look for ‘frikadeller’ on the menu when in search of them, or go full Dane and order yourself some fiskefrikadeller — cod meatballs.

Flæskesteg

Back to the pork, and it doesn’t get much more exquisite than Danish flæskesteg — roast pork with crackling to die for. We would actually die for crackling, don’t doubt that, so needless to say this dish gets us in all sorts of flutters when we hit the restaurants of Aarhus. This is a Christmas staple in Denmark, but you’ll be able to find it all through the year.

Leverpostej

Leave your preconceptions at the door — you are here to eat liver pâté and you are going to love it. Known as ‘leverpostej’ in Denmark, this ground pork spread is best enjoyed on a piece of rye bread (rugbrød) first thing in the morning, or just after lunch, or with a few beers, or just before bed, or after your favourite TV show etc. You can eat this at any time of day, and you surely will.

Aarhus