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What are Frikadellen?
Frikadellen are pan-fried ground meat patties and are also known by other names such as 'Fleischklops' (meatballs), or 'Buletten' (also translated to meatballs and used in the Berlin area). In Austria they call them 'Faschierte Laibchen' (minced meat patties).
What they are not is German hamburger patties because frikadellen are the original hamburger.
Enjoyed hot or cold they are a delicious partner to most German beer styles and are present on the menus of beer gardens across the country.
Background
Did you ever wonder why a hamburger is called a hamburger when there is no actual ham in it?
The unofficial story goes (and there are similar ones in circulation) that once a man from the German city of Hamburg who had emigrated to NYC made frikadellen for a local food fair. They smelled delicious and many were interested in buying them but they were also hot and he wasn't very well prepared to serve them to the customers.
He decided to sandwich them between pieces of bread. That way the customers could easily hold them and enjoy them while still hot. His frikadellen were very popular and people started referring to them as the hamburger sandwich, meaning the sandwich made by the man from Hamburg.
How to Make Frikadellen
There are many frikadellen recipes out there. The one I used is authentic Bavarian and Chris has it from working at Kaltenberg Castle. He scaled it down significantly of course, to serve four.
- In Germany typically they are made with a half beef and half pork ground meat mix. If you make them with all beef they will be leaner.
- Traditionally day-old white bread soaked in water is added but you also can substitute ½ cup oatmeal microwaved until really soft in ½ cup milk for added nutrition (still need to squeeze out liquid before you add it). You can use a crusty roll or breadcrumbs instead.
You will need a good skillet to pan fry the frikadellen and this concludes the needed equipment.
Frikadellen as a Biergarten Food
Both regular sized and smaller bite-sized frikadellen such as the ones you see in the pictures are commonly served in German beer gardens. In Bavaria they are also enjoyed during Oktoberfest. It is up to you how big you will shape them - the recipe is exactly the same.
The larger ones are flatter like patties - see picture above. The smaller ones are rounder like meatballs.
Another beer garden favorite in Bavaria - Schnittlauchbrot, is commonly served alongside frikadellen - large or small. 'Schnitt' means cut, 'lauch' means onion and 'brot' means bread. It is essentially an open-faced butter and chives sandwich, typically prepared with Bauernbrot - German Farmer's bread.
The bread is made with sourdough starter and both white and whole wheat flour, sometimes oats are added. It is then sliced, buttered and pressed onto a layer of finely chopped chives. I wasn't able to buy Bauernbrot and was short on time to bake a loaf so I used a crusty sourdough loaf instead.
What to Serve with Frikadellen
The larger frikadellen are commonly served with pan roasted potatoes or German potato salad, pasta salad, mixed salad, cucumber salad, steamed vegetables or braised red cabbage. In sandwich form they are presented on Kaiser rolls with mustard, frequently garnished with radishes or fried onions.
The bite-sized frikadellen are commonly served for Brotzeit along with the Schnittlauchbrot and accompanied by German horseradish sauce, beer mustard and radishes. Both the small red ones and thinly sliced/spiraled white radish called 'Münchner Bierradi' (Munich beer radish) are traditioanl.
Bierradi is the best known Bavarian radish variety, tastes peppery and pairs extremely well with beer and soft pretzels. The digestive juices it contains are known to help with overindulgence. One of these things where unless you try it, you will not believe it.
The classic way to slice Munich beer radish is lengthwise, after peeling the outer skin, but most commonly it is spiralized. Use daikon radish instead even though it lacks in peppery flavor.
A spiralizer like the one in the recipe video will do the job or you can purchase a spiral attachment for stand up mixers.
Do not underestimate radishes. The status they occupy as beer garden fare is nearly at par with sauerkraut. Radishes are served with Obatzda beer cheese dip, on various brotzeit platters and commonly on their own with just a sprinkle of chives and sea salt.
Other Suggestions for Frikadellen
Besides the most common ways to serve frikadellen I listed above they will taste delicious if you
- use caraway instead of marjoram
- add very finely chopped bacon (about ⅓ cup) to the ground meat mixture (especially if you are using beef only)
- instead of dicing the onion - grate it, it will still add flavor but the texture will be smoother
- drench them in creamy mustard sauces or gravy
- serve them with bread dumplings (Semmelknödel)
Other Bavarian Recipes You May Like
Schweinshaxe (Bavarian Roasted Pork Knuckle) | Bavarian Pork Roast | Schnitzel | Obatzda | Half Roast Chicken | Kasespatzle
Recipe
Authentic Frikadellen (German Meatballs)
Ingredients
For Frikadellen
- 1 bread roll/bun 1-2 days old
- 1 onion medium size, diced
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil for softening diced onion
- 3 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
- 10 oz ground pork
- 10 oz ground beef
- 1 tablespoon German mustard
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1 cup cooking oil for frying or as needed
For Schnittlauchbrot (optional)
- ½ loaf German Farmer's bread or sourdough bread sliced for sandwiches
- 1-2 bunch chives chopped very fine
- 2-3 tablespoon softened butter
For Radish Snack (optional)
- 1 daikon radish
- 1 bunch red radishes
- 1 teaspoon chopped chives
Instructions
For Frikadellen
- In a bowl of water soak the bread roll/bun.
- In about 20 minutes squeeze out all the water and crumble in a mixing bowl.
- While the bread is soaking heat the 1 tablespoon cooking oil in a pan over medium heat and saute the onions until they soften. Set aside to cool them down.
- Add the chopped parsley to the crumbled roll, add the cooled softened onions, add the ground meat, the egg, the mustard, salt and pepper, paprika and marjoram and mix well.
- Shape into large patties or smaller bite-sized meatballs.
- Heat the cooking oil in a cast iron skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the patties or meatballs and quickly turn them, then reduce the heat to medium and fry until cooked, turning once. For larger patties allow 4-5 minutes per side, for smaller meatballs about 2-3 minutes per side, depending on their size.
- Serve with the radishes, mustard and Schnitlauchbrot.
For Schnittlauchbrot (optional)
- Butter the slices of bread.
- On a plate spread the finely chopped chives and press each buttered bread slice onto them, face down, so that the chives stick to the buttered surface.
- You now have small open-faced chives sandwiches. Carefully slice in half and serve.
For Radish (optional)
- Clean the red radishes thoroughly and slice thin.
- Peel the daikon and using a spiralizer or a potato peeler create thin spirals or shavings. Flavor with a few grains of sea salt and sprinkle with chives.
Video
Gary Lovell
I love frikadellen. I didn't have time to stand by the frying pan, so i put the patties in my air fryer and they came out fantastic
Milena Perrine
They do cook easily in the air fryer:) Glad you enjoyed!
Jo Anne
I would like to prepare these ahead and freeze them. Would you recommend freezing once they are cooked?
Milena Perrine
Jo Anne, you can certainly freeze them once you allow them to cool down. For best results thaw them overnight in the fridge and then warm them through in a 350 F oven, placed over a parchment paper lined baking sheet for a few minutes before serving.
Kat
WOWEEE JUST LIKE IN GERMANY!
These are so like the ones we had in Germany in the Mosel River and Frankfurt area. It is so authentic and sooo delicious. When I did make this I didn’t have any marjoram therefore I googled what is a substitute for marjoram and used oregano. It was so amazingly delicious. We sauteed more onions to add on top of patties with warm crunchy hard rolls/buns and of course more german mustard on the buns. Just like they served in the Christmas market in Frankfurt. Also I made some homemade potato salad to go with aa a side. Next time will try with your bavarian potato salad or make german potato salad. Definitely another keeper!
Milena Perrine
Stoked that you liked them! Sounds like your travels have been quite tasty too:)
Yvonne
These Frikadellen look perfect. I'm planning a Beergarden themed Birthday Party this year and will definitely try this recipe. it's perfect to prepare for a few guests.
Greetings!
Yvonne
afracooking
I completely forgot that when I was a kid we would regularly have spiralized diakon radish with our Brotzeit. We even had a nifty little plastic handheld spiralizer just for that purpose. That memory was enough for me to make these meatballs. Lovely!
Heather
I made these for our Oktoberfest backyard biergarten last Saturday. I made them as an appetizer with the bread, chives, butter and radishes as we waited for our sausages to grill. They were such a hit! I kept them warm and moist by letting them hang out in some Knorr gravy mix (rahm sobe?) and everyone couldn't stop talking about them. Thanks for this recipe. I've been asked to make them again. 😀
Craft Beering
So glad to hear, Heather! And backyard biergartens are the best:)
Mike
They were delicious. I like them with mashed potatoes and gravy.
Christine
These were very good! Very much like how my mom made them and she was from Germany. I fried them fairly low and slow to get a nice crust on them and served with mashed potatoes and steamed green beans.
CraftBeering
So glad to hear, Christine! Sounds like a fabulous dinner. Thank you for stopping by!
Miz Helen
Your meatballs look delicious, sure wish I had a couple! Hope you are having a great week and thank you so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday!
Miz Helen
CraftBeering
Thank you, Miz Helen!
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome
You make it look so easy - and it sure looks delicious! Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party!
annie@ciaochowbambina
Now this is a meal! And can I tell you, I have never had a chive sandwich before! But that needs to end, now! And you know how I feel about 'meatballs'! Pinned!
Nicoletta Sugarlovespices
Love Daikon radishes!! And your frikadellen look amazing! I can easily get why they are so popular in German beer gardens. All your recipes are keepers, guys!!
CraftBeering
Yes, totally fun to munch on bite-sized frikadellen and radish. Radishes really do go so well with beer, but when I first saw people eat them in Germany I was quite bewildered. Until I tried the combo, then I realized the true genius of the idea. Have a great weekend, Nicoletta!
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
So interesting! I had no idea about the origin of hamburgers! I'm going to remember this for the next time I BBQ with friends so I can impress them all with my knowledge. PS, my parents got the stainless steel soap I ordered them and my mom is ecstatic. She prepares elaborate (and not good-smelling) meals for her dogs and said the stainless steel completely got the smell off her fingers--you have a new fan in her 🙂
CraftBeering
Wow, Kelsie! Your mom just discovered an entirely new use for the 'soap' bar. I need to send one to my mother-in-law, she also has several dogs. Yes, I love the story about hamburgers started out:) Have a great weekend!
Kelly @ Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats
What a fun (and yummy) post!! I love learning about food and found the origin of hamburger so interesting!! These little “meatballs” would be so yummy with some beer 🙂
CraftBeering
They are:) Thank you, Kelly!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Hamburger sandwich! Love it! Though the idea of these smothered in gravy sounds pretty darn delicious too! Love all those chives.....are garden is overflowing with them; I'm pretty sure we have enough to supply the whole street, lol.
CraftBeering
That's awesome, Dawn! Chives sandwiches for all! I also really love chives in pasta, mmm..