"Labskaus" is an old fisherman's recipe, just like they eat it on the coast.

Ingredients

• 500 - 600g salted beef breast. (I pickle the beef myself, 2-3 days before using. I place it in brine, 30-40g of pickling salt - available from your butcher).
• 500g cooked potatoes
• 3-4 medium onions
• 3-4 gherkins
• 50 - 60g or beetroot (does not really belong to this dish, because of it's pink colour. It was originally used with pork).
• 1-2 tbsp of mustard, salt and pepper
• For the garnish: 4 first-class herring fillets
• 4 eggs
• some mustard

Preparation

1. Place the beef in boiling salt water with: 1 bay leaf, some whole pepper corns, 2-3 cloves.
2. Cook on low heat for 2-2.5 hours until the meat is soft.
3. In the last 10 minutes of cooking time, add the beetroot and gherkins.
4. Now grind the meat, onions, gherkins, potatoes and beetroot through the meat grinder, using the coarse disk.
5. Add 1-2 spoonfuls of the beef stock to the mixture, creating a "puree-like consistency".
6. Season to taste with 2 teaspoons of mustard, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil briefly. (I often add some of the pickled gherkin water, because it adds a tarty, spicy flavour which is delicious).

Serving suggestion

Place the meatloaf in the centre of the plate and put a fried egg on top. Serve with some gherkins, slices of beetroot a herring fillet or pickled herring. On the coast, this dish would be served with an ice cold, fresh draft beer. Final comment: This "Labskaus" recipe, in ancient times, used ingredients that were freshly available. The sailors did not have fridges on the ships, so they used what was available.  In essence, this recipe is made of: Cured meats, potatoes, pickled herring and onions. In the original formulation, one would mix a pickled herring in with the beef and grind it together. This is not for everyone, that is why I serve the pickled herring separately. It is said that the ships carried live chickens on board, hence the fried egg as an addition to the recipe.