Eina með öllu — the Reykjavík Hot Dog
Recipes with Pylsa
The canonical Icelandic hot dog as sold at the Bæjarins Beztu window since 1937. One slim lamb-pork-beef pylsa, simmered briefly in salty water with a splash of dark beer, in a steamed soft bun, with five toppings layered in the correct order: remoulade and ketchup at the bottom of the bun, sausage on top, raw and crispy onions and brown sweet mustard above. Standing up at the counter is part of the recipe.
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
5 min
Servings
2
Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients
- 2 Icelandic pylsa sausages
- 2 soft hot-dog buns (slightly milky, not crusty)
- 100ml dark Icelandic ale (or any malty lager)
- 1 small white onion, finely diced (raw)
- 4 tbsp store-bought crispy fried onions
- Ketchup
- Pylsusinnep (Icelandic sweet brown mustard) — substitute: dark German bratwurst mustard
- Remoulade (Scandinavian-style, with dill and capers)
- Cold milk or Kókómjólk cocoa milk, to drink
Steps
Bring a pot of water with a generous pinch of salt and the dark beer to a gentle simmer (around 80°C). Do not boil.
Drop the pylsur in. Let them sit in the hot water for 4 to 5 minutes — they only need to heat through. If the casings split, the heat was too high.
Steam the buns: place them over the same pot for the last 30 seconds, or wrap in a damp tea towel and microwave for 15 seconds. They should be warm and pliant.
Open a bun. Squeeze a stripe of remoulade along the bottom of the bun, then a stripe of ketchup next to it. This goes UNDER the sausage, not on top.
Lay the hot pylsa on top of the sauces. Cover the sausage with a heavy spoonful of crispy fried onion, a smaller spoon of raw diced onion, then a generous stripe of pylsusinnep across the lot.
Eat immediately, standing up. Cold milk or kókómjólk in the other hand.
Tips
If you cannot find pylsusinnep, the closest match is a dark German bratwurst mustard with a teaspoon of brown sugar stirred in. Real Icelandic remoulade is sweeter and more dill-forward than the French version; closer to a Danish remoulade.