Stjerneskud - A Shooting Star

   Stjerneskud is probably the most decadent and popular type of smørrebrød in Denmark. Various types of seafood are piled high on a piece of french stick with egg, asparagus and Marie Rose sauce to create an open faced sandwich masterpiece. "Sterneskud" means shooting star in Danish. No one seems sure of the origin of the name or why it's called "shooting star", but my guess is that like a shooting star it's spectacular when presented to you, and gone in an instant!

Some kro are over 600 years old

In general smørrebrød in Denmark is bought at a shop and taken home, but sterneskud tends to be the specialty of a kro the Danish equivalent of a country inn. Like inns in England the history of kro in Denmark date back many centuries. In 1396 Queen Margrethe dictated that there should be a kro every 40km along the roads in Denmark to accommodate travellers. 40 km being the distance a horse could travel in one day. These inns were known as kongeligt privilegerede landevejskroer and they had special rights such as distilling snaps and brewing beer, but were restricted to allowing only travellers to eat and sleep on the premises.
Nowadays kro are the kind of "nice" place you take your mother to on her birthday, and some, like the Michelin starred Søllerød Kro, take traditional Danish cuisine to new heights.

some components of stjernskud

Sterneskud has many variations, but a few things need to be on there to be authentic. Both a piece of breaded fish and a piece of steamed fish need to be present as well as shrimps, egg, and caviar. Most people consider Marie Rose sauce to be a  necessary component. Mine includes crayfish and asparagus as well.

 Lets build the sjerneskud: 

1. slice of buttered french stick
2. small amount of baby greens
3. fried haddock and steamed sole
4 ladle of Marie Rose sauce
5. pile of shrimp and crayfish tails
6. boiled egg
7. 2 types of caviar
8. asparagus
9 garnish with lemon, dill and a whole steamed crayfish
Note: In Denmark fish is breaded in rye bread crumbs adding a unique flavour to the dish.

finished product

Recipe for Sauce Marie Rose

My Marie Rose sauce is not traditional but is a great alternative to cocktail sauce for seafood.

100ml mayonaise

100ml sour cream

100ml ketchup

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp sauerkraut juice

combine and chill