Danish Hot Dog Recipe (Pølser with Remoulade and Crispy Onions)
Danish hot dog recipe like the Copenhagen pølsevogn: sausage in a soft bun with remoulade, mustard, crispy onions and sweet pickles.
This Danish hot dog recipe recreates the famous "ristet hotdog med det hele", the toasted hot dog with everything sold from sausage wagons all over Denmark. A juicy pork sausage sits in a soft warm bun under stripes of ketchup, mild Danish mustard and yellow remoulade, then gets buried in raw onion, crunchy fried onions and thin slices of sweet pickled cucumber. It is messy, crunchy, tangy and sweet all at once, and for many Danes it tastes like childhood.
Pølser simply means "sausages" in Danish. The pølsevogn, a small street wagon selling hot sausages, appeared in Copenhagen in the early 1920s and quickly became part of everyday city life. Workers grabbed one at lunch, families bought them after football matches, and late-night crowds still queue for them today. The bright red sausages (røde pølser) are the most iconic: a popular story says butchers once dyed day-old sausages red to mark them, and the colour stuck as a tradition even after the reason disappeared.
What makes a Danish hot dog different from an American one is the layering of textures. The sauces go on in long lines along the sausage, never mixed together. Remoulade, a mayonnaise-based sauce with chopped pickles and a touch of curry and turmeric, gives the yellow colour and gentle tang. Raw onion adds bite, while ristede løg, the crispy fried onions sold in tubs in every Danish supermarket, add crunch and sweetness. The pickled cucumbers on top cut through the richness.
You can grill or pan-fry the sausage for a "ristet" (toasted) hot dog, or simmer red sausages in hot water for the "kogt" version. Any good pork wiener or frankfurter works if you cannot find Danish sausages. Dijon mixed with a little honey is a close match for sweet Danish mustard, and shop-bought crispy onions are perfectly authentic, because that is what the wagons use too.
Serve the hot dogs straight away while the onions are still crunchy. In Denmark the classic drink alongside is a cold bottle of chocolate milk, a pairing that sounds strange until you try it. For a party, set out all the toppings and let everyone build their own.
Watch how it is made on our YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/shorts/ZXCwYMCYwZI
Watch how it is made
Ingredients
- 4 Danish pork sausages (røde pølser or grill sausages)Substitute: pork wieners or frankfurters
- 4 soft hot dog buns
- 1 tbsp neutral oil, for frying
- 100 ml mayonnaise, for the remoulade
- 30 g gherkins, very finely chopped, for the remoulade
- 0.5 tsp mild curry powder, for the remoulade
- 0.25 tsp ground turmeric, for the remoulade
- 1 tsp sugar, for the remoulade
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar, for the remoulade
- 4 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp mild Danish mustardSubstitute: Dijon mustard mixed with 1 tsp honey
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 40 g crispy fried onions (ristede løg)
- 80 g sweet pickled cucumber slices (syltede agurker)Substitute: bread and butter pickles
Method
- Make the remoulade. Stir the mayonnaise, chopped gherkins, curry powder, turmeric, sugar and vinegar together until evenly yellow. Taste, add a pinch of salt, then chill while you prepare everything else.
- Prepare the toppings. Chop the onion very finely, drain the pickled cucumber slices and pat them dry, and put the crispy onions, ketchup and mustard within reach.
- Cook the sausages. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the sausages for 8 to 10 minutes, turning often, until browned and blistered all over. For red sausages you can instead simmer them in hot, not boiling, water for 5 minutes.
- Warm the buns. Warm the buns in a 150°C oven or in a covered pan for 3 to 4 minutes so they are soft and steamy, not crisp.
- Add the sausage and sauces. Tuck a hot sausage into each bun, then pipe or spoon long lines of ketchup, mustard and remoulade along the top without mixing them.
- Pile on the onions and pickles. Scatter raw onion over the sauces, add a generous handful of crispy fried onions and finish with a row of pickled cucumber slices.
- Serve right away. Eat the hot dogs immediately while the fried onions are still crunchy, Danish style with a cold chocolate milk or a lager.
For the most authentic Danish hot dog, use a soft, slightly sweet bun and warm it rather than toasting it, so it hugs the sausage. Add the crispy onions at the very last moment because they soften quickly under the sauces. The remoulade tastes even better made a day ahead and keeps for 4 days in the fridge. If you find red Danish sausages, simmer them gently in water just below boiling so the skins do not split. Setting the toppings out in bowls turns this into an easy party or game-night meal.
Frequently asked questions
What is on a Danish hot dog?
A classic Danish hot dog with everything has a pork sausage in a soft bun with ketchup, mild Danish mustard, remoulade, raw chopped onion, crispy fried onions and sweet pickled cucumber slices.
Why are Danish hot dogs red?
Danish røde pølser are coloured red with food colouring. A popular story says butchers once dyed older sausages red to mark them, and the bright colour became a tradition people still love.
What is Danish remoulade?
Danish remoulade is a yellow mayonnaise-based sauce with finely chopped pickles, a little curry powder and turmeric. It is served on hot dogs, fried fish and roast beef open sandwiches.
What does ristet hotdog mean?
Ristet hotdog means toasted or grilled hot dog, where the sausage is fried or grilled. A kogt hotdog uses a boiled red sausage instead.
What can I use instead of Danish sausages?
Good pork wieners or frankfurters work well. Choose a juicy, finely textured sausage with a snappy skin.
What do Danes drink with a hot dog?
The classic pairing is a cold chocolate milk drink, although soda and lager are just as common at the sausage wagon.
