The dish to eat in Gothenburg · Sweden

Räksmörgås

Name: Räksmörgås (Gothenburg shrimp sandwich)
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Sweden
Ingredients: 3 lb (1.4 kg) cooked shell-on cold-water shrimp (or 1 1/2 lb/700 g best peeled cold-water shrimp, not brined); 4 slices good white or light rye bread, about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick; 2 tbsp soft butter; 4 eggs; 8 leaves butter or romaine lettuce; 1/2 cup (120 g) mayonnaise mixed with 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp chopped dill; 1/4 cucumber, thinly sliced; 4 tbsp crème fraîche (optional); 2 tbsp red lumpfish or salmon roe; 4 lemon wedges and a big bunch of dill

Photo: Gunnar Creutz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source

A shrimp sandwich: a mountain of hand-peeled cold-water shrimp on bread with egg, mayonnaise, lettuce and dill.

Gothenburg is Sweden's fishing port, and its räksmörgås is the dish people travel for: a single slice of bread you can't see under the shrimp. The shrimp must be peeled by hand, never frozen in brine.

Where to eat it Cook it at home

Where to eat it: the best three in Gothenburg

Heaven 23
Gothia Towers, Mässans gata
Order: The räksmörgås, and look out at the view from the 23rd floor
Its shrimp sandwich is the most famous in Sweden, with half a kilo of shrimp.
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Restaurang Gabriel
Feskekôrka (the fish church), Inom Vallgraven
Order: Räksmörgås or the shrimp plate at the counter
The seafood counter upstairs in the old fish market hall, run by a champion oyster opener.
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Kometen
Vasagatan, Vasastaden
Order: Räksmörgås, then the Swedish classics
Gothenburg's oldest restaurant (1934), a beloved room for traditional Swedish food.
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All three are on Chef Amazing’s list The best räksmörgås in Gothenburg, which you can save and take with you.

Cook it at home: Räksmörgås (Gothenburg shrimp sandwich)

Serves 4Time 30 min

Buy the best shell-on cooked cold-water shrimp you can find and peel them yourself. Everything else is there to hold up the shrimp.

Pans and tools

Small saucepan
Plates (it's built on the plate)

You’ll need

3 lb (1.4 kg) cooked shell-on cold-water shrimp (or 1 1/2 lb/700 g best peeled cold-water shrimp, not brined)
4 slices good white or light rye bread, about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick
2 tbsp soft butter
4 eggs
8 leaves butter or romaine lettuce
1/2 cup (120 g) mayonnaise mixed with 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp chopped dill
1/4 cucumber, thinly sliced
4 tbsp crème fraîche (optional)
2 tbsp red lumpfish or salmon roe
4 lemon wedges and a big bunch of dill

Steps

Peel the shrimp: pull off the head, then the shell and legs, and keep the meat chilled. Save the shells for stock if you like.
Boil the eggs 9 minutes, cool in ice water, peel and cut in quarters or slices.
Butter the bread to the edges and set each slice on a plate.
Lay 2 lettuce leaves on each slice and spread a spoonful of the dill mayonnaise over them.
Line the edges with cucumber and egg.
Pile the shrimp high in the middle, a good 5 oz (150 g) or more per sandwich.
Top with a spoon of crème fraîche and a spoon of roe, then a lemon wedge and a big sprig of dill. Serve with the rest of the mayonnaise, a knife and fork.

Chef’s tips

Peeling shrimp yourself is the whole secret; brined frozen shrimp taste of salt water.

Make it just before serving or the bread goes soggy.

A cold lager or a glass of dry white is the Gothenburg drink.

Contains: Shellfish (crustaceans), fish (roe), wheat (gluten), egg, milk.

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