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The Sandwich 100 · make it at home

Smørrebrød (Danish open sandwiches), three classics

40 min (plus egg boiling) · 6 open sandwiches, 2 to 3 people

Dense rye bread, buttered to the edges, with a heaped topping you eat with a knife and fork: herring, egg and shrimp, roast beef. Copenhagen's lunchrooms (and Vienna's little Brötchen) work on the same idea: small, neat and generous.

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The real one

You need

• 6 thin slices dark Danish rye bread (rugbrød)
• Soft salted butter
• Herring: 6 pieces pickled herring, a few red onion rings, dill, 1 tsp capers
• Egg and shrimp: 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced, 100 g (3 1/2 oz) small cooked shrimp, 1 tbsp mayonnaise, dill, lemon
• Roast beef: 6 thin slices rare roast beef, 2 tbsp remoulade, crispy fried onions, a few slices cornichon, grated horseradish
• For new potatoes (optional): 4 cold boiled waxy potatoes, sliced, chives, a spoon of crème fraîche

How to make it

1. Butter (3 min): Butter every slice of rye right to the edges; it seals the bread so it doesn't go soggy.
2. Herring (5 min): Lay the herring in a row on 2 slices, top with onion rings, capers and dill sprigs.
3. Egg and shrimp (8 min): Overlap the egg slices on 2 slices, pile the shrimp on top, add a little piped or spooned mayonnaise, dill and a thin lemon twist.
4. Roast beef (8 min): Fold the beef in loose ribbons on the last 2 slices, add a stripe of remoulade, fried onions, cornichon and a little fresh horseradish.
5. Serve: Eat in order, fish first, with a cold beer and (traditionally) a small, ice-cold aquavit with the herring.

Tips

• Buy a good dense rye from a Scandinavian or German bakery; soft rye won't hold up.
• Vienna's Trześniewski style: cut the bread small and spread a finely chopped egg, onion or herring cream instead.

Chef Amazing's own home version, in our words; not any shop's recipe.