History

More substantial than its Swedish neighbour, kjøttkaker has anchored Norwegian everyday cooking for over a century, the unfailing centre of the kafeteria-style husmannskost meal. The Oslo tradition was codified at Engebret Café and Kaffistova through the late 19th century, when migrant farm cooks brought the recipe to the capital from Western Norway. The Smalhans Thursday lunch keeps the canonical version with brown gravy, peas and lingonberry today.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 600g minced beef (15 to 20 percent fat)
  • 1 small onion, very finely grated
  • 2 tbsp potato starch (or plain flour)
  • 200ml whole milk, cold
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
  • 30g butter, plus 30g for the sauce
  • 30g plain flour, for the sauce
  • 500ml beef stock, hot
  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce (for colour)
  • Boiled potatoes, peas and lingonberry jam, to serve

Method

  1. Whisk the potato starch into the cold milk until smooth, then beat in the egg. Add the grated onion, salt, ginger, nutmeg and white pepper.
  2. Tip the mince into a large bowl, pour in the milk mixture and work it through with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes until the mixture stiffens and looks glossy. Chill for 15 minutes.
  3. Shape into oval patties about 1.5cm thick and 8cm wide, roughly 70g each. Wet your hands to stop the mince sticking.
  4. Melt 30g butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Fry the patties 3 to 4 minutes a side, in batches, until deeply browned. Transfer to a plate.
  5. For the sauce, melt the remaining 30g butter in the same pan and stir in the 30g flour. Cook over low heat for 4 to 5 minutes until the roux is the colour of a hazelnut.
  6. Whisk in the hot stock a ladle at a time. Add the dark soy for colour, season, and simmer for 10 minutes until silky.
  7. Return the kjøttkaker to the sauce, cover and simmer gently for 8 minutes so they finish cooking and soak up flavour. Serve with boiled potatoes, peas and lingonberry.

Tip from the editors. Norwegian kjøttkaker are flat patties, not round balls, and the brown sauce should be the colour of strong tea. Undercook the roux and the sauce looks pale.

Where to eat kjøttkaker

Kjøttkaker in Oslo

Asylet ★ 4.1

Traditional Norwegian$$gronlandMon 11:00-22:00, Tue-Fri 11:00-00:00, Sat 12:00-00:00, Sun 12:00-22:00

Asylet on Grønland in Oslo's old town is the wood-panelled 1730 merchant-yard timber building, one of the city's oldest, serving kjottkaker.

Signature: Kjottkaker with mash, Reindeer stew

Order: Kjottkaker with brown sauce and lingonberry; reindeer stew in winter.

Tip: The courtyard runs late spring through summer; the back-bar fireplace is the winter seat.

Grønland 28, 0188 Oslo Book →

Kaffistova ★ 3.9

Nordic$sentrumMon-Fri 11:00-22:00, Sat 11:30-22:00, Sun closed

Kaffistova on the ground floor of Hotell Bondeheimen on Rosenkrantz' gate has served Norwegian home cooking since 1901, with raspeballer, boknafisk.

Try: Norwegian home cooking, raspeballer and meatballs

Rosenkrantz' gate 8, 0159 Oslo

Smalhans dagens husmannskost ★ 4.4

Nordic$st-hanshaugenMon-Tue 16:00-22:00, Wed-Sat 11:00-01:00, Sun 12:00-22:00

Smalhans on Ullevalsveien plates a 175 $ dagens husmannskost menu between 16:00 and 18:00 every day, the single best-value seat in Oslo's Michelin Bib.

Try: Husmannskost plate of the day, one-plate menu

Ullevålsveien 43, 0171 Oslo

All Oslo signature dishes →

More cities are in research. Want kjøttkaker covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →