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Frikandel

Sunday, 21 September 2025 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union
Category/Kategorie: General, Bon appétit Reading Time:  5 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post A frikandel (plural: frikandellen) is a traditional snack originating from the Netherlands, a sort of minced-meat sausage, of which the modern version was developed after World War II. The history of this snack in the Spanish Netherlands goes back to the 17th century.

The modern frikandel is a cylindrical chewy, skinless, dark-coloured sausage-like meat product which is usually eaten warm. Unlike most sausages, the frikandel is deep-fried. In Belgium and in the north of France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais), it is called a “frikadel“, “fricandelle” or “fricadelle“. In some parts of Flanders (Belgium), notably around Antwerp, it is called “curryworst” (not to be confused with the German currywurst, though in eastern Germany people tend to make currywurst from skinless sausage). In the U.S., a product inspired by the frikandel although not identical is marketed under the “Dutch Dawg” and “Freakandel” brands.

In Belgium, frikadel means (also raw) minced pork; it seldom contains other meat. Where the sausage is called “curryworst“, the term frikadel is often used to describe a sort of meatball (the precursor of the frikandel, with the same meat), commonly eaten in Belgium, Germany and Denmark.

Who created the modern frikandel is contested. Some claimed it was first made by Gerrit de Vries in Dordrecht in 1954 when a law prevented him from selling his product as a meatball. He changed the name and shape instead of the recipe. Others say it was created by Jan Bekkers in Deurne in 1958, and named by him “frikandel” after he founded the Beckers factory the following year.

However, the present recipe with very fine mince is derived from Bekker’s 1958 version. The De Vries 1954 sausage, named fricadelle, contained chunkier minced meat and essentially was a minced meat patty shaped like a sausage.

In the Netherlands, northern France, Belgium, Aruba and Curaçao, the frikandel consists of a mixture of mechanically separated meat, including chicken (40% or more) and pork (about 25%). In the US, it contains pork (50%), beef (35%) and non-mechanically separated chicken (15%). Some manufacturers also add in a bit of horse meat. A halal version exists and contains only chicken and beef. Other ingredients are bread crumbs, thickener, herbs and spices, onion and flavour enhancers.

It is the most popular fast food snack in the Netherlands, followed by kroket. According to the AKSV (the General Association of Manufacturers of Cooking Supplies and Snacks in the Netherlands), 600 million frikandellen are produced each year in the Netherlands. Most of these are also sold in the Netherlands, where more than 37 frikandellen are consumed per capita per year.

In the Netherlands, it is most often served with curry ketchup or mayonnaise, though some eat it with tomato ketchup, mustard or apple sauce. Very popular is a frikandel served together with mayonnaise, curry or ketchup and chopped raw onion: a frikandel speciaal. The frikandel speciaal usually has a deep cut lengthwise through the middle to provide room for the chopped onions and the sauces. Some people prefer the taste of a frikandel if the cut is made before frying, resulting in a larger crisp surface. Sometimes the sausage is served on a bun and is then called a broodje frikandel. In Belgium and in the north of France, it is served with any sauce of choice and sold in a variety of ways, for example with onions, in a long bun, a piece of baguette, as a kebab or plain and untouched.

Read more on byandreajanssen.com – Homemade Dutch Frikandellen Recipe (Dutch Sausage) and Wikipedia Frikandel (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.

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