Frikandel

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.^[4][5] Due to the absence of a skin, one could argue that technically it is not a sausage.

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.^[6][7]

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%).^{[citation needed]} 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.^[8] Other ingredients are bread crumbs, thickener, herbs and spices, onion and flavour enhancers.