Skagenröra – Swedish Shrimp Salad

It’s summer in Scandinavia, and that means everyone here is eating lots and lots of Skagenröra, or Swedish shrimp salad. You can buy ready made Skagenröra in Scandinavian supermarkets, and it’s also a staple on menus in Scandinavian restaurants, especially in the summer. But as is so often the case, the best Skagenröra is homemade – at least I think so.

I love Skagenröra scooped on top of a fresh green salad. But Skagenröra is probably most popular eaten on top of toast as part of Toast Skagen, a Scandinavian brunch favorite. I’ve shared my Toast Skagen recipe here. You can also make mini Toast Skagen for a chic appetizer.

And then the next most popular use for Skagenröra might surprise people who aren’t Scandinavian: Skagenröra is often served on top of hotdogs. Yes, you read that right. And while shrimp salad and hotdogs might sound like an odd, or even disgusting, combination, it’s actually surprisingly delicious! I avoided it for years and now somehow Skagenröra has become one of my favorite hotdog toppings.

The most elaborate version of hotdogs and Skagenröra is tunnbrödsrulle, often casually referred to as Swedish hotdogs. I’ve shared my tunnbrödsrulle recipe here.

You’ll need small shrimp to make Skagenröra, and if you have the time the tastiest shrimp will be freshly peeled. But you can also use shrimp that has been stored in brine, or frozen cooked shrimp.

After rinsing the shrimp and crayfish tails gently pat them dry so that your Skagenröra doesn’t have too much liquid. Of course the shrimp have a lot of liquid in them naturally, so you don’t need to fully drain them, just pat off the excess. If you’re using frozen cooked shrimp, run them under water for about five minutes, until they thaw.

I like crayfish tails in my Skagenröra because it adds a nice extra flavor to the shrimp, but you can also make this with only shrimp, or add crab or lobster to the mix. In Norway I’ve also seen Skagenröra made with langoustine as well.

Some people make Skagenröra with red onion, but I prefer the taste of chives. Use whichever you have on hand or prefer.

You don’t want the Skagenröra to be too thin, so add the dressing slowly as you stir, as you might not need to use all of it.

The fish roe is also optional, and don’t worry if you can’t easily find some to add here. But if you do have access to fish roe it’s definitely worth adding to your Skagenröra. I used masago here (like what you’ll often see on top of sushi), but any red fish roe works. Personally I would avoid using black roe for aesthetic reasons, but it would probably be just as tasty.

You can then serve the Skagenröra on toast as part of Toast Skagen, on hotdogs, on top of salad, or as it’s own dish. I like to garnish the Skagenröra with a few more shrimp, a spoonful of fish roe, and some lemon slices.

You can switch the recipe from US measurements to metric by clicking from “US Customary” to “Metric” under Ingredients.