Gourmetkorv
Gothenburg · Södra Larmgatan 6, 411 16 Göteborg
Halv Special
Hel Special
Sweden, Västra Götaland, Gothenburg
Regional
Gothenburg’s Halv Special is a hot dog bun with one grilled or boiled sausage – two for a Hel Special – crowned with a mound of mashed potato on top of the bun, finished to taste with ketchup, mustard, roasted onion, pickles or shrimp salad. It is traditionally paired with a Pucko chocolate milk, not a soda.
History
The Special was created in 1942 at Vågmästareplatsen on Hisingen, Gothenburg, at the sausage kiosk run by Albert Johansson – an account documented in Göteborgs-Posten on 23 February 2003 and retold on Restaurang Olivedal’s own history page for the dish. Before 1942, the story goes, Gothenburg kiosks sold korv och mos – sausage and mash, with no bun – or korv och bröd – sausage in a bun, with no mash. Nobody put mash on the bun.
That changed when two young BK Häcken footballers, Conny and “Päsa”, ordered sausage in bread “but with a little mash on top”. They came back about a week later asking for “en sån där special” – one of those specials – and the name stuck and spread between Gothenburg’s sausage kiosks. A halv, or half, carries one sausage; a hel, or whole, carries two. The traditional drink alongside it is Pucko chocolate milk, a pairing documented in Göteborgs-Posten pieces from 1994 and 1995 as reaching back to the mid-1950s.
Make it at home
Recipe in progress — we’re still checking the details.
About this recipe
We’re still checking the ingredients and method against published recipes. Details may change.
We haven’t kitchen-tested or finished checking this recipe yet.
Ingredients
- Hot dog bun (korvbröd)
- One grilled or boiled sausage for a Halv Special – two for a Hel Special
- Mashed potato (potatismos), mounded on top of the bun
- Ketchup, to taste
- Mustard, to taste
- Roasted onion, to taste
- Pickles, to taste
- Shrimp salad (skagenröra, västkustsallad or similar), to taste – a default topping at some vendors
- Pucko chocolate milk, as the traditional pairing
Instructions
- Boil or grill the sausage or sausages – one for a halv, two for a hel.
- Make a smooth, hot mashed potato and keep it ready to mound, not spread thin.
- Place the sausage or sausages in the bun as for a standard hot dog.
- Spoon a generous mound of mashed potato on top of the bun, over the sausage – the mash goes on the bun, never served separately on a plate.
- Finish to taste with ketchup, mustard, roasted onion, pickles or shrimp salad.
- Serve at once with a cold Pucko chocolate milk.
Local favorites
Where to Try It
Every restaurant below is in this style's home turf – the place it comes from – and its own menu or website confirms it serves the style today. This isn't a 'near you' list: origin is the reason each place was chosen.
