Norwegian Potato Dumplings (Klub)
Every family seems to have its own spin on traditional Norwegian potato dumplings. This is my family’s version: A recipe we have enjoyed for generations.
Today, I’ve got a killer recipe to share with you: Potato dumplings.
I never used to appreciate potato dumplings, but in recent years I have grown to love them. This is perhaps because my mom is crazy about them.
Excitement about particular foods can be contagious.
What Are Norwegian Potato Dumplings?
Norwegian potato dumplings (potet klub) are made from a mixture of grated potato, flour, and egg. A piece of pork is placed in the center of each dumpling, and then they are boiled for about 30 minutes.
The dumplings are served with LOTS OF MELTED BUTTER, salt and pepper.
I like topping mine with a few fresh herbs, namely parsley and green onion.
Oddly enough, these potato dumplings call for the same ingredients as gnocchi: Potatoes, flour, and eggs. I wouldn’t say they taste like gnocchi, but the texture is similar. The biggest difference is that gnocchi is made with cooked mashed potatoes, and the dumplings are made with raw, grated potatoes.
How Does Your Family Make It?
I have learned that there are a million different variations on potato klub. See comments below for a great variety of reader variations.
I make potato dumplings about once a year, usually for Syttende Mai (Norwegian Constitution Day) which is celebrated in my hometown.
I am lucky to get help from my mom when I make them – she is happy to help out and expedite the process!
They’re not particularly hard to make, but they are a bit messy. You have been warned.
Can I Make Gluten-Free Potato Dumplings?
Yes. In fact, the gluten free potato dumplings turn out just as well as the originals.
Gluten free flour blends do vary, so I can’t guarantee that the GF flour you use will work out like mine did.
I used Divided Sunset Gluten Free All Purpose Flour.
Get More Traditional Norwegian Recipes
- Norwegian flatbread (flatbrød)
- Norwegian cream pudding (rømmegrøt)
- Rommegrot bars
- My Norwegian grandma’s meatball recipe (kjøttkaker)
- Lutefisk
- Norwegian sweet soup (sot suppe)
- Norwegian rice pudding (risgrot)
- Sweet soup (sot suppe)
- Almond kringler
- Norwegian almond cake
- Krumkake
- Rosettes
- Kringla
- Sandbakkelse (sugar cookies made in individual tins)
- Goro (cookies made on an iron)
- Pepperkaker (Norwegian spiced sugar cookies)
- Lefse (no special equipment needed!)
- Norwegian Christmas bread
- A Nordic-inspired appetizer platter
- Swedish meatballs
- Open-faced sandwiches
- How to make Norwegian egg coffee
These recipes are naturally cheap because they use common ingredients in creative ways. The dumplings are extremely cheap – right around $3.00 for the whole recipe that feeds four or five people.
I even found a boxed mix for old-fashioned Scandinavian potato dumplings. Has anyone tried this?
If you make any of these recipes yourself, please share a photo with me! I would love to feature it on my social media channels.
Also, be sure to stay in touch by following Cheap Recipe Blog on Instagram!
Norwegian Potato Dumplings (Potato Klub)
Please note: The flour amount is approximate. You want the ingredients to stick together. I used about 2 cups of flour, but start with one and go from there.
Ingredients
- 5 large Russet potatoes, peeled and grated
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pork chop, cut into bite-sized pieces (or meat from a pork hock, ham or bacon)
- For serving: Butter, salt and pepper, chopped parsley and/or green onion
Instructions
- Prepare mixture: Place grated potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs and mix with your hands (I find this is the easiest way given the thick, heavy batter). Add 1 cup of flour - and then keep adding flour until the potato mixture sticks together. This was about 2 cups when I made it.
- Form into balls: Take about 1/2 cup of the potato mixture. Place piece of pork chop in the middle and form into a ball. Repeat until all of the potatoes have been used.
- Cook dumplings: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add potato dumplings one at a time. Cook for 30 minutes in simmering water. At 30 minutes, take one dumpling out and test to see if the meat inside is cooked. If not, cook for a little longer. My batch took 30 minutes.
- Serving: Serve hot, topped with melted butter, salt and pepper, and parsley and/or chopped green onion.
You can’t believe how good these are!! Yum! (and filling) They make me hungry just looking at the pictures.
These sound so intriguing! They almost remind me of a steamed bun or a pierogie. Super interesting.
Loved finding this! I’ve seen a few versions on Pinterest. O grew up with my family’s version. My mom learned how from my Swedish grandma. We used salt pork and onion for the filling. No egg in potato mixture.
Otherwise, pretty much the same! Delicious. Brings back memories.
Definitely need to make these! How inexpensive, and they look absolutely delicious!!! Norwegian week was a winner; sad it’s over 🙁
Try boiling the dumplings in a home made ham bone broth. It’s very important to have the ham broth to flavour the dumplings. It will be completely different. I can’t imagine cooking them in water. We have also stuffed it with a chunk of ham. Enjoy!
Joanne
Does anyone have a recipe for potatoe dumplings that uses only potatoes, flour and melted butter. They are boiled..
Do you mean the raw potato dumplings that the Bohemian ethnicity make because if that’s what you mean I have not a recipe but instructions that my grandmother gave me over 40 years ago
Could you prepare these the day before and boil them the day of?
I don’t think that would work, since raw potatoes tend to get brown and lose some of the good texture.
Yes, actually just finished a very large batch for our children and their families. About 12 potatoes ( I like to rinse the shredded potatoes in water a bit to get rid of some of the starch, it prevents them from turning black) 2 cups of water or milk , 8 to 10 cups of flour. Piece of fried pork chop in the middle.Cook as above in boiling water. My mother in law was Swedish and taught me. They are made quite a lot bigger than the ones in the picture. We love them with butter, salt, pepper when they are fresh. Next morning we love frying them like potatoes in a pan and serve with Rogers golden syrup. Mmm 😋. We quadrupled this recipe for our family!
My Mother would make similar Potato Dumplings only sans the Pork. She would also cook them differently by letting them simmer in hot Milk for about an hour rather than boiling them and serve them in a dish with the milk included, kind of like a Stew.
my mother did the same minus the pork and eggs. Actually she would cook it in milk sweetened with a little sugar. we would then eat it like soup.
I don’t know what part of Norway we are from, but we call it Kumra. 5 lbs grated potatoes, 1 cup of oatmeal, 5-6 cops of flour, 1tsp baking powder, some salt and pepper, and spare rib pork. Assembled, balled and boiled 45 minutes. It looks exactly like your finished product. Cut up and add butter. In the morning we slice it and fry in butter. So yummy. I have changed it by adding another cup of oatmeal. More oatmeal makes the ball less floury tasting. My great aunt likes to make sweet and sour cabbage to serve with it, but I don’t like that stuff. I’ve had polish kopytka with gravy but that still tastes a little too floury for me.
Wow, the oatmeal addition sounds really interesting! I might have to prepare it that way for my mom and see which one she prefers 🙂
I am looking for a recipe for a “potato cake” that you bake in the oven. My grandmother would shred raw, peeled potatoes,add baking soda, flour, crumbled bacon and bake in a greased iron skillet for x min., flip cake over and bake for x min, then pour a little milk over the cake, cover. bake for 10 min. You eat it with butter. Good.
Hi Ruby – I wish I knew the recipe you were referring to, but I don’t. I asked my parents but they had never had that either. Good luck! Let me know if you find it.
George, in my dad’s family it was called Kumla, similar to your family’s Kumra. I wonder if the name of the dish got changed or transposed a bit as it moved from one mountain valley to another. I think our Kumla came from the ancestors in the Hallingdal region. We don’t use eggs, oatmeal or any kind of meat inside it and we boil in a broth from a ham bone. Also, we flatten ours out instead of making a ball. We don’t bother melting the butter as it melts immediately on the hot Kumla anyway since a full platter is emptied in minutes. It is served with ham sometimes but is still delicious by itself.
This is so interesting, Linda! Thanks for sharing your story. It sounds similar. I’m sure different regions had different takes on this dish. I’ll have to try yours sometime soon.
Same here Linda! My family line Dyrness make Kumla boiled with a ham bone and serve ham on the side. We gave them the nickname lead-sinkers since they feel so heavy in your belly. We love making them for family get Together’s!
My fathers family made their “kumle” with salt pork chunks in the centre and potatoes and whole wheat flour surrounding. They were cooked in a vegetable soup broth. My Dad loved them fried the next day. They were from the Bergen area but moved to the US and Canada in the 1890s. A taste of home!
I make mine using whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour, then use raw bacon pieces or ham chunks to put inside. OMG I love this and probably make some tomorrow. Lefse is another favorite.
We made this with a small piece of salt pork in the middle. we diced the remaining salt pork block up and fried until crunchy and saved the fat, When Kumpa was finished we drizzled the fat and some of the diced pork and a little sugar…..It is to die for. Any remaining Kumpa would be fried and used any remaining pork and fat on top.Wonderful!!!!!
Another favorite,Sylteflesk!!!!
Thanks for sharing! I’ve learned that there are many ways to prepare this dish…
These are delicious. Our family’s favorite for the holiday along with lefse. We add white onion to the mix and even substituting with a gluten free flour is still just as yummy. I have never tried with green onions, so I will try that! (great pictures and details.. thank you!)
Adding onion would be so delicious! Thanks for the tip.
My family has always called it Klub but we never used eggs in ours, and we used salt pork or ham. Not every dumpling got a piece of the meat it was a surprise and bonus when you got one with the meat.
Our family has made this for years, and call it Krub. I am making a batch as I type. Love this stuff. I peel and grate an entire small bag of potatoes, add salt to taste and stir/knead in flour until it is not sticky – makes about 45 balls. Then make into tennis ball sizes and stuff cubed piece of Salt Pork in the middle and boil in water about 3 hours, stirring in between. Enjoy with a lot of butter! Slice and fry in butter the next day until crispy for breakfast.
Yum! Thanks for sharing your family’s take on krub 🙂
Yes, Krub . My mom was Swedish When we would go back to North Dakota my family always made this. So yummie with salt prk in the middle and lots and lots of butter
Same with our side! No egg and after grating potatoes you squeeze out all the liquid, then add salt and flour until they feel right, cut up salt pork or ham chunks to put in the center of each ball …in mean time there’s a huge pot of boiling water with a ham bone in the water. When the balls are made, you place them in water and boil for an hour until ready they feel ready.
Always had fried or baked pork chops to serve with. Me, I just wanted nothing but the krub! Next morning slice some krub balls into semi thick slices and fry in butter, eat with salt and pepper and drool until we can make them again!! The best meal….and Lefse as a treat for the holidays….LOVE our Norwegian heritage!
Spellcheck, ugh! Suppose to read potatoes not ‘pops toes’!🤣 and the ‘pt’ in center, was suppose to say ‘put’ in the center. A person needs to re-read before submitting 😉
There are regional varieties, for sure, and it has many different names: Klubb, raspeball, komle, kompe, etc. They are all potato dumplings, but for instance the “Klubb” my mum makes (we’re from a village near Trondheim) doesn’t have any meat inside it, but we have bacon bits on the side, as well as a sauce based on Norwegian brown whey cheese / goat cheese.
They all sound wonderful 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
My Mom and Dad always made it a family affair. We all helped, taught by my great grandmother from Sweden, somehow the name was named Krub? We put a raw piece of hamburger in the middle, boiled and froze them. My favorite memory was the cooking the leftover chopped up, fried in butter and cream!! Yumm
LOVE these!! We have to tripple the batch so we can have more the next day…cut up and FRIED!!! Fried in butter until crunchy on the outside but still creamy and soft on the inside. Because we add the salt, pepper and garlic when we fry them, we dolop sour cream on top. Of course swimming in melted butter is always a winner too!!!!!
Love love love these! My family is Swedish but my family has made these forever. I can smell just looking at the picture. We use ground pork and allspice to season the meat mixture in the center.
Awesome, Fran! Seems like everyone does it a little different – the allspice addition sounds great!
My recipe is like yours Fran and maybe because we are Swedish also?? We use diced ham and onion in the middle with allspice. Melted butter drizzled over after they’re boiled and leftovers are fried in butter, cut up. Delicious!!!
Hi Lori and Fran – I grew up with these also (Dad was Norwegian and Mother was Swedish). We used chopped onion and salt pork, seasoned with allspice in the middle. Boiled for 1 hour and then each ball was served with cold milk over it. The next day we would cut them up and warm them in milk. Super good! We called them krukkaka – never knew how to spell it.
Pat! Yes! We called them krupkaka (sp) too. My dad was Swedish. We made them like you. Dad was only one who liked them with milk. Fried the next day were even better!
Different regions have different names and very different accompaniments to this dish. In Kristiansand/south Norway where my mom is from they call it Kompe. There it is huge and softer and made with a sizable nugget of salty fatty pork (flesk) inside, and served with butter and sugar or tyttebær and sometimes bacon crumbles. In Nordfjord where my dad is from they call it Klubb. It’s a little smaller and harder with salty meat (usually lamb) on the side and served with a glass of kefir. In Bergen where I lived as a child it was called Raspeballer and was served with melted butter, sausages (vossakorv), salty lamb meat, bacon, rutabaga (boiled or mashed) and potatoes. In Stavanger / southwestern Norway they call it Kumle and sere it similar to in Bergen. In Trønderlag they also call it Klubb serve it with a sauce called duppe (Klubb og duppe) which is a white sauce with added brown cheese, and top it off with crispy bacon crumbles.
Thank you for the information! That’s fascinating. My ancestors are from Tronderlag, so that explains why I know this as Klub(b).
Forgot to add – most versions I am familiar with bouid them in broth, not water. The egg addition is definitely new to me, but might make them easier to shape (otherwise it can take quite a bit of elbow grease). In most regions it’s common to pan fry the fleftovers. I like mine fried leftovers served with butter, sugar, sourcream and salted meats.
Lithuanians make a variety of these called Ceppelenai (like little zeppelins) and you drain the potatoes after grating but reserve the starch at the bottom of the bowl and add it back in along with a touch of onion powder, cream of tartar for whiteness, filled with a ground meat /onion mixture and boiled, topped (like all things lithuanian) with sauteed bacon & onions and sour cream. Don’t get your blood tested for cholesterol for a few days after.
Also, no flour in the lithuanian receipe 🙂
Super excited to try these I just pulled them off the stove!
Wonderful! Let me know how they turned out 🙂
My grandfather immigrated from Vik I sogn in Western Norway. He called it Klub
My family omitted the eggs also. Just potato, flour and salt. They served it with fried bacon on the side. We call it Krub. Another thing my grandmother said was that it was better to grind the potatoes rather than shred them, and to make sure to squeeze out all the extra liquid from the potatoes before adding the flour. I am in my 40s now and have never made them on my own. You’ve inspired me.
My grandparents are 1 from Sweden and 1 from Norway, Swedes call it pult and they grind it, I prefer the texture Norwegian krub that’s shredded, but the Swedes also top it with the grease from the salt pork inside, or lots of butter, and we also use sugar on top Mmmm. Next day it’s chopped, fried, then cream added to make a gravy – so delicious!!
And we also make lefse – it’s our favourite holiday treat, and krumkake
Glad to have come across this post!!
Thank you!!
Have not used egg before ,but will try it. We would put cloves in the mixture and they turn grey. The next day we would slice the balls and fry in butter. My mouth is watering thinking them.
We called it Krub (not Klub like in the description) We ate this a lot growing up, but there was no addition of pork. It was just shredded potatoes, and alot of flour.
Made into balls and boiled until done. Served in milk gravy, lots of melted butter and salt and pepper. Sköl!!
What kind of potatoes ate best to use? Also, why would there be s!all black or actually just gray areas in the dumplings the next day?
I use russet potatoes. Also, I haven’t had that problem (turning black or gray the next day). I know that happens with raw grated potatoes, but not sure why it would happen after they’re cooked.
I make kumla – grated potatoes and salt/pepper seasoned flour to form balls put in boiling broth made with ham or smoked hock which is served with the dumplings. Usually serve with slow-cooked pork chops in mushroom gravy, and got to have that butter. Great next morning sliced and fried with some eggs and more ham..
I’m 71 and eaten klubb a couple of times every year. Many of my farming relatives
Would add blood from butchered animals for inexpensive protein. Always boiled in a big pot with a ham with bone in. I love it (without the blood)
We always make Cole slaw for balance. The sweetness matches the klub’s buttery and saltness flavors
Interesting… that sounds like a good combination!
WE use a grinder and the Klubs seem to have a smoother consistency ….we also use Salt Pork which gives the Klubs a better flavor, we make extra so in the morning we slice them and fry them in butter until crispy and then we fry eggs, so good, my mouth is watering right now, LOL
Sounds SO good, Nancy! Thanks for sharing your version.
Nancy, my grandfather was from Sweden, the southern area of Osby, and the ‘crook crockers’ (what we called them :-)…….consisted of grated raw potato with added flour enough to make them ‘moldable into a ball’………fried salt pork was added to the middle of the ‘ball’…..and then they were submerged in slow boiling water, for at least two hours………were delicious – still are :-)…..and I’m in fact making them this afternoon. We always pour milk over the ‘crock crockers’ and add salt and pepper to taste. Any extra salt pork was added the next morning when leftovers were cut in half, fried in butter, the salt pork added to the fry pan to warm up, and again, milk added to the plate. Sounds a bit strange, I’m sure…..but, it is deeelicious….and my husband with a Scottish heritage, realllyyyyy likes them!
My family called it Krub. It did not have eggs in it. Mom would dice up ham, and fry with onions, before putting a spoon full in the middle. She would then make a milk gravy with the leftover ham and onion mixture. This would get served, with butter, over the Krub. Leftovers would be sliced and fried the next morning for breakfast.
Been eating this as the ultimate comfort food my whole life (76) yrs. My mom made it without eggs and used salt pork pieces in the center. She called it Kumerla. I think she got the recipe from a Swedish neighbor and maybe misunderstood Kumla as the woman had an accent. Either way they’ve been a family favorite for all these yrs.
Love it – thanks for sharing your story! The ultimate Scandinavian-American comfort food 🙂
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I use my grandmother’s recipe for Kumla that came from her Norwegian mother-in-law. As she did, I use my Universal grinder to grind the potatoes and onion. Flour, baking soda and salt. Salt pork in the middle. I have used bacon when I couldn’t find the salt pork. I’ve only boiled in water. Delicious right out of the pot with butter but the best when refrigerated, sliced and fried in butter or bacon grease. To die for!!
Can you use red potatoes instead of russet potatoes?
I’ve never tried, but I don’t see why not. Let us know if you try!
Don’t use red potatoes!!! We tried that once…never again. The taste is fine but they gummy gummy tough balls because of the waxy nature of the reds. Stick with Russet bakers.
I use reds. Be sure to squeeze the moisture out of your grated potatoes and they work fine.
It was called Kumasi in our family, boiled in pork broth………..ancestors are from Drammen
My aunt made these as i was growing up but i never knew how to make them, thank you so very much now i know and cant wait to try.
I am 75 and I learned from my mother. She is first generation American, but then my grandmother was 2 when she came to America. They were from Gol on her dad’s side and Bagn on her mother’s side. I have made it the same way for my whole life and to my knowledge all my cousins make it the same way. One thing my mother said was to NEVER make it with New Potatoes…and I have remained true to that ever since. Yes, we grind our russets and use AP flour, pinch of salt, sometimes with or without baking powder. Blood Krub or Klub was made by my uncles and taken with on their hunting trips. I have had it and liked it, but do not make it myself (Hard to get fresh blood in town).
One thing I have learned over the years is that there are as many ways to make it as there are last names….Norsk AND Chinese. Probably the thing that ticks me the most is the myriad of ways that people swear by their way. I guess it is just to each their own. My kids and grandkids don’t like it, but that is fine. For years, I have not made it, but today, I did. We don’t make small balls, ours are big snowball types with several cubes of salt pork. I hate it when I go to fork a last piece of Klub and there is no salt pork for that bite. I am also half French….so, I get the best of both worlds.
What kind of gluten free flour would you substitute in this recipe?
I’ve never tried it, and I don’t have much experience cooking with GF flour. I’d maybe just try a GF flour blend and go from there.
I love these, I grew up with my mother and grandmother cooking them. They were from Stavanger and they called them Klub. My grandmother always boiled them with pork neck bones and onions which gave the broth such a great flavour. She would also use eggs and her recipe she used a mix of mashed potatoes and raw grated potatoes. I just made a batch and they turned out amazing!!
These recipes are hard to find because the spelling is odd. My husband’s family eats all these foods and his mom and Aunt knew the recipes but now there gone and ive been trying to figure them out. I thought they were all German foods they made Krub, kenefila, plachinda with potato soup,And strudel i thought the first time ummm umm you know Apple but no it was more potato and flour stuff. They were all from Minot North Dakota. My brother in law and i when they get into this kick well we eat something else Lol. But now here i am so i can try to make some of these dishes so he can have some of the food he grew up with. Thanks D Faul
Delena Faul
Growing up, my grandmother used to make these.
As much as we enjoyed them for dinner, we looked forward to the next morning where we would chunk them up and fry them in butter and lard to Brown them like hash browns and then smother them in butter and maple syrup.
I grew up with these, coming from a family where both sets of grandparents immigrated from Norway. My mother made them with grated fresh potatoes, flour, oatmeal (to make them a bit lighter in texture), salt and pepper, with a small square of ham tucked inside each one. There’s no exact recipe, because the water content of the potatoes can vary based on how long they’ve been in storage for the season. Just be sure to add enough flour, or they will disintegrate when cooking! (As my poor sister in law learned the first time she tried making them.) It’s essential to cook them in a big kettle of broth made from simmering a ham bone or smoked ham shanks or knuckles from the frozen meat case with a quartered onion. The best, of course, is having the leftovers sliced into thick slabs and fried in butter the next day. My family ate them with lots of butter. My husband’s family served theirs with warmed Karo syrup, which always sounds awful to me!
We make them every year. We put bacon inside. We slice them Christmas morning and fry them in butter. Family favorite for a vey long time.
I was raised on these! However, A large ham bone, including some of the meat were boiled down along with chopped onion and a couple of bay leaves. The potatoe was grated with flour and 1 egg added. Shaped into balls. No meat inside, as they are served in a bowl with the yummy ham broth and chunks of ham that they are cooked in. Topped with lots of butter, salt and pepper. These will indeed put you in a delightful food induced coma!
My grandmother’s family immigrated from Norway, her and my dad (both have since passed) an this passed with them. They used to make something which sounds very similar in someways, (I don’t know how to spell it but they called it puttygrout). They boiled lots of potatoes because we had to have some fried for breakfast the next morning. Anyway the potatoes were boiled, then mashed and mixed with flour and salt until they were very stiff and stacked. Then we rolled a scoop of this in hot bacon fat. It was so good that day and even better cut and fried the next day.
My Dad was Swedish and our family called them Clubs. We cooked pork and then ground that with onions. Thotatoes were grated. My Mom wore out many graters. We would have a huge bowl of potatoes, add salt, baking powder, a little sugar and then lots of flour. The clubs were formed and the pork and onion mixture put in the center. Then it was dropped in the water that the pork had been cooked in. This was a family tradition and favorite and still is today.
Lithuanian ‘cepelinai’ are quite similar, but we use two thirds finely grated raw potato which has been drained/ squeezed of juice and a third boiled mashed potato. The starch from the squeezed raw potato is added to the 2 types of potato mixture with an egg or two and salt and pepper. We add a bit of this starch to the water the dumplings are boiled in to ensure they don’t break. Some people add a bit of cream of tartar, lemon juice or part of a vitamin C tablet to stop the potatoes turning grey. We don’t add any flour at all.
The dumplings are stuffed with ground pork or beef (some do cottage cheese) and onions and s and p to taste. The final product is served with fried up bacon and onions and/or sour cream.
We love to fry up left overs in butter for breakfast the next day.
Note- Many Lithuanians have special potato grating machines they use for cepelinai and another potato favourite called ‘kugelis’.
Our family has had pute klub for generations. My grandparents are from Norway and made them with the junk of fat in the middle.
My mother would grind the potatoes and
Cut up a good ham into small chunks. The potatoes and ham are mixed together with the flour and shaped into balls so there are several bits of ham in each ball. We have never used eggs as far as I remember.
We serve sliced ham on the side along with a jello fruit salad and a vegetable dish.
We have this every Christmas and occasionally my grandson gets his mom to make it between christmases!
My late Husband’s family came to America from Norway. We made this and called it Krub. Sometimes it was made with potatoes but mostly with just flour, salt and pepper and a half milk, half water mix. We would form these into about 4 inch balls and stuff them with chopped bacon and chopped onion. After simmering them for approximately an hour or so, we let them cool. Then we sliced them like fried potatoes and fried it in butter and a little extra chopped bacon and onion. OMG!! Such a simple thing but SO delicious….and it stuck with you all day! Loved it.
Okay I’m getting hungry now..!
My grandmother was german and made something called Knatchens (have no idea how to spell it). All I remember is that she would grate the potatoes and not sure what else she added but I do remember her adding bacon to them. She did not make them into balls, just dropped the dough into boiling water. They were so good.
Great memories !!!
I grew up on these but we ground the potatoes usind a hand cranked meat grinder and squeezed the excess water out. We only used potatoes, salt, and flour until not sticky, put a piece of salt pork in the center and boiled them in water that we had boiled corned beef (we’re also Irish). We made them about the size of golf balls and served them with butter. The next day we sliced them and fried them in butter for breakfast.
I am 87, & I still remember the klub my grandmother would make & serve the family when I was a child..I always asked for more when I had finished my one & a half dumplings..grandmother would say..no, more will be too heavy on your stomach!..my how I wanted more!!!.
Do you use raw or cooked meat in the dumpling?
I always use cooked.
We always made them by boiling a ham hock first, then taking the meat.out of the water and putting it in the dumplings, then boiling the dumplings in the hammock water. Also, another way to serve the next day is to slice the dumplings and fry on a pan in butter.
One word: Yum!
My great grandmother, Inga Marie Andreassen Hanson, born in Norway, taught my mother to make these with a small bit of salt pork inside. I imagine meat was expensive or used very sparsely. We only ate them with butter.
They’re so good, Victoria! And budget-friendly, which I love.
We Scandinavians love potatoes with our potatoes don’t we? It’s unbelievable all the different ways they prepared them.
You’re absolutely right, Phyllis! Lol.
We called them potakrub. My grandmother used salt pork in the center. My mother experimented with ham and bacon. Bacon ends were our favorite and we always added bacon to the boiling salt water. We boiled them between 2 to 3 hours so the bacon was cooked. We served with lots of butter. The next morning we fried them up in butter and even the extra bacon which was in the boiling water. Sometimes we make very small dumplings and just fried with crumbled bacon in bacon grease. It is a different side dish.
We called it ‘palt’ but nobody in this thread called it that. Mostly klub. I wonder where the name palt came from? My mom was Norwegian, my dad was Swedish. We made it every year for his birthday! It was quite a wonderful ritual with all of us girls grating potatoes into a dish towel clothes pinned to a wash tub. Dad would squeeze the towel containing the potato mixture and the pink starchy water would go into the pan. the the starch was added later to the dumplings. We didn’t add flour. We would fry a big pan of diced salt pork, pepper and onion to put a teaspoon of the mixture into the center of each dumpling. Then we dropped them in the big pot of boiling water. Cubes of butter to dip them in. yummo! Especially cubed and fried for breakfast! Skol to my dear parents-married 62 years!
Yum! Your version sounds great. I like the idea of saving the starchy water. Thanks for sharing.
Don’t use red potatoes!!! We tried that once…never again. The taste is fine but they gummy gummy tough balls because of the waxy nature of the reds. Stick with Russet bakers.
I’m 80 yrs old & I grew up eating these dumplings. My mom got the recipe from an old Swedish neighbor (woman) who called them Kumerla so that’s what I grew up calling it. Or sometimes Lead balls. Either way, they were the ultimate comfort food and were loved by our entire family. I haven’t made them for years. I don’t think my mom added eggs. She put a small piece of salt pork in the center. The next day any leftovers were sliced cold and fried in butter. My mom would make her very large canning kettle full.
We always topped our dumplings with lots and lots of melted butter which had a hefty amount of chopped onions in it. Not healthy but wow! Delish. Our sides were the ham (of course) and split peas boiled and served with salt, pepper and butter. As kids we hated the peas but now I’ve come to really enjoy the combination!
Lots and lots of melted butter – sounds like you’re doing it right!
I grew up on kumle. We make it with ground potatoes, oatmeal and flour. For myself I make it in smaller portions as my husband does not like it (what can I say he’s not Norwegian). When cooking, the kumle is put in a large kettle in which smoked ham hocks have been simmering. Served it up with three coronaries worth of salted butter and plenty of salt. Any leftover is fried for breakfast the next morning.
I would like this for our Women’s Club Dinner where you bring something your grandma use to make. Can I make the dumplings smaller so everyone can get a small sample?
Hi Sue; I love that idea! Can I come?!
Yes, making them smaller will totally work. Enjoy!
I learned to make krub when I married my Norwegian/German husband. For the meat, we use his homemade venison bologna. His family recipe uses russets boiled whole, then peeled and coarsely mashed. The bologna and onions are diced fine and mixed in with the flour and potato mixture. One difference is that we use a mixture of AP flour and graham flour. It’s hard work to mix it by hand, especially because it’s a big batch and sticky at first. I started using my KitchenAid stand mixer with the dough hook attachment and it really helps to develop the gluten and help the balls stick together. When I make the balls, I roll them out and place them on parchment paper and put some in freezer bags. It’s convenient to just pull them out and boil them up as needed.
My family always served these with a tablespoon of grape jelly on the side and of course, lots of butter. Also, any leftovers were chopped in bite sized pieces and fried in butter for breakfast with fried eggs.
Love this idea – a little bit of sweet. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the post! I love potato pancakes and gnocchi so I stopped to read the recipe. I will be making these on Sunday during the snow storm.
I also want to thank all of those who shared their stories about this dish. If I choose a recipe and I see that it has comments I read a few for any tips or hints. This time I read them all! I love it when a dish evokes memories of loved ones.
My brother in law’s family was Norwegian. Many years ago his wife made this dish. I could have sworn they called it “crib” I used to have the recipe written down and that is how I titled it in the Recipe card. I haven t made it in years. The versions I have read about hear sound delicious.
Hi Debbie – that could be! Klub is how we have always spelled it but there may be other spellings.