Klub

My grandmother, Irene Storey, was well-known in our family and her community for making a variety of Midwestern treats, including caramel rolls, buns, and lots of different cookies and bars. I've written about a few of her dishes before (red hotdish and party salad), but the most iconic one by far is klub. We only saw them a few times a year, when she visited, and they were always greatly anticipated. Klub is a Norwegian word, which we always pronounced something like "kroob." An article I found suggests this pronunciation is from a regional dialect of Norwegian. Klub are potato dumplings, and are cousins of the various Central European knödel including the famous matzo balls. Perhaps it's no wonder Ariel has quickly become a fan.

As with a lot of traditional foods, there is great variety in how people make klub. The basic formula involves potato, some kind of flour, and some kind of pork. Many recipes involve graham flour or incorporating the pork into the dumplings, such as with a small cube inside. My family's recipe is comparatively simple. The dumplings use only all-purpose flour, and the pork is served on the side. We always had side pork, which as I understand it is essentially unsmoked bacon. I used thick-cut bacon instead. I'm told the potatoes are traditionally processed through a meat grinder, but a food processor is much easier.

Research for this post involved diving into old community cookbooks, including the First Lutheran and Polaris cookbooks from Roseau, Minnesota. This particular recipe is adapted from the 50th Anniversary Polaris cookbook, credited only to "Janet Hetteen's Mom," who a quick Google revealed was Arlene Mekash of Roseau. Her recipe is very close to what I remember eating as a kid. I made a few changes to suit my own style. The original recipe calls for 4 cups of grated potato. I prefer to give this in pounds so that you don't have to guess how many potatoes makes a certain volume. 3 pounds made a little more than 4 cups. We ended up using quite a bit more flour than the original, but this should be done by feel. Once the dumplings can be formed, stop adding flour.

If I were to give one piece of advice when making klub, it is to make more than you intend to eat. The leftovers are even better, so stay tuned for a quick post on that tomorrow.

Ingredients

• 3 lb. russet potatoes
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (approximate, more for forming dumplings)
• Side pork or bacon
• Butter and salt for serving

Equipment

• Food processor or meat grinder

Instructions

Peel the potatoes and cut into chunks. Use a food processor (blade attachment) to pulse until the potatoes are completely broken down. Transfer to a bowl. Traditionally, this is done with a meat grinder, but I've never tried that. The potatoes will immediately start to oxidize and turn pink. This is normal.

Fill a stock pot about halfway with water and bring to a boil while continuing to work. Add the salt and baking powder and 2 cups of flour. Fold the flour into the mixture. Continue adding flour and folding in until loose balls can be formed. If too much flour is added, the dumplings will be too dense. We used 3 1/2 cups in total, but this may vary.

Prepare a bowl of water and a plate with flour. Wet hands in water and form a loose ball. Size is variable, but they do plump when they cook. Comfortably fitting in the palm is a good size. Roll in flour and immediately drop into the water. Once all dumplings are in the water, cover and cook at a low boil for 45-60 minutes. 

While the dumplings cook, cook enough side pork or bacon as you want to eat. Reserve rendered fat and keep in the refrigerator for later. 

Remove dumplings from water with a slotted spoon. Serve with salt and butter for each person to season to taste.