Hot dogs are a big part of Norwegian food culture, and if you’ve been to Norway you know that wherever you are you are never far from a hot dog kiosk. However, the locals have special ways to eat this iconic food, and it can best be described with three words: Pølse i lompe (hot dog in a lompe).

Lompe = Lefse?

So what is a lompe? Well, you might have heard about Lefse before. Which is best described as a potato tortilla, and is something that Norwegians have been eating for as long as anyone can remember. Lompe however is like the little brother or sister of the lefse. A lompe is normally a bit smaller, it’s always round, and it’s usually thinner than a lefse. Today it’s made with a mix of potato and wheat flour. Most Norwegians don’t make lompe themselves, but they are found in large quantities in every supermarket.

(Some (like me) sometimes put butter and sugar on the lompe as well. A perfect dessert after a pølse i lompe dinner…)

Wiener hot dogs (wienerpølser)

You might also like: Lefse – A Norwegian Food Classic

Pølse (hot dog)

You find all kinds of different hot dogs in Norway. In general we put them into two categories:

• Grillpølse (a hot dog that we fry in a pan, or barbeque)

• Wienerpølse (a hot dog that we heat up slowly in a pot with warm water)

It’s important to know that the preparation of these two kinds are not mixed, meaning that you would never fry a wiener hot dog, and you would never put a grillpølse to cook in warm water. The result would be a soggy grillpølse, a maltreated wiener hot dog, and it would make you look quite strange to any Norwegian witnessing this.

If you got all these and hot dogs available, then you are all set for a pølsefest (hot dog party)

Toppings on a Norwegian hot dog

The toppings on a hot dog in Norway can vary a bit in different parts of the country. But there are six essential toppings for a successful pølsefest (hot dog party).

• Kethcup (ketsjup)

• Mustard (sennep)

• Fried onions (sprøstekt løk)

• Raw chopped onions (rå løk)

• Potato salad (potetsalat)

• Shrimp salad (rekesalat)

Hot dog with shrimp salad – a Norwegian speciality

Shrimp on a hot dog? Ja takk! (yes please). It comes to a surprise to many, but shrimp salad goes very well together with a hot dog. Combined with some ketchup, mustard and lompe and you got yourself a real treat.

Every serious hot dog vendor will have all of these six toppings (and lompe) available. The typical choice would be to have ketchup and mustard, and then choose either one of the others. So for instance order “en pølse i lompe med sprøstekt løk, takk”, a hot dog in lompe with fried onions please, and then you can add the ketchup and mustard at the end. Sounds good right?

One hot dog with fried onions, and one with raw onions.. mmmmm….

Where to buy hot dogs and what’s the price?

A hot dog bargain! Not to be missed 😛

There used to be a time when there were plenty of hot dog vendors selling nothing but hot dogs, and all though there are a few left, those times are unfortunately coming to an end. So the typical place to buy a hot dog these days is at a kiosk. Personally I prefer to go to either Narvesen or 7-Eleven. Both got more or less the same selection and prices. Often they got some (insanely) good offers, so keep an eye open for a banner outside saying for instance “Alle pølser 25kr” (all hot dogs 25 Kroner).

Price for a hot dog in Norway:

• Wiener hot dog in lompe: 35-39 Kroner (4 USD)

• Grill hot dog in lompe: 39-49 Kroner (5 USD)

• Onion topping: 7 Kroner (0,7 USD)

• Potato/Shrimp salad: 10 Kroner (1 USD)

• Ketchup & Mustard: Free

In other words, you can expect to pay 39-59 kroner (4-7 USD) for a hot dog in lompe with some kind of topping on it.

You might also like: Lefse – A Norwegian Food Classic

Now with all this in mind, wrap/roll the lompe around the hot dog, take a bite and enjoy!

I hope this article helped you better understand the Norwegian concept of “pølse i lompe”. Make sure to try it out next time you travel to Norway, and also share this article with someone who loves hot dogs.

Nyt måltidet! Enjoy the meal!