Potato klub is stuffed with Norwegian tradition — and temptation

FOR MUCH OF my adult life, early December meant I would get a small, padded envelope in the mail. Its contents would include a letter from my Grandma Aggie, her spidery cursive script wishing me well and reminding me that she and my grandpa loved me “very very very much” (it’s family lore that the more “very”s you got, the better), and a small linen “sock” for potato klub.

Potato klub — the word klub rhyming with tube — is a Norwegian dumpling of sorts that combines shredded potatoes with cubed ham and flour. Depending on the region of Norway your family is from, you might form these ingredients into balls (and they might be called kumla or klubb), but Aggie always stuffed it all into that sewn scrap of linen, tied off the top with a string and boiled the whole bit until it formed a solid log.

When my mom was a kid, klub was her family’s Christmas Eve tradition (fast forward to my grandma mailing all seven of her adult children and some grandkids linen bags each December to ensure the tradition lived on). After it was finished, Aggie would slice the steaming klub and put a pat of margarine and a squirt of karo syrup on top of each one before disbursing them, which my mother thought was amazing … until she was a bit older and realized the superiority of butter. Now she eats it with a bit of butter the night of and fries up the rest in a bit of melted butter the morning after, topping a slice or two with a fried egg for breakfast. It’s also good with a bit of jam or even a little sour cream.

Having never cultivated a taste for karo syrup (perhaps a generational thing?), I always have enjoyed my klub with a bit of butter and a pinch of extra salt and pepper. It’s wonderful pan-fried in a little melted butter until the exposed bits of ham and potato get crisp and almost crunchy. It is a real stick-to-your-ribs situation, and while it’s tempting to eat numerous slices, it’s really better to enjoy just one or two. One of my uncles jokes that any more, and, “You’ll never be hungry again.”

Aggie passed away in 2019, and I hadn’t gotten my klub sock in the mail for a few years before that. I’d made do with old ones or even used cheesecloth, but as different holiday traditions took hold, I realized this fall that it had been a few years since I’d made klub. This year, my family and I will be spending the holiday with my parents and some extended family: the perfect chance to introduce my and my cousin’s kids to the wonders of klub. However — we’ll probably skip the karo syrup.

Aggie’s Potato Klub
1 10×10-inch square of linen or cheesecloth
2 cups shredded, raw russet or red-skinned potatoes
1 cup flour
1 cup cubed, cooked ham steak
½ teaspoon salt

1. Fold the linen square in half, and sew along the bottom and up one side, creating a bag. If using cheesecloth, make sure to have at least 4 layers on each side to create enough of a barrier.

2. In a large bowl, mix together shredded potatoes, flour, ham steak and salt until the flour is thoroughly incorporated. If you don’t use enough flour, the klub will end up more like mashed potatoes. Stuff the potato mixture tightly into the bag, and sew the top closed.

3. Bring a large heavy-bottomed pot of water to boil, and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour. Remove the bag from the water, and allow to cool enough so you can handle it. Cut open the bag, or remove the stitches. Slice into coins, top each slice with a dab of butter and serve immediately.