Recipe: Flæskesteg - Danish Christmas roast pork (2024)

Recipe: Flæskesteg - Danish Christmas roast pork (1)

Recipe: Flæskesteg – Danish Christmas roast pork

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Recipe: Flæskesteg - Danish Christmas roast pork (2)

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Danish Roast Pork (Flæskesteg) with Caramelised potatoes (Brunkartofler)

This is the classic Christmas meal in Denmark.

Course: christmas

Cuisine: Danish

Keyword: christmas

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

For the Pork:

  • 2 kg loin of pork with the skin on and scored all the way down to just before the flesh in lines 1cm apart (ask the butcher to do this if necessary)
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 onion
  • 1 or 2 bay leaves
  • 400-500 ml boiling water
  • few sprigs of thyme

For the Potatoes:

  • 85 g sugar
  • 25 g butter
  • 1kg small new potatoes peeled and cooked, (don’t be afraid to use tinned potatoes for this) - must be COLD

Instructions

The Pork

  • Preheat your oven to 250°C.

  • Place the pork joint skin side down (yes, ‘upside-down’) into a roasting tray. Add just enough boiling water to the tray so that the skin is submerged.

  • Put the pork in the oven for 20 minutes.

  • Use a clean tea towel to hold the pork in the roasting tray so you don’t burn yourself while you carefully pour away the water.

  • Turn the oven down to 160°C, then flip the pork over so it’s the right way up (skin up), and coat the skin with a generous amount of salt and pepper, making sure you get into the crevices created by the scoring. Be careful of your hands at this point, the pork will be hot! Stick the bay leaves into the crevices as well, then add the carrot, onion and thyme to the roasting tin, and pour 400-500ml fresh, cold water in.

  • Put the pork back in the oven for about an hour or until it is done. Check about halfway through to see if you need to top up the water if it’s starting to evaporate too much.

  • Using a meat thermometer, check the temperature of the pork after the hour. It should be somewhere between 68-70°C. Pour out the fatty residue into a bowl to use as stock for the gravy.

  • Increase the oven temperature back up to 250°C and put the roast pork back in to make the crackling. This can take a good 15 minutes, so use the grill if you want to kickstart the process (but keep a close eye on it, or else you could end up with a burnt crackling).

  • Remove the roast from the oven and check the temperature again. It should be between 70-75°C. This should mean it isn’t overcooked - pork can be terribly boring if you have to gnaw your way through it.

  • Let the roast rest uncovered for about 10 minutes. While that’s happening, make the gravy from the fat and stock - use gravy browning if required.

The Potatoes

  • Add the sugar to a cold frying pan and spread it evenly across the bottom. Melt it on a high heat while you stir for about 2 minutes, then turn the heat down to medium while you add the butter. Turn up the heat to high again.

  • Put the potatoes in a colander or sieve and run them under a cold tap, then add to the pan. As you can imagine, it’s going to splutter and spit a bit, so be careful.

  • Get the potatoes covered in caramel and brown them for between 4-6 minutes, turning them carefully. If it looks like they’re getting a bit too dry, add a drop of water (again, take care doing this).

  • Serve the caramelised potatoes along with normal boiled potatoes - as these are very sweet, they’re more of an extra side dish for the pork rather than a replacement for potatoes altogether.

Notes

NOTE: Always use potatoes that are completely cold. If you’re preparing them yourself, peel and cook them the day before. Each potato should be about 3-4cm in size - think salad potatoes. Tinned really is a good option for this dish.

Serve with warm, red cabbage.

Leftovers? Make Pytt-i-Panna.

Tags: christmas, danish, Denmark

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Recipe: Flæskesteg - Danish Christmas roast pork (2024)

FAQs

What cut of meat is flæskesteg? ›

Flæskesteg (pronounced ['flɛːskə. stɐ̯j]), the Danish version of roast pork, is considered to be one of Denmark's principal national dishes. Always prepared with crackling, it is also a favourite for the Danish Christmas dinner served as the evening meal on 24 December or Christmas Eve.

What do Danish people eat for Christmas dinner? ›

Christmas dinner is a serious affair. Traditionally, you will be sat at a table for a good few hours, eating a meal of roast pork and duck plus boiled potatoes, red cabbage and gravy. Risalamande is the big Christmas dessert, a rice pudding topped with cherry sauce where a whole almond will be hiding.

What is the best cut of pork for Christmas? ›

The pork loin, belly and leg are the best cuts for roasting, while the shoulder requires a slower cook (see Jamie's recipe below). Choose cuts with a generous layer of fat as this will keep the meat moist and add flavour throughout the cooking process. 2. Remove pork from the fridge at least an hour before cooking.

What is a traditional Danish pork sandwich? ›

Flæskesteg Sandwich | TASTE. The key to this classic Danish sandwich is roast pork with the skin still on and cooked until crisp. It's crunchy, salty, and fatty not unlike chicharrón.

What is the most tender cut of pork for roasting? ›

Loin: The area between the shoulder and back legs is the leanest, most tender part of the animal. Rib and loin chops are cut from this area, as are pork loin roasts and tenderloin roasts.

What is the best cut of pork for roast dinner? ›

Pork leg and loin joints are excellent roasting joints with lean meat and good crackling, and a rack of pork is an impressive looking roast. If you prefer something richer, then shoulder joints and pork belly are ideal. They have a higher fat content that renders down during cooking to give lovely tender meat.

What is the special dessert they eat on Christmas Day in Denmark? ›

Risalamande - Danish Rice Pudding

Risalamande has been a beloved Christmas dessert in Denmark for decades. It is known from around year 1900, when the upper class began serving Risalamande with cherry sauce for Christmas instead of rice porridge.

What do Danish people drink on Christmas? ›

Gløgg – a hot and sweet mulled wine – goes hand in hand with the Danish Christmas season. Many Danes add additional alcohol in the form of schnapps or rum for fuller flavour and kick. You can also add fresh ginger for extra spice or chilli for heat. Enjoy!

What is the Danish national dish? ›

Denmark's national food dish: Stegt flæsk

The crispy pork with parsley sauce and potatoes is a very old dish that has won the hearts, and tummies, of Danes for centuries. You can try the Danes' national dish in many restaurants around Denmark.

Which cut of pork has the best flavor? ›

Pork belly is a fatty and indulgent cut that provides incredible flavor. It's where bacon comes from and has gained popularity in various cuisines. Flavor Profile: Pork belly offers a rich, melt-in-your-mouth texture and a distinct, savory flavor.

What is the most expensive pork cut? ›

In conclusion, the Iberian pork tenderloin is the most expensive cut due to its excellence in flavor, texture, and exclusivity. However, other scratches, such as the Iberian Secret and the Iberian Feather, also stand out as high-end options in gastronomy due to their unique qualities.

How to get crisp crackling on roast pork? ›

Heat the oven to a high temperature: 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Roast the pork for 15 mins to allow the heat to penetrate quickly. Turn the heat down to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and roast for another 1 hr 30 mins. If the crackling has not properly formed, turn the heat up again and check every 5 mins until the skin has crackled.

What is a traditional Danish breakfast? ›

Typical Danish breakfast is bread (white or rye bread) with cream or soft cheese, sausage, cured cold meat or jam with coffee or tea. Among popular breakfast dishes are also cereals and porridge. One of the most interesting things and a very traditional Danish food you can eat in Copenhagen is øllebrød.

What is the most eaten meat in Denmark? ›

Beef and pork are the most popular proteins. When the Danes eat meat at dinnertime, one in three opt for pork or beef.

Why is pork so popular in Denmark? ›

Pigs have probably been central to the Danish diet since the late Stone Age (Boyhuus 1998). Pork can be salted, a good method for preservation in the Danish climate, and the pig was a common domestic animal both inside and outside of cities.

What cut of meat is a Christmas roast? ›

ribeye roast (Prime RIb)

The Prime Rib, the classic holiday roast. With its rich, beefy flavor, you can't go wrong.

What cut of pork for crackling? ›

Start by buying one of the roasting cuts, such as pork loin, pork leg, pork shoulder or pork belly. Look for joints that have a good layer of fat beneath the rind and the flesh, which will give you the best results. You need to ensure your joint is scored before you cook it.

What is the most gelatinous cut of pork? ›

Foot. The shoulder primal also includes the front feet on the hog. There are a variety of ways to prepare pig's feet, but because the front feet are smaller than the back feet, they are typically the primary ingredient in gelatin. Pig's feet are excellent for making gelatin, since they are naturally rich in collagen.

What cut of pork is the tenderloin? ›

When you select the pork tenderloin, you need to be aware that it's a lean and tender cut of meat that you can grab from the meat section of the grocery store. Pork cut of meat: The tenderloin doesn't have a bone in it and is long and narrow. On the pig, the tenderloin comes from right next to the backbone.

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