Flæskesteg is a pork roast made from the pork loin with the rind left on and is one of the main Danish national dishes.
It is traditionally served on December 24th during Christmas Eve dinner.
For centuries, pork has been the favored meat in Denmark, which remains as of 2020, one of Europe’s leading pork producers. But this was before the second industrial revolution around 1860, when wood stoves were introduced into homes.
Thus, in addition to sausages and ham, roast pork became a popular dish.
The meat is always cooked with its rind, resulting in a crispy coating which is one of the main features of the dish.
Before baking, the pig skin is scored with a knife down to the layer of fat underneath.
The roast is usually served with caramelized brown potatoes and/or red cabbage with vinegar: Flæskesteg og brunede kartofler (with potatoes) and flæskesteg med rødkål (with red cabbage).
The latter can also be served cold on dark rye bread as an open sandwich, one of the countless varieties of smørrebrød.
Thin slices of pork are served with their crispy skin. The sandwich can be garnished with red cabbage, plum, a slice of orange, and a pickled cucumber.
The recipe was made during a live social event on my TikTok profile with fellow blogger Carmen, from the blog Cooking for you.
From the same anatomical cut sliced into pieces comes another of the Danish national dishes, stegt flæsk og persillesovs.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Danish
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients
- 3.3 lbs pork loin with rind
- 8 leaves bay leaf
- to taste coarse salt
- to taste black pepper
- to taste butter
- 4 potatoes
- 1 red cabbage (or purple)
- 1 glass white wine vinegar
- to taste salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Tools
- 1 Thermometer meat
Steps
Score the rind perpendicular to the grain of the meat.
Boil 1 liter of water and immerse the roast on the rind side, only the rind.
Cook in the oven at 392°F for 20 minutes.
Remove the roast, pat it dry, and sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper.
Insert bay leaves into the cuts.
Place the meat on a rack over the water and put it back in the oven at 356°F for 45 minutes.
Using the meat thermometer, monitor the internal temperature at 131°F and continue until it reaches 149°F, at 392°F oven cooking to make the crust crispy (5 minutes, with the oven door open).
To accompany with a sauce, you can reduce the pork cooking juices, 10 minutes with 1 tablespoon of starch.
Potatoes: caramelize 1 teaspoon of sugar with a pat of butter and cook the previously boiled potatoes (4), sliced, until browned.
Cabbage: finely chop the red or purple cabbage, sauté it in a pan with butter or olive oil.
Add 1 glass of white vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and cook covered for about 30 minutes.
To score the rind, use a sharp knife, like SHANZU that you can buy with an 8% discount directly at the link.
