Flaesketeg-Danish Christmas Roast
This is the classic Christmas meal in
Denmark. This recipe serves four people, at least.
Ingredients:
- 4 lbs loin of pork with the skin on,
and scored all the way down to just before the flesh in lines 1inch apart (ask
the butcher to do this if necessary)
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 1 or 2 bay leaves
-1 cup boiling water
- few sprigs of thyme
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 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 350, 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 1 cup 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.
- Increase the oven temperature back up
to 425 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 kick start the process (but
keep a close eye on it, or else you could end up with a burnt crackling).
- 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.
Brunkartofler -
Caramelized potatoes
A traditional accompaniment to Danish
roast pork. It's a bit sweet so we only eat these once a year.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1lbpeeled and cooked small new
potatoes - must be COLD.
Method:
- 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 caramelized 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.
NOTE: Always use potatoes that are completely cold. If
you’re preparing them yourself, peel and cook them the day before.
Red Cabbage
· 1 (2
pound) red cabbage
· 2tablespoonbutter
1/4 cup
distilled white vinegar
1 cup
cranberry juice
· 2
tablespoons sugar, or more to taste
· salt to
taste
Directions
1. Remove
the outer set of leaves of cabbage and discard. Cut cabbage quarters; remove and
discard white stem. Chop remaining cabbage finely.
2. Melt
butter in a pot over medium heat. Cook and stir cabbage in melted butter until
softened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour vinegar over cabbage and stir to coat.
Add cranberry juice and sugar to the pot. Season cabbage mixture with salt.
3. Reduce
heat to low, place a cover on the pot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until
the cabbage is completely tender, 60 to 75 minutes. Add more sugar towards the
end if it is tart.
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