Flæskesteg
Roast pork with crackling
Flæskesteg: Danish roast pork with crackling for Christmas
Flæskesteg is the Danish Christmas Eve roast: a pork loin or belly with its rind scored deep, rubbed with salt and bay, and roasted until the crackling puffs into crisp, golden ridges. This is a pork dish. It is served with brunede kartofler, red cabbage, plain boiled potatoes and gravy, and the crackling is the prize everyone fights over. A common mistake is scoring the rind too shallow or not all the way across, so it cracks unevenly. Chef's tip: start the joint rind-down in a little boiling water for 20 minutes, which softens the rind, then turn it up and roast; it crackles evenly. Whole pork joints are safe at 63 °C followed by a 15-minute rest.
- Total time
- 140 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the roast
- 4 ⅜ lb boned pork loin with rindrind scored 5 mm apart down to the fat
- 2 tbsp coarse salt
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
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What you'll need
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 425°F (fan 400°F). Pour 2 cups boiling water into a roasting tin and lay 4 ⅜ lb boned pork loin with rind rind-down in it. Roast for 20 minutes.
20 minStep 2: Turn the pork rind-up. Rub 2 tbsp coarse salt into the scores and tuck 6 bay leaves and 1 tsp black peppercorns into the cuts. Common mistake: shallow scoring; the crackling is patchy.
Step 3: Lower the oven to 350°F (fan 325°F) and roast for 1¼–1½ hours, until the centre reaches 145°F.
90 minStep 4: Turn the oven to 475°F (fan 450°F) or the grill to high for 10 minutes, watching, until the crackling puffs and crisps.
10 minStep 5: Rest for 15 minutes before carving. Keep the tin juices for gravy.
15 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 0 g
- Fat
- 46 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does flæskesteg take?
- About 140 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 120 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of bay leaves?
- Leave it out, or a pinch of dried thyme (it's a background flavour).
- What can I use instead of black peppercorns?
- Ground black pepper, a little less than the amount.
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