Flæskesteg (Danish Pork Roast with Crispy Crackling)
A quintessential Danish dish, Flæskesteg features a succulent pork loin roast with incredibly crispy crackling, often served with caramelized potatoes and red cabbage.
🧂 Ingredients
- 1.5 kg Pork loin roast(skin on, scored deeply)
- 2 tbsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- 4 whole Bay leaves
- 250 ml Water
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
- 2
Pat the pork skin dry thoroughly with paper towels. This is crucial for crispy crackling.
- 3
Rub the salt generously into the scored skin, ensuring it gets between the cuts. Season the rest of the roast with pepper.
- 4
Place the pork roast in a roasting pan, skin-side up. Tuck bay leaves into the scores in the skin.
- 5
Pour the water into the bottom of the roasting pan. This helps create steam and keeps the meat moist.
- 6
Roast for 30 minutes at 200°C (400°F), then reduce the oven temperature to 175°C (350°F) and roast for another 2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 70°C (158°F).
- 7
For extra crispy crackling, you can increase the oven temperature to 230°C (450°F) for the last 10-15 minutes, watching carefully to prevent burning.
- 8
Remove the roast from the oven and let it rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.
- 9
Carve the roast, ensuring each slice has some of the crispy crackling. Serve with gravy made from the pan juices, caramelized potatoes (brunede kartofler), and red cabbage (rødkål).
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Ensure the pork skin is completely dry for the best crackling.
- ✓Score the skin deeply, but not into the meat, to help the salt penetrate.
- ✓Basting is generally not recommended for Flæskesteg as it can soften the crackling.
🔄 Variations
- Add cloves of garlic into the scores of the skin along with the bay leaves.
- A touch of ground juniper berries can be rubbed into the meat for added flavor.