Flæskesteg (Danish Christmas Pork Roast)

New: December 2019

1 kg Boneless pork roast with rind
coarse salt
5 dried bay leaves (I used 14 with 2 kg of pork)

1. Use a sharp knife to cut long deep grooves in the rind of the pork roast. The grooves should be about 5 mm (1/5 inch) apart. Make sure to make deep grooves in the rind but do not cut into the actually meat.
2. Rub the entire roast thoroughly with coarse salt. Especially, make sure that you get lots of salt in the grooves. (TIP: rub salt on when you're ready to put it on the oven, not early)
3. Place 3-6 dried bay leaves in the grooves - this can be omitted if you do not have any. (TIP: push them really far down into the grooves, otherwise they will get burnt at the end)
4.Place the roast on a rack with a roasting pan underneath. In the roasting pan; add 1/2 liter (2 cups) of water and some sliced carrots and onions. This water with the vegetables can later be used to make a nice gravy. Make sure that the roast is lying in a horizontal position. You can use a ball of aluminium foil under the roast to level it. If you do not do this you risk that the rind gets an uneven color or get burned.
5.Preheat the oven to 225 C (440 F) and cook the roast for 15 minutes.
6.Turn down the heat to 200 C (400 F) and continue cooking.
When the core temperature is 57 C (135 F) turn on the grill function in the oven. This make sure that the rind gets nice and crisp. Keep an eye on the roast so that you don't burn it.
7.The roast is done when the core temperature is 65 C (150 F). It takes about 1.5 hours to reach this temperature. If the water evaporates during the cooking, you should add some extra.
8.When the roast is done; take it out of the oven. Let it rest for about 15 minutes or eat it right away. Cut the roast in slices at each groove.
9. If you want to make a nice gravy; drain the vegetables form the water and pour it in a sauce pan. Add some heavy cream and some brown gravy coloring. Add salt to taste.




Adapted from:

https://nordicfoodliving.com/danish-roast-pork-with-crackling-flaeskesteg/


Tip 1; When preparing this pork roast you need to cut deep grooves in the rind about 5mm (1/5 inch) apart. In this step it is important that the grooves are deep but do not goes all the way down to the actual meat.

Tip 2; It is also important the you add plenty of salt on the rind and down in-between the grooves. If you do not add enough salt you risk that the rind do not get nice and crisp.


Tip 3; finally, is important that the roast is lying in a horizontal position when cooking it in the oven. This makes sure that the rind is cooking evenly, so you do not risk that one end is burned and the other is under cooked.