Flaeskesteg paa Rugbrod

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Roasting tin with a wire rack
• •Very sharp knife or clean utility blade for scoring the rind
• •Meat thermometer
• •Heavy pot with a lid for the red cabbage
• •Mandoline for the cucumber
• •Sharp heavy knife for slicing the cold pork

Instructions

1. 1

   Braise the red cabbage

   Start with the rodkaal, ideally the day before. Melt the butter in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the shredded cabbage and grated apple and stir to coat them in the butter. Pour in the red wine vinegar, the red currant jelly, the sugar, the salt, and the cloves. Stir everything together, bring it to a gentle simmer, and cover the pot. Cook on a low heat for an hour and a half, stirring every fifteen minutes, until the cabbage is dark, glossy, and soft enough to give way under a spoon. The jelly and vinegar need time to work into the leaves. If you rush this, the cabbage stays sharp and crunchy instead of turning silky.

   Rodkaal always tastes better the next day. Make it ahead, cool it, and keep it in the fridge. The flavors settle and deepen overnight.
2. 2

   Score and salt the rind

   Pat the pork rind completely dry with kitchen paper. Moisture is the enemy of crackling. If your butcher has not scored the rind, do it yourself with a very sharp knife. Cut down through the rind and the fat layer underneath, stopping just above the meat. The scores should be about half a centimetre apart. Push a whole bay leaf into every second score. Now rub the coarse salt hard into every cut, working it deep into the rind. This is the moment that decides whether the crackling will be crisp or leathery. Be generous. The salt pulls the last of the water out of the rind and seasons the fat as it renders.

3. 3

   Roast the pork

   Heat the oven to 220C. Place the pork on a rack set inside a roasting tin, rind side up. Pour the water into the bottom of the tin, not over the pork. The water keeps the pan drippings from burning and creates a gentle steam that helps the rind lift. Roast for twenty minutes at this high heat. This is the stage that puffs the rind and starts the crackling. Then reduce the heat to 180C and continue roasting for another hour and a quarter, or until a meat thermometer pushed into the thickest part of the loin reads 65C. If the crackling has not turned deep golden and crisp by then, raise the heat to 230C for the last ten minutes and watch it carefully.

   You'll hear the crackling before you see it. A soft popping sound from the oven means the rind is giving up its water and turning crisp. That's the sound you're listening for.
4. 4

   Rest and cool

   Take the pork out and let it rest on a board for at least twenty minutes before cutting. For flaeskesteg paa rugbrod you actually want it cold, so after the initial rest, cool it completely and then chill it in the fridge for at least two hours, or overnight. Cold pork slices cleanly and thinly in a way warm pork never does. The fat sets, the meat firms, and the crackling holds its shape on top of each slice.

5. 5

   Make the cucumber salad

   While the pork chills, prepare the agurkesalat. Slice the cucumber as thinly as you can. A mandoline gives you the translucent sheets you want. Lay the slices in a bowl. In a small pan, warm the white wine vinegar with the sugar, salt, and white pepper until the sugar has fully dissolved. Pour the warm dressing over the cucumber and press the slices down so they're submerged. Leave them to pickle for at least thirty minutes at room temperature, or up to a day in the fridge. The cucumber will go translucent and slightly soft, cool and sweet-sour, the perfect counter to the rich pork.

6. 6

   Slice the pork

   Lay the cold pork on a board, crackling side up, and cut it with a sharp heavy knife. You want slices about half a centimetre thick, each one with a strip of crackling still attached along the top edge. Work slowly. The crackling will want to fly off under the knife, and if you press too hard the slice will crumble. A firm, steady cut gives you what you need. You'll get four or five good slices for four pieces of smorrebrod, with plenty left over for the next lunch.

7. 7

   Assemble the smorrebrod

   Spread each slice of rugbrod with a thin, even layer of soft butter, going right to the edges. This is not optional. The butter is the layer that keeps the rye from going damp under the toppings, and it carries its own flavor into the bite. Lay two slices of cold pork on each piece of bread, slightly overlapping, with the crackling edges facing the same way. Spoon a small mound of rodkaal along one side of the pork. Arrange a few slices of pickled cucumber along the other side, lifting them from the dressing and letting them drain for a moment first. Finish each piece with a thin twist of orange peel laid across the top and a small sprig of flat-leaf parsley. Serve at once. Tak for mad.

   The orange twist is not decoration. It carries a sharp citrus note that cuts through the fat of the pork, and it belongs on this piece the way dill belongs on herring. Don't skip it.

Chef Tips

• •Ask your butcher for a piece of pork loin with the rind still on, already scored if possible. A good butcher will know what flaeskesteg means. If yours doesn't, ask for a pork loin roast with rind, and score it yourself with a very sharp knife the night before.
• •Dry rind is the whole secret. If you have time, leave the scored and salted pork uncovered in the fridge overnight before roasting. The cold air pulls the last of the moisture out and the crackling will be better for it.
• •Make the rodkaal at least a day ahead. Always. Freshly cooked red cabbage tastes sharp and unfinished. A day in the fridge turns it into something else entirely, darker, softer, more rounded.
• •If the crackling softens overnight in the fridge, cut it off the cold pork, lay it on a tray, and flash it under a very hot grill for a minute until it crisps again. Then set the crackling back on top of the sliced meat when you assemble the smorrebrod.
• •A small glass of cold aquavit alongside is traditional, and it earns its place. The sharpness cuts through the fat of the pork the way the orange peel does, from a different angle.

Advance Preparation

• •Rodkaal keeps beautifully for up to three days in the fridge and improves overnight. Make it the day before you plan to serve.
• •The pork can be roasted a full day ahead and chilled overnight. This is actually the preferred timing for smorrebrod, because cold pork slices thinner and cleaner than warm pork ever will.
• •Agurkesalat can be made up to two days ahead. The cucumber softens and the flavor deepens as it sits.
• •Assemble the smorrebrod only when you're ready to serve. Built pieces don't hold. The rugbrod stays dry and the crackling stays crisp only if the toppings go on at the last moment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 460g)