Chef Freja
Andelår med Rødkål
Slow-roasted duck legs with crisp, deeply golden skin, served with braised red cabbage and caramelized potatoes. The weeknight Danish duck that proves the best part of the bird is the one that takes its time.
Culinary Explorer
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Grillede Nakkekoteletter
Created by Chef Freja
Marbled pork neck chops grilled over charcoal until the fat renders and the edges char, served with buttered new potatoes and dill. The weeknight dinner that means summer has arrived in Denmark.
Main Dishes
Danish
BBQ
Outdoor Dining
Weeknight
15 min
Active Time
20 min cook•1 hr 35 min total
Yield4 servings
June in Denmark is a dare. The sun stays up past ten, the air smells like cut grass and warm stone, and every garden, balcony, and patch of shared courtyard becomes a kitchen. This is when the grill comes out. Not the elaborate setup you might imagine, just a simple charcoal grill, a bag of briquettes, and nakkekoteletter.
Pork neck chops are the weeknight grill cut in Denmark. They're thick, marbled with fat that renders slowly over the coals, and almost impossible to ruin if you understand one thing: the fat is not a problem, it's the whole point. That white marbling melts as the chop cooks, basting the meat from the inside, keeping it juicy even if you leave it on the grill a minute too long. This is a forgiving cut, and it rewards you for trusting it.
The preparation is simple. A quick marinade of rapeseed oil, garlic, and coarse salt, then heat. What matters is the grill itself: hot enough to sear the surface and render the fat, not so hot that the outside chars before the inside is done. I'll walk you through exactly how to read the heat and when to turn. You'll know when it's right. The smell alone will tell you.
Denmark has been one of Europe's leading pork producers since the cooperative movement of the late 1800s transformed Danish agriculture from grain export to livestock, and pork became the foundation protein of the home kitchen. The nakkekotelet, cut from the well-marbled collar of the pig, emerged as the preferred grilling cut precisely because its fat content made it forgiving over open flame. Charcoal grilling became widespread in Denmark during the 1960s and 1970s, but the Danes made it their own: cold kartoffelsalat on the table, remoulade within reach, and the long light of midsummer as the only clock.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
pork neck chops (nakkekoteletter)
Quantity
4, about 250g each
about 2cm thick
rapeseed oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons
garlic
Quantity
3 cloves
finely grated
smoked paprika
Quantity
1 teaspoon
coarse sea salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon
black pepper
Quantity
1 teaspoon
freshly ground
small new potatoes
Quantity
800g
scrubbed
unsalted butter
Quantity
30g
fresh dill
Quantity
small bunch
roughly chopped
flaky sea salt
Quantity
to finish
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| pork neck chops (nakkekoteletter)about 2cm thick | 4, about 250g each |
| rapeseed oil | 3 tablespoons |
| garlicfinely grated | 3 cloves |
| smoked paprika | 1 teaspoon |
| coarse sea salt | 1 tablespoon |
| black pepperfreshly ground | 1 teaspoon |
| small new potatoesscrubbed | 800g |
| unsalted butter | 30g |
| fresh dillroughly chopped | small bunch |
| flaky sea salt | to finish |
Equipment Needed
- •Charcoal grill or heavy cast-iron pan
- •Long-handled tongs (never a fork, which pierces the meat and lets the juices escape)
- •Shallow dish for marinating
- •Large pot for the potatoes
Instructions
- 1
Marinade the chops
Mix the rapeseed oil, grated garlic, smoked paprika, coarse salt, and black pepper in a shallow dish. Lay the pork neck chops in the mixture and turn them until they're coated on all sides. Cover and leave at room temperature for one hour, or in the fridge for up to four hours if you're planning ahead. The salt draws moisture to the surface and the meat gradually reabsorbs it, seasoning the chop all the way through. Fifteen minutes of marinating is better than none, but an hour is where the difference really tells.
Take the chops out of the fridge thirty minutes before grilling. Cold meat on a hot grill seizes up and cooks unevenly. Room temperature is your starting point. - 2
Prepare the grill
Light the charcoal and let it burn until the briquettes are covered in a layer of white ash. This takes about twenty-five minutes and there is no shortcut. Spread the coals so you have a hot zone and a cooler zone. The hot side sears the meat and renders the fat. The cooler side is your safety zone when the dripping fat causes flare-ups. Hold your hand ten centimetres above the grate on the hot side. If you have to pull it away after three seconds, the heat is right.
If you're cooking indoors, heat a heavy cast-iron pan over high heat until it just begins to smoke. Add a tablespoon of rapeseed oil. The technique is the same: high heat first, then patience. You'll get an excellent result. - 3
Boil the new potatoes
While the coals are catching, put the new potatoes in a pot of well-salted cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until a knife slides through without any resistance, about fifteen to eighteen minutes depending on size. Start them in cold water, not boiling. Cold water lets them heat evenly from the outside in. If you drop them into boiling water the surface turns to mush before the centre is done. Drain, return to the warm pot, add the butter and most of the chopped dill, and toss gently. The butter melts into the hot potatoes and the dill perfumes everything. Cover and set aside while you grill.
- 4
Grill the chops
Lay the chops on the hot side of the grill. Don't touch them for four minutes. The fat will begin to render, the surface will sear, and you'll hear the steady hiss that tells you the heat is doing its work. After four minutes, flip once. Give them another four minutes on the second side. If the dripping fat causes flare-ups, slide the chops to the cooler side until the flames settle, then move them back. The total cooking time is eight to ten minutes for chops that are two centimetres thick. The surface should be deep golden-brown with charred edges where the fat met the flame.
Resist the urge to press the chops down with a spatula. Pressing squeezes out the juices you spent an hour marinating into the meat. Lay them down and leave them alone. The grill does the work. - 5
Rest the meat
Move the chops to a warm plate and cover loosely with foil. Let them rest for five minutes. This is not optional. Resting lets the muscle fibers relax and the juices redistribute through the meat instead of pooling on the plate the moment you cut in. If you skip this step you lose what you spent the whole cook building. Five minutes. The chops will stay hot.
- 6
Serve at the table
Bring the chops and the pot of buttered potatoes to the table together. Scatter the remaining dill over the potatoes and finish the chops with a pinch of flaky sea salt. That's the whole meal. If you have remoulade in the fridge, put it on the table. A bowl of agurkesalat, the quick Danish cucumber salad dressed in sweet vinegar, is the classic alongside. But the chops and the potatoes are enough on their own. The season decides, and in June, the season says keep it simple. Tak for mad.
Chef Tips
- •Pork neck is sold under different names outside Denmark. Look for pork collar, pork scotch, or bone-in pork shoulder chops. What you want is visible white marbling running through the meat. If the chop looks lean, it's the wrong cut. The fat is what makes this dish work.
- •Rapeseed oil is the cooking fat of the Danish kitchen. It has a clean, slightly nutty flavor that suits pork well. If you can't find it, a mild olive oil works, but sunflower oil is closer in character to what you're replacing.
- •If you don't own a charcoal grill, a cast-iron pan on the stovetop gives you an excellent sear. Get the pan properly hot before the meat goes in. The sizzle should be immediate and loud. If the chop doesn't sing the moment it touches the surface, the pan isn't ready.
- •Serve with cold Danish pilsner or a glass of dry white wine. This is summer eating, and the drink should match the mood, not compete with the food.
Advance Preparation
- •The chops can marinate in the fridge for up to four hours. Longer than that and the salt begins to cure the surface, changing the texture in a way you don't want. Take them out thirty minutes before grilling to bring them to room temperature.
- •Boil the potatoes just before grilling. They hold their heat well in a covered pot and are best served warm, not reheated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 395g)
Calories
750 calories
Total Fat
49 g
Saturated Fat
17 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
30 g
Cholesterol
200 mg
Sodium
1400 mg
Total Carbohydrates
35 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
44 g
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