Niederbayerischer Surbraten

Surbraten belongs to Niederbayern, Lower Bavaria, and to the larder. This is pork shoulder or neck laid in Sur, the salt brine, for several days before it ever sees the oven. The cure seasons the meat all the way through and helps it hold its juice, which is why the old kitchens bothered. Das braucht seine Zeit.

Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. In the north, cured pork often means Kasseler, smoked and sliced with cabbage. In Lower Bavaria, the cure goes into a roast: garlic, caraway, onion, a dark pan jus, Knödel, dumplings, and sauerkraut if the cellar has done its work. Austria has its Surbraten too, close cousin, sometimes leaner and sharper with kraut. I won't make one national rule where the regions never did.

The deciding technique is the brine strength and the cool roast. Too little salt and you have ordinary pork with a salty edge. Too much and you've made ham by accident. Keep the shoulder submerged, cold, and turned daily, then start the roast in a modest oven so the cured meat warms through gently and the fat renders without squeezing the shoulder dry. Runter mit der Temperatur. A cured roast punishes haste faster than a fresh one.

Use the bones or rind if your butcher gives them to you. They go under the roast and into the jus, because Weggeworfen wird nichts. The sauce is pan liquor, onion, bone, and patience. Nicht aus dem Glas.