Schmöllner Mutzbraten

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Covered charcoal grill, rotisserie grill, or Mutzbratenstand
• •Long metal skewers or rotisserie spit
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fireproof gloves and long tongs
• •Medium pot with lid for sauerkraut

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut and season

   Cut the pork neck into 6 fist-sized pieces, each about 5 to 6cm thick and 220 to 300g, leaving the fat seams in place. Mix the salt, marjoram, and black pepper, then rub every surface well, pushing the seasoning into the folds. The size matters: small cubes dry out before the fat melts, and one large roast never gets enough birchwood character on the cut faces.

   Use pork neck, Schweinekamm, if you can get it. Loin is too lean and goes dry; shoulder works in a pinch, but neck has the fat threaded through the meat, and that is what makes this dish forgiving.
2. 2

   Rest the rub

   Cover the seasoned pork and refrigerate it at least 8 hours, up to 24. Salt first draws moisture to the surface and then pulls it back in, carrying the marjoram and pepper with it; rush this and the seasoning sits outside like dust. Bring the meat out 45 minutes before grilling, so the center is no longer refrigerator-cold when the outside starts browning.

3. 3

   Cook the kraut

   Melt the lard in a pot and soften the onion until it turns glassy, not brown, because burnt onion fights the sour cabbage. Add the sauerkraut, grated apple, bay leaf, juniper, caraway if using, and stock, apple juice, or water. Cover and simmer 40 to 50 minutes, stirring now and then, until the cabbage is tender but still has bite. Keep the cooking liquor in the pot; it carries salt, acid, and fat. Weggeworfen wird nichts.

   Loose barrel sauerkraut is best. If your kraut is very sharp, rinse only half of it, not all of it; you want the acid to cut the pork, not disappear.
4. 4

   Build the embers

   Light charcoal or small birch logs and wait until the flames have settled into steady embers. Set up a two-zone grill or a rotisserie fire at about 150 to 170C, with the meat sitting beside or above the heat rather than directly in a flare. Use untreated birch only; construction timber, painted wood, and resinous softwood taste bitter and don't belong near food. Flames burn marjoram before the fat has time to soften. Runter mit der Temperatur.

   A little birch bark is fine for lighting, but don't cook over a pile of bark. It burns fast and sooty. You want clean embers and a steady wood character, not a bitter crust.
5. 5

   Skewer the pork

   Thread the pork pieces onto a rotisserie spit or long metal skewers with a finger-width space between pieces, so heat can move around each one. If the pork is very lean, wipe it lightly with oil or melted lard, but don't make an oil marinade; this dish is seasoned meat, not wet meat. Set the skewers 20 to 30cm from the embers and start turning at once, because rotation bastes the pork with its own fat instead of letting one side blacken.

6. 6

   Roast it slowly

   Cook the pork 75 to 105 minutes, turning every 5 to 8 minutes if you don't have a rotisserie. Keep the grill steady and add small amounts of fuel as needed; big changes in heat tighten the meat before the fat has done its work. The Mutzbraten is ready when the outside is dark brown with specks of marjoram, the fat seams look glossy, and the center reads 74 to 76C on an instant-read thermometer. If the edges blacken early, move the meat farther from the fire. If it stays pale after an hour, add a few fresh embers. Das braucht seine Zeit.

7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Rest the pork 10 to 15 minutes before cutting, because the juices need a moment to settle back into the meat. Slice each piece across the grain or serve it whole, as it would come from the stand. Put sauerkraut, rye bread or rolls, and mustard beside it. Stir any juices from the board into the kraut, not down the sink. No gravy. The smoke is the sauce, and Schön ist, was schmeckt.

Chef Tips

• •Don't use pork loin. It looks neat and cooks badly here, because it has no fat seams to melt through the meat. Schweinekamm, pork neck, is the cut.
• •Keep the seasoning narrow. Salt, pepper, marjoram. Outside Schmölln, cooks argue in garlic, caraway, paprika, beer, and oil; for this version, those stay out of the bowl.
• •The wood matters. Birch gives the dish its local character, and untreated wood is not negotiable. If you must use charcoal for control, add clean birch chunks through the cook.
• •Use the thermometer without shame. A fist-sized piece of pork can look done outside before the center is ready, and old kitchen pride is not a food-safety method.
• •Leftovers belong on rye the next day with mustard and a spoon of cold sauerkraut. Slice the pork thin, keep the fat, and let the bread do its work.

Advance Preparation

• •Season the pork 8 to 24 hours ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. The rest is where the salt does real work.
• •Cook the sauerkraut a day ahead if you like. It reheats well because the cabbage has already given up its raw edge, and the apple, juniper, and fat settle into it overnight.
• •Do not grill the Mutzbraten hours ahead for serving. It wants a short rest, then the table. Leftovers are good cold, but a fresh Mutzbraten should not wait around.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 420g)