Chef Klaus
Birnen, Bohnen und Speck
Schleswig-Holstein's sweet-salt bean pot, where small cooking pears go in whole beside Speck, smoked bacon, and the one rule is simple: keep the simmer low so the pears hold.
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Steckrübeneintopf (Hamburger National)
Created by
Hamburg's winter stew is built on stored roots and smoked pork, not expense. The swede must cook until soft, then stay in pieces, or you've made paste.
Soups & Stews
German
Make Ahead
One Pot
Budget Friendly
25 min
Active Time
1 hr 25 min cook•1 hr 50 min total
Yield6 servings
Steckrübeneintopf is northern winter food, and in Hamburg it carries the proud old name Hamburger National. Swede, potato, carrot, onion, smoked pork. That is the table after the fields have gone quiet and the larder has to speak. No showpiece cut. No garnish theatre. Das ist kein Bierzelt.
The north keeps it plain and smoky, often with Kasseler, pork belly, or Mettenden. Further south the same root is treated more like a side vegetable, sweeter, sometimes mashed harder, sometimes pushed toward a richer meat pot. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. Hamburg wants a stew you can ladle, with the swede still yellow and visible.
The technique is simple and easy to ruin: cut the swede larger than the potato and add the potato later. Swede takes longer to soften, and potato gives up starch fast; start everything the same size at the same time and the potato collapses before the swede is ready. Then you thicken with broken potato, not flour. Nicht aus dem Glas, and not from a packet either.
Buy a swede that feels heavy for its size. A light one is woody and dry, and it cooks to nothing while still tasting of cellar. Simmer gently, keep the smoked meat in the pot for its salt and fat, and season at the end because Kasseler and sausage have already spoken. Erst verstehen, dann kochen.
Steckrüben were grown across northern Germany as a storage root and livestock feed, then moved hard onto the human table during the First World War, especially in the Steckrübenwinter of 1916 to 1917, when the potato harvest failed under blockade and shortage. Hamburg kept its version under the joking, stubborn name Hamburger National, a city dish built from swede, potato, carrot, and smoked pork rather than from expensive meat. The surprising fact is that the same root once remembered as emergency food became a regional marker when cooked with enough fat, salt, and patience.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
swede (rutabaga)
Quantity
1.2kg
peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
floury potatoes
Quantity
700g
peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
carrots
Quantity
300g
peeled and cut into thick rounds
onions
Quantity
2
diced
leek
Quantity
1
cleaned and sliced
Kasseler or smoked pork neck
Quantity
400g
in one piece
smoked pork belly
Quantity
150g
rind kept on, cut into thick strips
lard or neutral oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons
unsalted pork or vegetable stock, or water
Quantity
1.5 litres
bay leaves
Quantity
2
black peppercorns
Quantity
6
lightly crushed
dried marjoram
Quantity
1 teaspoon
German medium mustard
Quantity
1 tablespoon, plus more to serve
salt and black pepper
Quantity
to taste
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| swede (rutabaga)peeled and cut into 3cm chunks | 1.2kg |
| floury potatoespeeled and cut into 2cm chunks | 700g |
| carrotspeeled and cut into thick rounds | 300g |
| onionsdiced | 2 |
| leekcleaned and sliced | 1 |
| Kasseler or smoked pork neckin one piece | 400g |
| smoked pork bellyrind kept on, cut into thick strips | 150g |
| lard or neutral oil | 2 tablespoons |
| unsalted pork or vegetable stock, or water | 1.5 litres |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| black peppercornslightly crushed | 6 |
| dried marjoram | 1 teaspoon |
| German medium mustard | 1 tablespoon, plus more to serve |
| salt and black pepper | to taste |
| flat-leaf parsleychopped | 2 tablespoons |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy lidded soup pot or Dutch oven, 5 to 6 litres
- •Sharp peeler and heavy knife
- •Ladle or potato masher
Instructions
- 1
Choose and cut
Peel the swede thickly until the tough outer layer is gone, then cut it into 3cm chunks. Cut the potatoes smaller, about 2cm, because they cook faster and will partly break down to thicken the stew. Keep the swede larger so it turns soft without disappearing.
Buy the swede that feels heavy and tight for its size. A light one is dry inside, and no amount of pork will give it back what the field didn't. - 2
Start the pot
Warm the lard in a heavy pot and cook the onions and leek with the smoked pork belly for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onion turns glassy and the pork fat begins to run. Do not brown it hard; this is a yellow root stew, not a roast sauce, and burnt onion drags the whole pot bitter.
- 3
Simmer the swede
Add the swede, carrots, Kasseler, bay leaves, peppercorns, and stock. Bring it just to a boil, then lower it to a quiet simmer and cook for 35 minutes. Runter mit der Temperatur. A hard boil knocks the root edges apart before the middle is tender, and the broth turns muddy.
- 4
Add the potatoes
Add the potatoes and marjoram, then simmer another 25 to 30 minutes, until the swede yields to a knife and the potatoes are soft enough to crush against the side of the pot. The late potatoes are the trick: they thicken the broth while the swede keeps its shape.
- 5
Lift and thicken
Lift out the Kasseler and pork belly. Mash a few ladles of potato and swede against the side of the pot, then stir them back through the broth. This gives body without flour, and it keeps the stew tasting of root and smoke instead of paste. Weggeworfen wird nichts, the cooking liquor stays in the pot.
- 6
Slice and finish
Slice the Kasseler and pork belly into spoon-sized pieces and return them to the stew. Stir in the mustard, then taste before adding salt because smoked pork can season the pot by itself. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss. Finish with black pepper and parsley, and serve with more mustard at the table.
Chef Tips
- •Floury potatoes are right here because they soften and thicken the broth. Waxy potatoes stay neat, which is useful in salad and wrong in this pot.
- •Use unsalted stock or water if your Kasseler is strongly smoked. Salt early and you'll chase the pot all afternoon, which is not cooking, it's repairing.
- •Make it a day ahead if you can. The smoke settles into the roots overnight, and the stew reheats cleanly over low heat with a splash of water if it has tightened.
- •A spoon of mustard at the end matters. It cuts the sweetness of the swede and the fat of the pork, and it belongs on the northern table.
Advance Preparation
- •Peel and cut the swede, carrots, onions, and leek up to one day ahead; keep them covered in the refrigerator so the cut edges don't dry out.
- •The finished stew keeps 3 days in the refrigerator and is better on the second day. Reheat gently and add a little water or stock because the potato thickens as it sits.
- •Do not freeze it if you care about the potato texture. It will be edible, but the potato turns grainy, and we are not running a punishment kitchen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 700g)
Calories
520 calories
Total Fat
26 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
17 g
Cholesterol
70 mg
Sodium
1550 mg
Total Carbohydrates
50 g
Dietary Fiber
10 g
Sugars
15 g
Protein
22 g
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