Svinekod med Brunkal

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy casserole or Dutch oven, 5 litre, with tight lid
• •Wide heavy-bottomed pan for the cabbage, 28cm
• •Sharp chef's knife for shredding the cabbage
• •Kitchen string for tying the pork
• •Fine sieve for straining the braising liquid

Instructions

1. 1

   Season and sear the pork

   Pat the pork completely dry with kitchen paper and season it generously on all sides with salt and pepper. Wet meat will steam instead of brown, and brown is where the flavor lives. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then lower the pork in and leave it alone. Don't move it for four minutes at a time on each side. You're building a deep mahogany crust, and that crust is the foundation of the braise.

   If the pan smokes lightly, that's fine. If it smokes heavily and the oil turns dark, pull it off the heat for a moment. You want the fat to brown, never burn.
2. 2

   Start the braise

   Lift the browned pork out onto a plate. Tip out any blackened fat but leave the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the quartered onion, cut-side down, and let it color for two minutes. Return the pork to the pot, tuck in the bay leaves and peppercorns, and pour in the stock. It should come about a third of the way up the meat, no more. This is a braise, not a boil. Bring it to the gentlest simmer, cover, and slide into a 150C oven. Set a timer for two hours.

   If your lid doesn't fit tightly, lay a sheet of parchment directly on the meat before closing the pot. That keeps the moisture in and the surface from drying out.
3. 3

   Shred the cabbage

   While the pork braises, core the cabbage and slice it as finely as you can. Thin shreds cook down evenly and take on the caramel and vinegar properly. Thick shreds stay pale in the middle and the whole dish goes wrong. A sharp knife and patience will get you there. Pile the shredded cabbage into a bowl and set it beside the stove, ready to go.

4. 4

   Caramelize the sugar

   Melt the butter in a wide, heavy pan over medium heat until it foams. Scatter the sugar evenly across the surface and leave it alone. Don't stir. Watch. The sugar will melt into the butter and slowly darken, going from pale gold to amber to the color of polished wood. This takes three to four minutes. The smell will shift from sweet to nutty to almost toasted. The moment it smells toasted, you need to move. Go too far and the whole pan tastes burnt. Stop too soon and the cabbage will never find its color.

   You're looking for the color of maple syrup held up to the light. If you're unsure, stop earlier rather than later. A paler caramel is recoverable. A burnt one isn't.
5. 5

   Coat the cabbage

   Tip the shredded cabbage into the pan in one go and start tossing immediately with a wooden spoon. The caramel will seize and harden at first. That's fine. Keep tossing. The water from the cabbage will loosen it again within a minute or two, and every strand will start picking up the color. Don't panic when it looks like a mess. This is the moment brunkal begins.

6. 6

   Add vinegar and braise

   Pour in the vinegar and stand back for a second. The steam comes up sharp and will clear your sinuses. Stir it through, then add the stock, bay leaves, peppercorns, and a good pinch of salt. Lower the heat to the softest simmer, cover the pan, and let the cabbage cook for forty-five minutes to an hour. Stir every ten minutes or so. The cabbage will shrink by more than half and deepen to a dark mahogany, glossy with its own liquid. Taste it. Adjust for salt and a touch more vinegar if it wants brightness. You'll know when it's right. It should taste sweet, sour, rich, and a little savage all at the same time.

7. 7

   Rest the pork

   When the timer goes, check the pork with a fork. It should yield completely with no resistance. If there's any tension left, give it another twenty minutes. When it's ready, lift it carefully onto a board and cover it loosely with foil. Let it rest for at least ten minutes. Cutting it too soon lets all the juice escape onto the board instead of staying in the meat. While it rests, strain the braising liquid into a small pan, skim the fat, and reduce it over high heat until it's slightly syrupy. This is your sauce.

8. 8

   Carve and serve

   Remove the string from the pork and slice it thickly against the grain. Spoon a generous heap of brunkal onto each warm plate, lay two or three slices of pork beside it, and pour a little of the reduced braising sauce over the meat. Serve with boiled potatoes and a small mound of strong Danish mustard on the edge of the plate. The mustard is not optional. It's the bright note that ties the sweet cabbage and the rich pork together. Tak for mad.

Chef Tips

• •The pork can be any well-marbled cut that loves a slow braise. Shoulder is ideal. Pork neck is even better if your butcher has it. Loin will go dry. Don't use loin.
• •Apple cider vinegar gives a softer, fruitier sourness than white wine vinegar, and it's closer to what Jutland cooks have traditionally used. If you only have white wine vinegar, use a spoon less, it's sharper.
• •Brunkal tastes better the next day. If you have the patience, make it the day before, cool it, and reheat gently. The flavors settle and deepen overnight in a way you can't rush.
• •A cold pilsner or a glass of aquavit is the drink for this meal. Red wine fights the vinegar in the cabbage. Beer understands it.

Advance Preparation

• •The brunkal can be made up to two days ahead and kept covered in the fridge. Reheat slowly in a covered pan with a splash of stock to loosen it. The flavor deepens overnight, which is why many Danish cooks make it the day before Christmas.
• •The pork can also be braised a day ahead. Let it cool in its braising liquid, which keeps it tender and juicy, then reheat gently in the liquid before slicing.
• •If you're cooking for Christmas lunch, make both components the day before. On the day, all you need to do is reheat, carve, and plate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 620g)