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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Updrögt Bohnen
Created by
Ostfriesland's winter bean pot is made before the pot gets warm: green beans dried on a string, then soaked back to life and stewed with smoke.
Side Dishes
German
Make Ahead
Budget Friendly
25 min
Active Time
1 hr 45 min cook•14 hr 10 min total
Yield4 main servings or 6 side servings
Updrögt Bohnen is Ostfriesland in a winter pot: green beans dried on a string in summer, then soaked back for the months when the garden has nothing more to give. It is called a side dish on paper, but with smoked pork and Pinkel, the coarse smoked oat sausage of the northwest, it can carry a table by itself. This is larder cooking, not decoration.
Every region has its bean argument. East Frisia wants the dried bean first and the smoke second; Westphalia and the Lower Rhine know Dörrbohnen too, but the pot leans differently, more Mettwurst here, more bacon there, and farther south the bean is usually fresh, sour, or dressed cold. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. Das ist kein Bierzelt.
The drying is the dish, and the soak decides whether it works. I cover the beans in plenty of cold water and leave them overnight, because the pod has to open slowly from the seam inward; rush it in a hard boil and the outside collapses while the middle stays leathery. When they bend without cracking, they are ready for the pot.
Then runter mit der Temperatur: a quiet simmer with smoked rind, Kasseler, and Pinkel, never a rolling boil that bursts the sausage and muddies the broth with fat. The potatoes go in later because they need half the time the beans need, and a few of them can break at the end to thicken the cooking liquor. Weggeworfen wird nichts. The broth is the sauce.
The Low German name Updrögt Bohnen means dried beans, and East Frisia treats the dish as its own Nationalgericht because it came from the farm larder rather than the inn kitchen. Before the Weck preserving jar spread after the company was founded in 1900, and long before home freezers, summer green beans were threaded with a needle, hung in airy rooms, and saved for winter pots with smoked pork. Westphalia and the Lower Rhine have their own Dörrbohnen pots, but the East Frisian version is tied to Pinkel and the northwest smoked-meat larder.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Updrögt Bohnen or German Dörrbohnen (dried green beans)
Quantity
150g
removed from string if needed
cold water
Quantity
1.5L
plus more as needed
smoked pork belly or Speck
Quantity
200g
rind-on if possible, in one piece
Kasseler neck or smoked pork chops
Quantity
350g
in one piece
large onion
Quantity
1
halved
bay leaf
Quantity
1
black peppercorns
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
lightly crushed
waxy potatoes
Quantity
700g
peeled and cut into 4cm chunks
Bohnenkraut (summer savory)
Quantity
1 teaspoon dried or 2 fresh sprigs
Pinkel sausages or smoked Mettwurst
Quantity
4
fine salt
Quantity
only if needed
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
to taste
cider vinegar or white wine vinegar (optional)
Quantity
1-2 teaspoons
sharp German mustard (optional)
Quantity
to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Updrögt Bohnen or German Dörrbohnen (dried green beans)removed from string if needed | 150g |
| cold waterplus more as needed | 1.5L |
| smoked pork belly or Speckrind-on if possible, in one piece | 200g |
| Kasseler neck or smoked pork chopsin one piece | 350g |
| large onionhalved | 1 |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| black peppercornslightly crushed | 1/2 teaspoon |
| waxy potatoespeeled and cut into 4cm chunks | 700g |
| Bohnenkraut (summer savory) | 1 teaspoon dried or 2 fresh sprigs |
| Pinkel sausages or smoked Mettwurst | 4 |
| fine salt | only if needed |
| freshly ground black pepper | to taste |
| cider vinegar or white wine vinegar (optional) | 1-2 teaspoons |
| sharp German mustard (optional) | to serve |
Equipment Needed
- •Large bowl for soaking
- •Heavy 4-5 litre pot with lid
- •Slotted spoon
- •Sharp knife
Instructions
- 1
Soak the beans
Rinse the dried beans well, pulling out any bits of string, then cover them with the cold water in a large bowl and leave them 12 hours, or overnight. The bean pod has to open slowly from the seam inward; rush it in a hard boil and the outside collapses while the middle stays leathery. By morning the beans should bend without cracking.
If the soaking water smells clean and grassy, keep it for the pot because it carries the dried-bean flavour. If an old bag gives you musty water, drain it and use fresh water. Stale is not flavour. - 2
Build the pot
Tip the beans and their soaking water into a heavy pot, adding enough water to cover them by 2cm. Add the smoked pork belly, Kasseler, onion, bay, and crushed peppercorns, then bring the pot just to a boil and immediately lower it to a quiet simmer. Runter mit der Temperatur. The smoke and rind season the broth as they cook, so don't add salt yet or you'll lose control before the pork has spoken.
- 3
Cook until bending
Simmer uncovered or half covered for about 45 minutes, until the beans have softened but still need a bite. Keep the liquid barely moving, not jumping, because dried beans toughen and tear when the pot is bullied. Skim only if you need to; the good fat from the smoked rind belongs in the broth. Weggeworfen wird nichts.
Do not use a stock cube here. The pork rind, the cured meat, and the dried beans make the broth themselves. Nicht aus dem Glas, and not from a packet either. - 4
Add potatoes
Add the potato chunks and the Bohnenkraut, pushing the potatoes down into the liquor. They go in now, not at the beginning, because potatoes need half the time the beans need and would fall apart into paste if they cooked from the start. Simmer another 25 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the beans are soft all the way through.
- 5
Warm the sausage
Nestle the Pinkel sausages on top for the last 20 minutes and keep the pot below a hard boil. A rolling pot bursts the sausage and throws its fat into the broth; a quiet pot warms it through and keeps the slices clean. If your sausage is raw-smoked, cook it until the centre reaches 71C; if it is fully cooked, it only needs to be hot through.
No Pinkel where you live, use a good smoked Mettwurst or Kohlwurst. It won't be the same northwest sausage, but it keeps the dish at the German table instead of inventing something it isn't. - 6
Finish the broth
Lift out the pork, Kasseler, and sausages, then remove the onion and bay. Mash a few potato pieces against the side of the pot and stir them back in, because their starch thickens the bean liquor without flour. Taste only now: add salt if the smoked meat has left room for it, black pepper, and a small splash of vinegar if the pot tastes flat. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss.
- 7
Serve with smoke
Slice the Kasseler and pork belly, cut the Pinkel into thick coins, and lay them over the beans and potatoes or serve them beside the pot. Spoon plenty of the liquor into each bowl, because that is where the drying, the smoke, and the potatoes have met. Mustard and dark rye on the table are enough. Schön ist, was schmeckt.
Chef Tips
- •Buy dried green beans that smell grassy and clean, not dusty. Old beans will still cook, but they need more time, and the pot will tell you: if they don't bend after the first hour, keep cooking before the potatoes go in.
- •Use rind-on smoked belly if you can get it. The rind gives body to the liquor, the same way bones do for stock, and that is why the broth tastes made instead of thin.
- •Salt at the end. Kasseler, Speck, and Pinkel all carry salt, and guessing early is how a thrifty pot becomes a thirsty one.
- •Serve with mustard, rye bread, and nothing fussy. A bright spoon of vinegar at the end is enough lift; this dish doesn't need decorating.
Advance Preparation
- •Soak the beans 12 to 18 hours ahead. Longer than that is fine in the refrigerator, but change the water if you go past a day.
- •The cooked pot keeps 3 days in the refrigerator and tastes better on the second day. Rewarm gently with a splash of water, because the potatoes keep thickening the liquor as it sits.
- •Freeze only the beans, potatoes, and broth if you must. The sausages and potato chunks soften after freezing, so slice fresh sausage into the reheated pot when you can.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 590g)
Calories
950 calories
Total Fat
59 g
Saturated Fat
22 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
34 g
Cholesterol
155 mg
Sodium
3000 mg
Total Carbohydrates
57 g
Dietary Fiber
12 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
46 g
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