Danish Flæskesteg (Crispy Roast Pork with Crackling)

About This Recipe

Danish Flæskesteg is a real, traditional Danish dish, known as Crispy Roast Pork with Crackling. A pork roast with deeply scored skin, roasted until the crackling shatters, the centerpiece of Danish Christmas dinner.\n\nFlæskesteg is the traditional centerpiece of the Danish Christmas Eve meal, prized above all for its crackling — the crisp, blistered pork skin achieved through careful scoring and salting before a long roast.\n\nThe result is a dish worth making on its own merits: it rewards patience with the technique and delivers real, specific flavor rooted in Danish home cooking, not a generic stand-in for a search term.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 2 kgpork loin roast, skin on(skin scored deeply in parallel lines)
• 2 tbspfine sea salt
• 6bay leaves
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 500 mlwater(for the roasting pan)

Instructions

1. 1

   Score the skin

   Score the pork skin deeply in parallel lines about 1 cm apart, cutting through the fat but not into the meat.

2. 2

   Season

   Rub salt deep into the scored lines, and season the meat underneath with pepper. Tuck bay leaves into the scored cuts.

3. 3

   Roast at low heat

   Place the roast skin-side up in a pan with water underneath, and roast at 160°C (325°F) for about 2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 65°C (150°F).

4. 4

   Blast for crackling

   Increase the oven temperature to 240°C (475°F) and roast for a final 15 to 20 minutes, watching closely, until the skin blisters and turns deeply crisp all over.

5. 5

   Rest

   Let the roast rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

6. 6

   Serve

   Slice between the scored lines so each portion has a piece of crackling, and serve with boiled potatoes, red cabbage and gravy.

Variations

• •

  Some households add a few whole cloves pressed into the scored lines alongside the bay leaves for extra aroma.

• •

  Serve with braised red cabbage (rødkål), the traditional Danish Christmas side.

• •

  A smaller roast can be used for a weeknight version, adjusting roasting time accordingly.

Storage

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of water or stock to loosen the texture.

Frequently Asked Questions