Chef Juliette
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Fresh Neck of Pork with Red Cabbage à la Flamande
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1388, Fresh Neck of Pork with Red Cabbage à la Flamande, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Burnished pork collar, apple-sharpened red cabbage, and clear roasting jus make the northern lesson plain: roast patiently, keep the garnish gentle, and clear the joint gravy without stripping away every savory drop of fat.
Main Dishes
French
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
20 min
Active Time
2 hr 45 min cook•3 hr 20 min total
Yield4 servings
Cou de porc frais aux choux rouges à la flamande (fresh neck of pork with Flemish-style red cabbage) teaches the discipline of gentle heat. The pork must bronze without drying, while the vinegar-bright cabbage stays tender rather than jammy and the apple remains distinct. Before you touch a pan, know the one true thing: force the heat and you lose the balance that makes this generous northern dish work.
The book assumes a roast station and a vegetable station working at once, followed by a free hand to clear the joint gravy before service. It asks for neither a saucier's sauce nor stock from the ever-hot pot; the pork's own juices are the foundation. At home, the Choux Rouges à la Flamande (No. 2098) remains a finished preparation in its own right, while one compact pork collar roasts and a clear jug separates its gravy. The separate hands are brigade scaffolding and can go. The gentle vinegar-only braise and the removal of three quarters of the grease are the dish, and they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The finished platter should be broad and abundant: burnished slices of pork in the center, wine-dark cabbage gathered around them, and enough clear gravy across the vegetables to make them gleam. Keep the cabbage covered and gentle whenever it meets the heat, including its final warming. That is the step that matters most tonight.
Cou de porc aux choux rouges à la flamande belongs to French Flanders, particularly the northern tables around Lille, where pork, sweet-sour cabbage, apples, and local beer share the same larder. The garnish traveled from farmhouse and estaminet cooking into the classical repertoire, where it became a separately named preparation arranged formally around a roast joint. This is not Alsatian choucroute: the cabbage is red rather than fermented white, vinegar supplies its moisture, and apple with a little sugar rounds the acidity.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
boneless fresh pork neck or collar roast
Quantity
1 roast (3 lb / 1.35 kg)
tied into an even shape
fine sea salt
Quantity
2¼ teaspoons (11 ml / 14 g)
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 2 g)
prepared Choux Rouges à la Flamande
Quantity
5 cups (1.2 L / 1 kg) prepared Choux Rouges à la Flamande (No. 2098)
boiling water
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 120 g)
for releasing the roasting fond
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| boneless fresh pork neck or collar roasttied into an even shape | 1 roast (3 lb / 1.35 kg) |
| fine sea salt | 2¼ teaspoons (11 ml / 14 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 2 g) |
| prepared Choux Rouges à la Flamande | 5 cups (1.2 L / 1 kg) prepared Choux Rouges à la Flamande (No. 2098) |
| boiling waterfor releasing the roasting fond | ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •13 by 9-inch (33 by 23 cm) heavy roasting pan with a small rack
- •Instant-read meat thermometer
- •3-cup (700 ml) clear heatproof jug or fat separator
- •Large warmed oval serving platter
- •Butcher's twine
Instructions
- 1
Season the pork
Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Pat the pork completely dry, then season every surface with the salt and pepper. If the butcher has not tied it, bind it at 1-inch (2.5 cm) intervals so the roast cooks evenly and carves cleanly. Set it fat-side up on a small rack in a heavy roasting pan and leave it for 20 minutes while the oven finishes heating. A dry, even surface takes color; a damp one merely sweats.
- 2
Set the crust
Roast at 450°F (230°C) for 20 minutes, until the top is properly bronzed and the fat has begun to render. Do not baste yet. Opening the oven and washing the surface with liquid before the crust forms only delays the browning the gravy needs.
- 3
Roast it gently
Reduce the oven to 325°F (160°C) and continue roasting for 1 hour 50 minutes to 2 hours 20 minutes. Turn the pan once for even color, but leave the pork fat-side up. It is ready when the center reaches 180 to 185°F (82 to 85°C), a thin knife meets little resistance, and the meat is tender while still firm enough to slice. If the crust darkens too quickly, cover it loosely with foil. If the fond on the pan floor threatens to turn black, add 2 tablespoons of the boiling water around the rack, never over the pork. Ça se rattrape: lower the heat slightly and preserve the brown fond before it becomes bitter.
- 4
Rest and warm
Transfer the pork to a warm platter or carving board and tent it loosely with foil for 25 to 30 minutes. While it rests, warm the prepared Choux Rouges à la Flamande (No. 2098) in its covered cocotte over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, folding it once from the edges toward the center. Add no stock or water. If the bottom catches, do not scrape the scorched layer through the cabbage; lift the clean portion into another pan, cover it, and lower the heat.
- 5
Clear the joint gravy
Remove the rack from the roasting pan and pour in the remaining boiling water, scraping up every brown speck of fond. Add the juices collected beneath the resting pork and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until the gravy tastes concentrated but remains fluid. Pour it into a clear heatproof jug and let the fat rise for 2 minutes, then spoon away roughly three quarters of the visible grease, leaving a fine savory sheen. If the gravy is weak, reduce it briefly; if it tightens or tastes too strong, loosen it with a spoonful of hot water.
- 6
Dish and carve
Set the roast in the center of a warm oval platter and surround it generously with the cabbage, keeping the vegetables beside the pork rather than beneath its crust. Spoon the three-parts-cleared joint gravy over the cabbage so its surface gleams, then remove the strings and carve the pork across the grain into thick slices. Bring the remaining gravy separately for anyone who wants another spoonful. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Fresh is the important word at the butcher's counter. Ask for an uncured, unsmoked pork neck or collar, tied into a compact roast; smoked neck belongs to another preparation entirely.
- •Prepare the Choux Rouges à la Flamande (No. 2098) from its own entry and keep it whole as the named garnish. Ordinary braised red cabbage is not an equal exchange, because the vinegar-only moistening and apple balance are what place this dish in French Flanders.
- •A thermometer settles the roast without guesswork. Pork neck contains enough connective tissue to need more cooking than a loin, but stop while the slices still hold together; tenderness is the aim, not collapse.
- •A fat separator is convenient, but a clear jug and spoon perform the same work. The book asks for gravy three-parts cleared of grease, not stripped bare. Leave the thin sheen that carries the pork's flavor.
- •A dry bière de garde from French Flanders suits the sweet-sour cabbage and roast pork beautifully. Serve it cool rather than icy, with mustard on the table only if your guests ask for it.
Advance Preparation
- •The Choux Rouges à la Flamande (No. 2098) can be completed up to 2 days ahead, chilled in its cocotte, and reheated gently while the pork rests. The timing above begins with this finished component ready.
- •The pork may be tied and seasoned up to 24 hours ahead. Keep it uncovered in the refrigerator so its surface dries, then take it out while the oven heats.
- •Leftover pork and cabbage keep for 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat the cabbage covered over low heat and warm sliced pork gently with a spoonful of the reserved gravy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 525g)
Calories
960 calories
Total Fat
63 g
Saturated Fat
23 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
37 g
Cholesterol
205 mg
Sodium
1750 mg
Total Carbohydrates
37 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
27 g
Protein
61 g
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