Ribbensteg

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Very sharp utility knife or craft knife for scoring
• •Deep roasting tin with wire rack
• •Meat thermometer
• •Heavy-bottomed saucepan or the roasting tin for gravy
• •Sharp carving knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Score the rind

   Place the pork belly rind-side up on a board. Using the sharpest knife you own (a utility knife or even a clean craft knife works well), score the rind in parallel lines about 1cm apart, running the full length of the belly. Cut through the rind and into the fat beneath, but stop before you reach the meat. You'll feel the resistance change when your blade moves from the firm rind into the softer fat. That's your depth. If you cut into the meat, the juices will escape during roasting and the flesh dries out. If you don't cut deep enough, the salt can't penetrate and the crackling won't pop.

   A ruler or the back of a fork pressed against the rind can guide your spacing. Consistency matters more than width. Even lines expand evenly in the heat, and even expansion is what gives you crackling that pops across the whole surface instead of just in patches.
2. 2

   Open and salt the rind

   Pour boiling water slowly over the scored rind. Watch the lines open and curl slightly apart. This is good. The hot water relaxes the rind and opens the grooves so the salt can reach deeper. Pat the rind completely dry with kitchen paper. This step is not optional. Any moisture left on the surface will steam in the oven instead of crisping, and steamed rind is tough, not brittle. Once the rind is dry, rub the coarse sea salt generously into every groove, pressing it in with your fingers. You want the salt filling those lines like grout between tiles. Use all three tablespoons. It looks like too much. It isn't. The salt draws moisture out of the rind during resting, and dry rind is the single most important condition for good svaer.

   Coarse salt, not fine. Fine salt dissolves too quickly and doesn't stay in the grooves. You want crystals that sit in the scores and work slowly, pulling moisture to the surface where it can evaporate.
3. 3

   Season with bay and cloves

   Tuck the bay leaves into the scored lines, spacing them along the length of the belly. Press a whole clove into every third or fourth groove. These aren't decoration. As the fat renders during roasting, it carries the oils from the bay and the cloves down into the meat. The result is a fragrance that fills your kitchen and a depth in the drippings that will make your brun sovs worth drinking. Scatter the crushed peppercorns over the underside of the meat (not the rind). Now let thebelly rest uncovered on a rack in the fridge for at least one hour. Overnight is better. Time and cold air do the same thing the salt is doing: they dry the rind, and dry rind is what gives you svaer that pops.

   If you can plan a day ahead, salt the belly and leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight. The rind will feel papery and tight by morning. That is exactly what you want.
4. 4

   Start the roast hot

   Heat the oven to 225C. Place a wire rack inside a deep roasting tin and pour 500ml of boiling water into the bottom of the tin. The water does two things: it stops the drippings from burning on the pan floor (you need those drippings for the gravy), and it creates a humid base that helps render the fat without drying out the meat. Set the pork belly rind-side up on the rack. The rind must sit above the water, never touching it. Roast at 225C for 25 minutes. This initial blast of high heat starts the crackling. You'll hear the rind begin to crackle and pop. That sound is the moisture escaping from the scored lines and the rind beginning to blister. Don't open the oven door. Let the heat do its work.

   If your oven runs unevenly, position the pork in the center of the middle shelf. Crackling is ruthlessly honest about hot spots. An oven thermometer is worth owning if you roast often.
5. 5

   Slow-roast to tenderness

   Lower the oven to 160C without opening the door if you can (set the dial and let it drop). Roast for a further two hours. This is the patient part, and the part where the belly cut rewards you. The fat beneath the rind renders slowly, basting the meat from the inside, while the low heat cooks the pork gently until it is tender all the way through. Check the water level in the tin at the halfway mark. If it has evaporated, add another 250ml of boiling water. The drippings collecting in the tin should be dark and rich. That is your gravy waiting to happen.

   A meat thermometer removes all guessing. Insert it into the thickest part of the meat (not touching bone). You want 72C at the center. Pork belly is forgiving because the fat keeps it moist even if you overshoot slightly, but 72C is the sweet spot where the meat is cooked through and still tender.
6. 6

   Perfect the svaer

   When the roast comes out, look at the rind. If the svaer has popped evenly across the whole surface, golden and brittle with every ridge standing sharp, you're done. If there are patches that haven't popped (this happens, it's not a failure), turn the oven up to 250C and return the pork for five to eight minutes, watching it closely. The difference between perfect and burnt is two minutes at this temperature. Listen for the crackling. When the popping slows and the whole surface looks like golden bark, pull it out. Transfer the roast to a warm serving board. Tent loosely with foil and let it rest for fifteen to twenty minutes. Resting lets the juices redistribute through the meat. If you carve too soon, those juices run onto the board instead of staying in every slice.

   Tent the foil loosely. If you wrap it tight, the steam softens the crackling you just worked so hard to achieve. A loose tent keeps the warmth in without trapping moisture against the rind.
7. 7

   Make the brun sovs

   While the meat rests, pour the drippings from the roasting tin through a sieve into a jug. Let the fat rise to the top and skim off most of it (save it, it's extraordinary for roasting potatoes). Set the roasting tin over medium heat on the stovetop. Add the butter and let it melt, then stir in the flour. Cook the flour in the butter and drippings for two minutes, stirring constantly, until it smells biscuity and has turned a shade darker. This is your roux, the base of the gravy. Pour in the stock gradually, stirring as you go to prevent lumps. Add the skimmed drippings. Let it simmer for ten minutes until the gravy has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the cream if you're using it. Season with salt and pepper. Taste it. Good brun sovs should be rich and meaty with a quiet warmth from the bay and cloves that cooked into the drippings. Strain into a warm jug.

   The quality of your stock determines the quality of your gravy. If you have homemade pork stock from bones and time, use it. If not, choose the best you can find. Thin, salty stock makes thin, salty gravy, and no amount of flour can fix that.
8. 8

   Carve and serve

   Remove the bay leaves and cloves from the rind. Using a sharp, heavy knife, carve the ribbensteg into thick slices, cutting between the scored lines so each piece carries a strip of crisp svaer on top. The knife should crack through the crackling with a clean snap. Arrange the slices on a warm serving platter or bring the whole roast to the table on its board with the knife alongside and let everyone hear that snap for themselves. Pour the brun sovs into a jug and set it beside the platter. This is how we greet each other at juleaften. The table is where it happens.

Chef Tips

• •Ask your butcher to score the rind if you're not confident doing it yourself. A good butcher will score it evenly and save you the hardest step. But if you want to learn, and I think you should, practice on a smaller piece first. The technique is simple once you've felt the difference between rind, fat, and meat under the blade.
• •Coarse salt is not negotiable. Fine table salt dissolves before it can do its work. You need crystals that sit in the grooves and draw moisture out slowly over hours. Danish sea salt or flaky Maldon salt, crushed roughly between your fingers, both work.
• •The traditional juleaften plate is ribbensteg with brunede kartofler (potatoes caramelized in butter and sugar), rodkal (sweet-sour red cabbage braised with vinegar and redcurrant jelly), and brun sovs poured over everything. The potatoes and the cabbage are their own recipes and their own stories, but together on the plate, with the svaer snapping and the gravy pooling against the cabbage, this is juleaften. This is how it's supposed to taste.
• •Save every scrap of rendered pork fat from the roasting tin. Strained into a jar, it keeps in the fridge for weeks and is the best fat you will ever have for roasting potatoes, frying eggs, or making the brunede kartofler that belong beside this roast.
• •Ribbensteg reheats poorly because the svaer softens. If you have leftovers, slice the meat and crackling apart. Warm the meat gently in a low oven. Lay the svaer pieces on a rack and blast them at 220C for a few minutes to re-crisp. Or eat the svaer cold, broken into shards. It's extraordinary with beer.

Advance Preparation

• •Score and salt the belly the day before and leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight. The rind dries out completely, which gives you the best crackling. Take the belly out of the fridge one hour before roasting to bring it toward room temperature.
• •The brun sovs can be made up to two days ahead and reheated gently. The flavor deepens overnight. Thin with a splash of stock if it thickens too much in the fridge.
• •If you are cooking the full juleaften spread, make the rodkal two days before (it improves with time), prepare the brunede kartofler on the morning and reheat gently, and focus your energy on the ribbensteg itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 220g)