Stegt Flæsk - Danish Food Culture - Recipes - "Stægt Flæsk og Persillesovs"

The Danish National Dish ”Stegt Flæsk med persillesovs” - or Fried Pork Belly with parsley sauce - is a genuine old rural dish that is orientated from the rustic Danish country kitchen from around the middle of the 1700s. Frying pork belly slices has been known since the Stone Age about 3-400 B.C. - and just as long - as peasants and hunters living in the Stone Age - have had pigs as their livestock. In the beginning of the 1800s the rural country kitchen added potatoes and white sauce and parsley to the fried pork belly slices - and the dish became one of the Danes most favourite and popular meals - and since a real classic dish - which also is quite inexpensive and affordable even for the poorest households. When the recipe hit the city kitchens and restaurants - it became a real classic and traditional dish - and was also counted as a part of the exquisite Danish cuisine that chefs prepared and cooked in different variations. The ”Stegt Flæsk med persillesovs” is a must to eat once a week dish - and especially during the cold winter season - even though the juicy porky dish can be eaten all year round. In the summertime the Danes have a regular outdoor feast grilling or barbecuing their pork belly slices. The ”Stegt Flæsk med persillesovs” dish is Denmark’s national dish.

Fried Pork Belly (thick bacon) - and parsley sauce

The Danish National Dish - "Stegt Flæsk med Persillesovs"

Fried Pork Belly (bacon) - and parsley sauce - The Danish Way
(Danish - "Stegt Flæsk med Persillesovs")
The recipe and dish is orientated from the rural kitchens in Denmark in the beginning of 1800s - and has been a traditional everyday meal for generations of Danes that just want to taste the juicy fried pork belly with potatoes and parsley sauce. The dish was prepared and served in restaurants about 1850 - and a bit earlier in the city household kitchens. Here is a very old and simple recipe from the 18th century - which is very easy to prepare - cook and serve - and a recipe that has been useful for generations - and is used widely in today’s Danish kitchens - as well as at public eating places.

Ingredients:

1000 g
1 kg
50 g
4 tablespoons
4 dl
1 dl
1-2 dl

1/4 teaspoon

Pork belly in slices (unsalted)
Potatoes (new)
Danish Butter
Wheat flour
Milk 3,5%
Whipping Cream
Chopped fresh parsley

Salt (according to taste)
Pepper (according to taste)

Nutmeg - if preferred

Tender Pork Belly Slices

Always select fresh - tender and juicy slices of pork belly for the “Stegt Flæsk” recipe - which is obtainable all over - where butchered pork cuts are sold at affordable prices.

Juicy fried "Stegt Flæsk"

The "Stegt Flæsk" can either be fried - grilled or roasted in the oven.

Parsley Sauce

The Parsley Sauce is very easy to prepare and make - and delicious with Fried Pork Belly and Potatoes.

"Stegt Flæsk" with Apple Pork

Fried Pork Belly - with Apple Pork - new potatoes, parsley sauce and pickled beetroot.

Follow me... step by step!

Danish pork recipe - National Dish

Prepare the Pork Belly
- Cut the pork belly in 5-6 mm thick slices - then dry the slices on kitchen roll towel for a while. Season the slices with salt and pepper before frying.

Potatoes and Parsley
- Start peeling the potatoes. Put them in a pot - and cover them with cold water. Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes. You can leave the skin on - if you prefer. Especially "new" potatoes of the season with very thin tender - white skin. Chop the parsley into pieces.Some parsley for the sauce and some for decoration.

The Parsley Sauce
- Make a butter ball of butter and flour and stir continuously - while melting in the sauce pot - and until the mixture is turned into a consistent mass. Ad little milk and stir. Do not boil the sauce. Repeat until the sauce has the consistency that you favour. Not to thick and not to light.

Fresh Parsley

Preparing Parsley Sauce

You will end up having prepared a kind of white “béchamel sauce”. Add the whipping cream and taste the sauce. Put nutmeg in - if preferred. Then add all the chopped parsley - and season to taste with salt and pepper - while stirring. Let the sauce simmer for 5-10 minutes - so the ingredients are stirred and mixed together - while sucking up flavour.

Fry the pork belly
- Fry the pork belly slices for almost 2 minutes on each side on a hot pan with moderate heat until they seam crispy and with a golden surface. Dry them again on kitchen roll towel - where some of the fat can drain - and keep the fried pork belly slices warm in an oven until serving.

Oven or Grill
- One can also put the pork belly in the heated 200° oven and fry for 20 minutes - while turning the slices after half the roasting time. In the summertime it is quicker to grill the pork belly slices on a well heated charcoal grill.

Serving the National Dish
- Put the lukewarm potatoes on a warm plate - arrange the fried pork belly strips - then pour the warm temperate parsley sauce over the potatoes. Sprinkle some fresh chopped parsley over the dish - and serve.

“Valgflæsk” - Election Pork Belly
During election time in Denmark - it has since the first Danish democratic election was held in 1849 - been a Danish tradition to serve “valgflæsk” fried pork belly dish on election evening. The Fried Pork Belly “Valgflæsk” - or pork lard - is a kind of phrase and synonym for all the many supercilious and high-flying promises and assurances Danish politicians give to all the voters during the election period. The National Dish - Danish Pork Belly - is served in good harmony and friendship - while enjoying plenty of strong beer - and some Danes prefer some white wine or red wine with a high alcohol content - as a supplement to this delicious and rustic Danish National Dish.

The most pork eating people in the world
Each Dane eats almost 70 kg of tasty pork every year - based on a variety of pork dishes that are prepared and consumed everyday - plus all the different pork based products that are available for the home market and export - as the Danes are also one of the world’s largest exporters of pork.

Ready-made "Stegt Flæsk"
You can also buy ready-made "Stegt Flæsk" in supermarkets and grocery stores.

See Eating and traditional Danish food culture

Velbekomme - Enjoy your meal!

THE WINNER!

“Stegt flæsk med persillesovs”

Fried Pork Belly (thick bacon) - and parsley sauce - The Winner
In 2014 the Danes awarded their new national and favourite dish to be “Stegt flæsk med persillesovs” - Fried Pork Belly (thick bacon) - and Parsley Sauce - which also is a rustic dish from the the rural Danish 1800s country kitchen - and been eaten by numerous generations. The “Stegt flæsk med persillesovs” dish won over the Danes all time popular dish “Frikadeller med brun sovs” - "Danish Meatballs with potatoes - thick brown sauce and sliced sour vegetables" that is an older dish than “Stegt flæsk med persillesovs”.

See: Frikadeller