Danish Roast Pork with Crackling (Flæskesteg) — Crisp-Rinded Christmas Pork

• 1.8 kgrind-on boneless pork loin roast (skin scored by the butcher if possible, 5 mm spacing)
• 24 gcoarse sea salt
• 1 tspfreshly ground black pepper
• 6 leafbay leaves
• 500 mlboiling water
• 1yellow onion (quartered)
• 2carrots (cut into 4 cm pieces)
• 25 gunsalted butter
• 25 gall-purpose flour
• 500 mllow-sodium pork or chicken stock
• 1 tbspredcurrant jelly
• 1 tspDanish gravy browning (optional, also called kulør, for traditional dark color)

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 220°C. Pat the pork completely dry, then check that the rind is scored in parallel cuts about 5 mm apart and cut only through the rind and fat, not into the meat.

2. 2

   Rub the coarse sea salt firmly into every cut in the rind, using most of the salt on the skin side and the remainder on the meat side. Season the meat side with the black pepper, then tuck the bay leaves into several of the rind cuts so their aroma perfumes the flæskesteg as it roasts.

3. 3

   Put the onion, carrots, and boiling water in a roasting pan, then set a rack over the pan. Place the pork rind-side up on the rack and make sure the rind is level, because low spots collect fat and stay chewy instead of blistering.

4. 4

   Roast at 220°C for 25 minutes to start the crackling. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and continue roasting for 60 to 70 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meat registers 60°C.

5. 5

   Increase the oven temperature to 250°C and roast for 8 to 12 minutes more, watching closely, until the rind is deeply blistered and crisp. If the meat reaches 63°C before the crackling is fully crisp, shield the meat loosely with foil and use the grill or broiler for 2 to 4 minutes, keeping the pork at least 12 cm from the heat.

6. 6

   Transfer the pork to a warm board and rest it uncovered for 15 minutes so the crackling stays dry. Do not tent the rind with foil, because trapped steam softens the crisp surface.

7. 7

   Strain the roasting pan liquid through a fine sieve and skim off excess fat, reserving 300 ml of the strained juices. Add enough stock to the strained juices to make 500 ml total liquid for the gravy.

8. 8

   Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, whisk in the flour, and cook for 2 minutes until it smells nutty but has not browned deeply. Whisk in the 500 ml combined pan juices and stock in a slow stream, then simmer for 6 to 8 minutes until smooth and lightly thickened.

9. 9

   Whisk the redcurrant jelly and Danish gravy browning into the gravy, then simmer for 1 minute more. Carve the flæskesteg into slices by cutting between the crackling ridges with a sharp knife, and serve each portion with hot gravy.