Are you searching for the ultimate holiday showstopper? A magnificent, jaw-dropping centerpiece for your Christmas dinner table that is so impressive, so decadent, and so unbelievably delicious, it will be the stuff of family legend? This incredible, from-scratch Crispy Pork Belly with classic Scandinavian accompaniments is that perfect recipe. We’re talking an impossibly juicy and tender pork belly, crowned with a shatteringly crisp, bubbly, and golden-brown crackling, all served alongside a sweet-and-sour braised red cabbage and traditional Danish caramelized “sugar-browned” potatoes.
This isn’t just another recipe; it’s your definitive guide to creating a truly unforgettable holiday feast. While a perfect crispy pork belly may seem like the exclusive domain of a high-end restaurant, we’ll show you the simple but crucial professional secrets to a flawless result that never fails. This is a satisfying, soulful, and deeply impressive meal that is destined to become your new holiday tradition.
Recipe Overview: The Ultimate Festive & Decadent Holiday Main
What makes this Crispy Pork Belly so spectacularly delicious is its incredible contrast of textures and its wonderful balance of rich, sweet, and savory flavors. This recipe is a masterpiece of classic, festive cooking, inspired by Scandinavian holiday traditions. The star of the show is a magnificent, skin-on pork belly, which is slow-roasted until the meat is fork-tender. The real magic, however, is in the skin. A simple, overnight dry brine with baking powder and a final blast of high heat is the secret to an unbelievably puffy, light, and shatteringly crisp “crackling.” The rich pork is served with two classic, perfect accompaniments: a sweet and tangy braised red cabbage with lingonberry jam, and traditional Danish sugar-browned potatoes (brunede kartofler), which are small boiled potatoes coated in a luscious, buttery caramel sauce.1
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 12 hours (includes 8+ hours brining) |
| Active Prep Time | 45 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Intermediate |
| Servings | 6-8 |
The Scandinavian Kitchen: The Essential Ingredients
This iconic dish uses a handful of high-quality, authentic ingredients to create its signature rich and festive flavor.
- The Pork Belly (The Star of the Show!):
- Skin-on Pork Belly: For the most impressive presentation and that signature, crispy crackling, it is essential to use a beautiful, 4-pound slab of boneless, skin-on pork belly.
- The Danish Sugar-Browned Potatoes (Brunede Kartofler):
- Small Potatoes: This classic Danish Christmas side dish is traditionally made with small, waxy potatoes that are about the size of a golf ball.2 Small Yukon Gold or new potatoes are a perfect choice.
- The Caramel: The secret is a simple but careful process of melting sugar into a beautiful amber caramel and then enriching it with butter.
- The Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage: A classic, tangy counterpoint to the rich pork.
- Lingonberry Jam: A staple in Scandinavian cuisine, lingonberry jam has a wonderful sweet-tart flavor that is similar to cranberry sauce.3 It’s the key to the authentic flavor of the cabbage. If you can’t find it, a good quality cranberry sauce or red currant jelly is a fantastic substitute.
The Crackling Masterclass: The Secret to a Perfect, Shatteringly Crispy Pork Skin
The number one, non-negotiable secret to a perfect, bubbly, and light-as-air crackling is a very, very dry skin. This recipe uses a brilliant, foolproof, two-part scientific method to achieve this.
- The Dry Brine: The first, and most important, secret is the overnight dry brine. A mixture of kosher salt and baking powder is rubbed all over the scored skin. The salt works to draw out a huge amount of moisture from the skin through osmosis.
- The Baking Powder Magic: The baking powder is a brilliant chemical secret weapon! It is alkaline, which helps to break down the skin’s proteins and encourages the formation of tiny air bubbles, which is the key that makes the final crackling incredibly light, puffy, and crispy.
Step-by-Step to the Perfect Crispy Pork Belly
This elegant, festive meal is a joy to prepare.
Part 1: The Secret to Crispy Skin (The Day Before!)
Step 1: Pat the skin of your 4-pound pork belly completely dry. Using a very sharp knife, carefully cut parallel lines across the skin and the fat, about a 1/2-inch apart. Be sure not to cut down into the meat.
Step 2 (The Most Important Step!): In a small bowl, mix together the 2 tablespoons of kosher salt, the 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and the 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Rub this mixture all over the pork, making sure to get it deep into all the grooves on the skin.
Step 3: Place the pork, skin-side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours.
Part 2: The Low & Slow Roast and the Festive Sides
Step 1: About an hour before you plan to cook, allow the pork to come to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Step 2: Pour 4 cups of water into the bottom of the roasting pan with the pork. Roast for about 3 hours, until the meat is very tender.
Step 3: While the pork is roasting, you can prepare your sides. For the cabbage, simply combine all the cabbage ingredients in a large, high-sided skillet, cover it, and cook over a medium heat for about 20 minutes, until softened. For the potatoes, boil your 2 pounds of small potatoes for about 15 minutes, until they are just tender. Let them cool and then peel them.
Part 3: The Final Crisp and the Caramelized Potatoes
Step 1: After the pork belly has cooked for 3 hours, increase your oven temperature to 475°F (245°C). Continue to cook the pork for about 20 more minutes, until the skin is beautifully crisp, bubbly, and brown. Let the finished roast rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
Step 2: While the pork is resting, make your caramelized potatoes. In a large skillet over a medium heat, cook your 1/4 cup of sugar until it has completely melted and the edges begin to turn brown. Add your 4 tablespoons of butter and the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and stir carefully until the mixture is a beautiful amber color.
Step 3: Add your peeled, boiled potatoes to the skillet and cook, stirring gently, until they are completely coated in the beautiful, browned sugar and are heated through.
Serve your magnificent, crispy pork belly with the braised red cabbage and the sugar-browned potatoes.
Crispy Pork Belly (A Holiday Showstopper!)
An impressive and festive recipe for a complete holiday meal featuring Crispy Pork Belly as the centerpiece. The skin-on pork belly is dry-brined overnight with a salt and baking powder mixture, then slow-roasted until the meat is tender and finished at high heat to create an incredibly crispy crackling skin. The roast is served with two classic European side dishes: a sweet and sour braised red cabbage with lingonberry jam, and traditional Danish sugar-browned potatoes (Brunede kartofler), which are small boiled potatoes coated in a rich butter and caramel glaze.
Ingredients
- For the Pork Belly:
- 4 pounds boneless skin-on pork belly
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- For the Braised Red Cabbage:
- 6 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
- 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup lingonberry jam
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- For the Sugar Browned Potatoes:
- 2 pounds small potatoes
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Flaky sea salt, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the Pork Belly (Day Before): Pat the pork belly skin completely dry. Score the skin in a diamond pattern, about 1/2 inch apart, without cutting into the meat. Mix the salt, baking powder, and pepper, and rub this mixture all over the pork, getting it into the grooves. Place the pork skin-side up on a rack in a roasting pan, cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.
- Roast the Pork: One hour before cooking, let the pork sit at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pour 4 cups of water into the bottom of the roasting pan. Cook the pork for about 3 hours, until the meat is tender.
- Prepare the Sides: While the pork roasts, make the cabbage by combining the sliced cabbage, vinegar, jam, sugar, and salt in a large skillet. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes until softened. Keep warm.
- For the potatoes, boil them until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, let them cool slightly, and peel them. In a large skillet, melt the sugar over medium heat until it turns amber. Stir in the butter and salt to create a caramel. Add the peeled potatoes and stir gently to coat them in the caramel, cooking for about 4 minutes until heated through.
- Crisp the Pork Skin: After the pork belly has cooked for 3 hours, increase the oven temperature to 475°F. Continue to cook for about 20 more minutes, until the skin is very crisp and brown.
- Let the pork belly rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with the braised red cabbage and sugar-browned potatoes.
Notes
- This is a showstopper main course with classic side dishes, perfect for a holiday dinner like Christmas.
- The recipe requires significant advance preparation, as the pork belly needs to be dry-brined overnight.
- Rubbing the pork skin with baking powder is a key technique for achieving an extra-crispy, crackling skin.
- The sugar-browned potatoes are a traditional Danish Christmas side dish. Be careful when making the caramel, as hot sugar can cause severe burns.
- The article references a ‘Cook’s Note’ that is not provided in the text.
Storage and Leftover Ideas
- Make-Ahead: This is the perfect make-ahead holiday meal! You can prepare the braised red cabbage and boil and peel your potatoes up to 3 days in advance.
- Storage: Store any leftovers in separate, airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- The Best Leftovers: Leftover crispy pork belly is a true treasure! It is fantastic diced up and added to a stir-fry, a ramen, or used to make incredible pork belly tacos.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What is the absolute, number one secret to shatteringly crisp pork skin (crackling)?
The secret is dryness and high heat. The overnight dry brine with salt and baking powder is the non-negotiable step that draws all the moisture out of the skin. The final, blast of high heat in a 475°F oven is the key that renders the final bit of fat and causes the dry skin to puff up into a beautiful, bubbly, and incredibly crispy crackling.
Q2: What are the best potatoes to use for the brunede kartofler?
The secret is dryness and high heat. The overnight dry brine with salt and baking powder is the non-negotiable step that draws all the moisture out of the skin. The final, blast of high heat in a 475°F oven is the key that renders the final bit of fat and causes the dry skin to puff up into a beautiful, bubbly, and incredibly crispy crackling.
Q3: Can I make this roast ahead of time?
For the absolute best, crispiest crackling, it is highly recommended to serve the pork belly fresh from the oven. However, you can make both of the side dishes completely in advance and simply reheat them while the pork is resting.
Q4: My caramel for the potatoes seized up and got hard when I added the butter. What did I do wrong?
You did nothing wrong! This is a completely normal part of the process. The cold butter will cause the hot sugar to seize up temporarily. The secret is to have patience and to just keep stirring over a medium-low heat. The caramel will re-melt into a perfectly smooth and luscious sauce.
Q5: What can I use if I can’t find lingonberry jam?
A high-quality, whole-berry cranberry sauce or a red currant jelly are both fantastic and delicious substitutes that will provide a similar sweet-tart flavor profile to your braised red cabbage.