Living in Lisbon? Here is an easy Flæskesteg DIY

If the Danish Christmas Lunch has a DNA it must be the Flæskesteg

PR: Is it possible to order a Flæskesteg?

Tings Lounge: Do you mean a whole Flæskesteg? - Roasted and ready to eat?


PR: Yea.... We need it for a Christmas Lunch tomorrow. We have never made one ourselves before.
Can you help us with a Flæskesteg?
One of many messages from Danes in Lisbon

We LOVE food and love making it. And until the pandemic the lounge was open, which made it possible for us to have a classic Danish Christmas Lunch menu during December. 

We had no idea about how big the Danish Population in Lisbon was. And as we rarely eat it ourselves, we didn’t know if traditional Danish food was of any interest at all. 

The first year we served Christmas lunches was a huge success with a lot of guests. Not only from the Danish community but also from curious foodies from other countries. 

The Pandemic closed the restaurant. And since the world opened again, our focus has been getting the hotel back in business. 2023 has been our best year ever – but also the hardest! So we haven’t had the time and staff to open the lounge as we had hoped. And we haven’t got the energy to do spontaneous Pop-Up Christmas Lunches as we told people calling us about our plans…

The good thing is that several of our regular guests and others who have heard about our Christmas lunches now make their own lunches! So now we get messages about how to make remoulade, pickled vegetables, leverpostej, sylte etc. 

I am NOT a specialist. But since making everything myself has been the only way I have been able to afford the dishes I like, in the quality I prefer, I know the basics. My passion for food and curiosity for local ingredients compensates for my lack of knowledge. 

I don’t mind sharing ideas, recipes etc. But the number of people who contact me about the flæskesteg surprises me every year. So instead of mailing the recipe I decided to make this blog post so others can benefit from it too.

If you’re planning to have Flæskesteg for Christmas but are still insecure about doing it yourself I hope the following DIY guide will give you the Nudge to start…

Remember: There are NO shortcuts to a perfect dish – BUT the best ingredients help you a lot. 

You can probably buy a good pork roast – but I am 100% that it doesn’t compete with the quality and prize you get at a good butcher. The challenge is to get the roast with its skin – the Portuguese don’t do that! Another challenge is finding a good butcher. If you don’t know one already and don’t have time to find one – our Luis & Edgar in Graca won’t disappoint you. They already know the best meat for a Flæskesteg AND how to cut and slice it – with or without bones. Just show them a photo of the roast and say: Thomas from Tings.

The recipe

IMPORTANT: To my horror I saw someone recommending people to order their pork roast on an international expat online shopping site. I would NEVER do that. The secret behind a successful roast is a reliable Butcher that never compromises on the quality like Luis & Edgar in Graca.
IMPORTANT: To my horror I saw someone recommending people to order their pork roast on an international expat online shopping site. I would NEVER do that. The secret behind a successful roast is a reliable Butcher that never compromises on the quality like Luis & Edgar in Graca.
THE RIGHT CUTTING: This is religion. To me the part of the spine just behind the head makes the best Flæskesteg. So far the butchers haven't been able to provide me with the right Portuguese name - so I just show them a photo from the internet and they know what I want.
THE RIGHT CUTTING: This is religion. To me the part of the spine just behind the head makes the best Flæskesteg. So far the butchers haven't been able to provide me with the right Portuguese name - so I just show them a photo from the internet and they know what I want.
FIRST AID KIT: In the beginning I always started from scratch. And I always got the first roast wrong. Without skin, with skin BUT separately and/or with or without bones. After a few years I asked the butcher to write everything on a small note so I could show them exactly what I want the following Christmas. You are welcome to use it yourself.
FIRST AID KIT: In the beginning I always started from scratch. And I always got the first roast wrong. Without skin, with skin BUT separately and/or with or without bones. After a few years I asked the butcher to write everything on a small note so I could show them exactly what I want the following Christmas. You are welcome to use it yourself.
ASK THE BUTCHER TO PREPARE THE ROAST: I always cut and mince everything myself - except for slicing the skin on my pork roast. It takes forever, you need a very sharp knife to cut through the skin without cutting through to the meat. If that happens it’s impossible to get crispy cranks!!!!.
ASK THE BUTCHER TO PREPARE THE ROAST: I always cut and mince everything myself - except for slicing the skin on my pork roast. It takes forever, you need a very sharp knife to cut through the skin without cutting through to the meat. If that happens it’s impossible to get crispy cranks!!!!.
BEFORE YOU PLACE IT IN THE OVEN: I love this part - this is almost like making love... you take the roast in your hands and rub a little sea salt between all skin slices plus a few bay leaves. Then you place it on a grill on the big oven tray with a few cm of boiling water (to gather the juices if you want to make a sauce).
BEFORE YOU PLACE IT IN THE OVEN: I love this part - this is almost like making love... you take the roast in your hands and rub a little sea salt between all skin slices plus a few bay leaves. Then you place it on a grill on the big oven tray with a few cm of boiling water (to gather the juices if you want to make a sauce).
REMEMBER: You can easily place two roasts next to each other. Or make the pork roast together with your duck. Just remember that the roasting time between the two varies depending on sizes and weight. This process not only saves time - depending on your duck’s stuffing, it also makes the best sauce.
REMEMBER: You can easily place two roasts next to each other. Or make the pork roast together with your duck. Just remember that the roasting time between the two varies depending on sizes and weight. This process not only saves time - depending on your duck’s stuffing, it also makes the best sauce.
THE OVEN: Not two ovens are the same. So keep an eye on it every 10 minutes. Place the roast in a preheated 180°C - 200°C oven - lowest position. Roasts with bones are oddly angled. Place a potato or metal folie under the 'lower' part to make it horizontal. When the roast ‘falls’ because of the heat, just reorganize it.
THE OVEN: Not two ovens are the same. So keep an eye on it every 10 minutes. Place the roast in a preheated 180°C - 200°C oven - lowest position. Roasts with bones are oddly angled. Place a potato or metal folie under the 'lower' part to make it horizontal. When the roast ‘falls’ because of the heat, just reorganize it.
AFTER 1h30m - 2h (core temperature around 60°C) the roast is finished. I personally prefer my meat a little pink - but that's an individual thing. If the skin starts getting burned, cover it with metal folie and place the roast back in the oven. Take the roast out, cover it and leave it to settle for 30 min before cutting it..
AFTER 1h30m - 2h (core temperature around 60°C) the roast is finished. I personally prefer my meat a little pink - but that's an individual thing. If the skin starts getting burned, cover it with metal folie and place the roast back in the oven. Take the roast out, cover it and leave it to settle for 30 min before cutting it..
THE ICING ON THE CAKE: The cucumber salad is a must! Fill up a VERY CLEAN jar with thin cucumber slices. Cover it with a pot of boiling vinegar (4) + water (1), + a lot of sugar, little salt + a mix of star anise, cinnamon + estragon, thyme or Rosemary, peppercorns. BE CREATIVE!. Leave it for a few days. It will be a hit.
THE ICING ON THE CAKE: The cucumber salad is a must! Fill up a VERY CLEAN jar with thin cucumber slices. Cover it with a pot of boiling vinegar (4) + water (1), + a lot of sugar, little salt + a mix of star anise, cinnamon + estragon, thyme or Rosemary, peppercorns. BE CREATIVE!. Leave it for a few days. It will be a hit.
BON APPETIT! The Danes Love this dish for many reasons: The Salty and crispy Crackling the sweet and spicy pickled vegetables and the home baked rye bread you serve it with. When the smell from the oven in the kitchen reaches you, you know it’s Christmas.
BON APPETIT! The Danes Love this dish for many reasons: The Salty and crispy Crackling the sweet and spicy pickled vegetables and the home baked rye bread you serve it with. When the smell from the oven in the kitchen reaches you, you know it’s Christmas.

ChristmasTings LoungeTings Recipes

Thomas Tingstrup

Blogger, Traveller and Food, Music & Literature lover. Founding partner of Tings Lisbon.

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