Kassler
Smoked cured pork loin roasted with sauerkraut and onions for 90 minutes until tender, a German family dinner.
Photograph credit: Kassler by mygraphx · Pixabay Content License · Pixabay
It looks like a ham and eats like a roast pork, which is the difference smoking and curing make. Kassler is a smoked, cured pork loin, pink inside and mild, and it only needs gentle heat to warm it through and make it tender.
Soften onions in lard in a casserole, add the sauerkraut, a grated apple, juniper and caraway and pour in white wine and stock. Set the kassler on top. Cover the casserole and keep the oven low, at 160°C / 320°F, because the joint is already cured and cooks to a firm, dry meat if it is rushed. The sauerkraut gives off steam that keeps it moist.
After 90 minutes the meat should be tender when pierced and the cabbage soft. Lift it out, rest it for 10 minutes and carve in thick slices. Serve on the sauerkraut with mashed potato or boiled potatoes and mustard. The cabbage is better the next day, and leftover slices fry well.
The Method for Kassler
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Heat the oven to 160°C / 320°F. Soften the onions in the lard in a casserole for 5 minutes.
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Add the sauerkraut, apple, juniper, caraway, wine and stock and stir.
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Set the kassler on top, cover tightly and cook for 90 minutes.
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Rest the meat for 10 minutes and carve in thick slices. Serve on the sauerkraut.
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Worth Getting Right
- Keep the oven low, as the meat is already cured.
- Cover the casserole to keep the cabbage moist.
- Slice thickly so the meat stays juicy.
Ingredient Swaps
- A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.
Pairs Well With
Mashed potato · Boiled potatoes · Mustard · Riesling
Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Bratkartoffeln, Gurkensalat, Kartoffelklosse.
Storage
Keeps for 4 days in the fridge. Freeze for 2 months.
Kassler Nutrition
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. The calories include 4 g of alcohol a serving, which is not part of the protein, carbohydrate or fat. How the figures are worked out.
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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