Pork leg or shoulder, root vegetables, pickled cucumbers, cream, and fragrant spices create a traditional dish with a rich, slightly tangy sauce. Hamburg pork with bread dumplings is perfect for a Sunday lunch or a festive family meal.
Preparation is not difficult, it just requires enough time for the meat to become tender and for the flavors to blend. The vegetable base is blended, thickened with flour, and enriched with cream. If you want an even bolder sauce, you can add rendered bacon and smoked meat.
What You’ll Need
For the Meat and Larding:
- pork leg or shoulder,
- thin sausage,
- batons of carrot, bacon, and ham,
- pickled cucumber,
- salt,
- oil.
For the Vegetable Sauce:
- onion,
- carrot,
- a piece of celery,
- parsley root,
- bay leaf,
- 3 allspice berries,
- 2 peppercorns,
- a piece of bouillon cube,
- water,
- full-fat mustard,
- flour,
- cream,
- about 4 pickled cucumbers,
- vinegar, optional to taste.
For Finishing and Serving:
- bacon cut into cubes, optional,
- smoked meat cut into cubes, optional,
- bread dumplings.
The original recipe, except for the specified number of spice berries and cucumbers, does not state exact ingredient amounts, so adjust them according to the size of the meat, number of servings, and desired sauce consistency.
Step-by-Step Preparation:
1. Larding the Meat: Lard the pork leg or shoulder with thin sausage, batons of carrot, bacon, ham, and pickled cucumber. Salt the meat on all sides and tie it with kitchen twine to help it keep its shape during cooking.
2. Preparing the Vegetable Base: Chop the onion and sauté it in oil until golden. Add chopped carrot, celery, and parsley root, bay leaf, 3 allspice berries, and 2 peppercorns. Briefly sauté everything together.
3. Browning the Meat: Place the larded meat onto the prepared vegetable base. Sear it on all sides so the surface seals and the inside stays as juicy as possible.
4. Adding Liquid and Cooking: Pour boiling water over the meat and vegetables, add a piece of bouillon cube, and salt as needed. Continue cooking so the meat gradually softens and the vegetables infuse the sauce with their flavor.
5. Adding Cucumbers: After half an hour of cooking, add about 4 pickled cucumbers. Continue cooking until the meat is tender.
6. Removing the Meat and Spices: Once the meat is tender enough, remove it from the pot and set aside. Remove the allspice berries, peppercorns, and cooked cucumbers from the base so the resulting sauce is smooth.
7. Blending the Sauce: Thoroughly blend the cooked vegetables with their juices. Add water as needed, stir in full-fat mustard, and thicken the sauce with flour mixed in water. Work the flour mixture in carefully to avoid lumps.
8. Optional Addition of Bacon and Smoked Meat: For a more pronounced flavor, render diced bacon and smoked meat. Add them directly to the finished sauce, or keep them aside and use them for serving.
9. Finishing with Cucumbers and Cream: Chop more pickled cucumbers finely or into rounds and add them to the sauce. Finally, stir in the cream and adjust the seasoning. Add a little vinegar to taste if desired.
10. Serving: Remove the kitchen twine from the meat and slice it into portions. Serve the Hamburg pork topped with the finished sauce and bread dumplings. Optionally, top each portion with rendered bacon and smoked meat.
How to Achieve a Smooth Sauce
Before blending, remember to remove the bay leaf and spice berries. Always mix the flour thoroughly in water before adding it to the blended base. Adjust the amount of water gradually depending on how thick you want the sauce.
How to Adjust the Final Flavor
Pickled cucumbers give the sauce its typical freshness, while cream softens its taste. If the sauce is too mild after adding cream, you can season it with a little vinegar as in the original recipe. Add it carefully and always to taste.
Final Tip
Bacon and smoked meat are optional, so you can leave them out or use them just to finish individual servings. Slice the meat only after removing the twine and serve it with plenty of sauce and bread dumplings.
