CZECH ROAST PORK, SAUERKRAUT & DUMPLINGS

Czech roast pork with sauerkraut and fluffy dumplings (called knedliky) is one of the national iconic meals, you will find in Czech cuisine. For those who loves comforting hearty meals with a splash of Pilsner (Czech beer), this is the dish to satisfy your bellies. This dish is prepared for special occasions such as Easter or New Year celebrations.

But I prepare it sometimes just for Sunday lunch. We just love comforting meals and my kids go crazy for knedlicky ( dumpligs), these dumplings are so soft, that you can eat them as is. But with reduced juices from slow roasted pork, it’s best!

What is Czech roast pork?

For those, who had been following my blog for long enough, knows, that I originate from the Czech Republic. The recipes from my mom’s kitchen are very dear to my heart, and this time I am going to share with you, one of the most popular dishes of the Czech Republic. I will walk you through this homemade recipe with all the little details and tricks.

Why do we love pork so much

Pork meat is one of the most flavorful meats on the Earth. No wonder, that many of us loves “the bacon”. The ideal cut for this dish is boneless pork shoulder roast cut. For the roast to be enough flavorful, we need little of fat on it, thus we choose this cut. Do not worry about that fat, we will be roasting it slowly, so all this fat will transform in juices or will become nicely crunchy, like the bacon.

Best way to roast pork

Roasting the pork is the simplest task from this whole recipe. Simply start preparing the roast, by washing it and drying it with paper towel. Use pair knife to make 9 holes on the top of the roast and place 9 small garlic cloves inside. If the garlic cloves are too large, cut them in half and use only half amount of garlic cloves. Season it with salt and pepper, on both sides. In a dutch oven or any other cast iron pot reheat vegetable oil and sear 1 large chopped onion for 2 – 3 minutes. Push the onion on the side of the dutch oven and add more oil. Sear the roast on both side, for about 1 minute each side.

Leave the roast in the dutch oven and add 1 large bay leaf, caraway seeds and 5 balls of allspice. Add 2 cup of water and place it in the preheated oven 350 F / 180 C for 30 minutes, uncovered. After 30 minutes of roasting, reduce the heat for 325 F/ 160 C and continue roasting for another 1 hour, covered. After one hour of roasting, uncover and roast for another and final 30 minutes.

Use the juices to brush it over the roast time to time. Let sit the roast in the dutch oven (covered)  for 20 minutes, before you will slice it. The roast needs to rest, so the juices stays well in the meat and it will be easier to slice the meat. If the water evaporates quickly, add more water, make sure that 1/3 of roast is always covered with juices.

Check out these Czech traditional recipes

• CZECH ROASTED DUCK WITH RED CABBAGE & DUMPLINGS
• CZECH ROASTED BEEF WITH CREAM VEGETABLE SAUCE & DUMPLINGS (SVICKOVA)
• CZECH SWEET DUMPLINGS FILLED WITH STRAWBERRIES (JAHODOVE KNEDLIKY)
• HOMEMADE CZECH SWEET PASTRY FRGALE (KOLAC)
• CZECH PRESSED COTTAGE CHEESE CHEESECAKE (TVAROHOVA BUCHTA)
• THE BEST CZECH APPLE STRUDEL (JABLECNY STRUDL)
• TRADITIONAL CZECH GOULASH (HOVEZI GULAS)

How to make traditional Czech dumplings

These dumplings are the fluffiest of all dumplings I have ever made. You can’t go wrong with this recipe, it always comes out so perfect. These dumplings are steamed, thus all the fluffiness. I would suggest to actually start preparing the dumpling even before roasting the pork. These dumplings are not hard to make, it’s just more time-consuming, because of the double rising of the dough.

Instructions on how to make dumplings

1. Start making the starter from instant yeast. I have always trouble finding, here in Canada, fresh yeast, so I got used to of the instant yeast. But even, if instant yeast is great to just toss in the flour for bread making, it’s not ideal to dumpling dough. In this case, we need to let rise the instant yeast to achieve the fluffiness of dumplings.
2. Place instant yeast in a small bowl and add warm milk, sugar and mix it well with a spoon to obtain creamy texture. Cover with plastic food wrap and let stand in a warm place for 10 minutes. (preferably on the stove, where your oven gets reheated for the roast). The starter should double in size.
3. In bowl of a stand mixer, add flour, egg, salt and yeast starter and mix low speed. Add slowly warm milk until the dough gets well combined. If it looks too dry and doesn’t want to come together, add spoon by spoon extra warm milk. Knead the dough with hook attachment on low speed, for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the dough from the stand mixer and place it on a lightly floured surface. Shape a ball from the dough and place it back to the bowl and cover with plastic food wrap. Let rise for 40 minutes in a warm place. If you don’t have a stand mixer, knead the dough with your hands for 10 minutes.
5. The dough must double in size. After first rise, punch the dough in the bowl, it will slightly deflate. Cut the dough in 4 equal pieces and shape 4 dumpling logs.
6. Place them on a baking sheet covered with food wrap or parchment paper. Cover those 4 dumpling logs with clean cotton kitchen towel and let rise for another 20 minutes in a warm place.

How to steam the dumplings

1. In a large casserole, bring water to boil and place their steam basket. Before placing the dumpling in the steam basket, brush it with butter or oil. It prevents sticking the dumplings to the steamer. Place 2 logs of dumplings in one casserole.
2. Cover and lower the heat to medium-low and steam for 20–25 minutes. Remove the dumpling logs out of the casserole and poke them with toot pick at least on 10 spots, so the extra steam can escape. Otherwise, the dumplings will shrink.
3. Cut the dumplings with sawing thread or dental floss (make sure it’s not the minty one). Yes, this one might sound funny, but even non-scented dental floss will be perfect for cutting the dumplings. The reason why, is that the dumplings are so fluffy, a simple knife would ruin the shape of the dumpling (the dumpling would get squished).

How to prepare sauerkraut for roasted pork dish

I hope you are not too discouraged, it might sound difficult to make this delicious dish, but I promise you, this is the last step and it’s all worth this work. Wait, when you will be sitting at the table, cheering with a Czech beer, saying, there you go, I did it!

How to make sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is the simplest to make. Little of vegetable oil on reheated pan, fry medium onion until slightly brown (about 5 minutes on medium high heat). Add sauerkraut and season with salt and pepper. Pour over cup and half of water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes on low heat. At the end add 1 tsp of sugar and 1 tsp of flour, mix until smooth and cook for another minute. Serve the roasted pork with dumplings and sauerkraut. Drizzle all with roasted pork juices including the roasted onion.

Tips & trick on how to succeed this traditional Czech dish

• If you don’t have Dutch oven, you can use any roast pan and sear the onion and roast pork on the side on the skillet and then place it in the roast pan.
• If you love sweet roasted onions, use 2 large onions for the roast pork. Onion brings lots of flavors in pork roast recipes.
• The dough for dumplings needs to double in size, make sure you rise the dough in enough warm place. I always use my window in sunny days or if you are reheating oven, then the stove is the perfect place to rise the dough.
• If you don’t have a large steaming basket & casserole, use the one you have at home. But make sure your dumpling logs will double in size in the steamer, so divide the dough accordingly. My casserole’s size is 10 inches and I used a collapsible steamer basket.
• Sauerkraut is sold mostly in jars with fermented water, and sometimes this water is very sour or acid. This is why I am using sugar to sweeten it up. Strain the sauerkraut in this case and don’t use the fermented water. Even though this water has a lot of vitamin C and probiotics, its taste is way too strong, so discard it.

How to store dumplings or the dough for dumplings

• The dough for dumplings: Make the dough and instead of proving the dough, cover well in plastic food foil or place in a Ziploc bag. Place it in the freezer. The frozen dough is good for up to 3 months.

• To defrost the dough: Remove the dough from the food foil and place it in a large bowl. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of all-purpose flour and cover with a tea towel or food foil. Leave it on the kitchen counter and let it prove until it doubles in size (this might a little bit of time more time, when the dough is frozen, usually 2-4 hours). Continue forming the logs and follow the recipe for second proving, etc.
• Cooked dumplings: For already cooked logs of dumplings, they can be frozen as well. Wrapped them well individually with the food foil or in airtight container. Logs of dumplings can stay in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• To defrost the cooked logs of dumplings: Place the logs still wrapped in the food foil or in an airtight container from the freezer to the refrigerator and let stay overnight. The best option for reheating dumplings, is in a steamer basket. I use a large pot with a little bit of water on the bottom (1-2 inches), bring the water to the boil and place sliced dumplings in the steaming basket. It takes in between 2–5 minutes to reheat the dumplings.

ROASTED PORK WITH SAUERKRAUT AND DUMPLINGS

Julia

Slow roasted pork with sauerkraut and fluffy dumplings is one of the top comforting and iconic dishes in Czech cuisine. You can serve it as a Sunday lunch or on special occasions like Easter.

4.92 from 12 votes

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Prep Time 50 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

kneading & prooving time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time 4 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Czech

Servings 6 people

Calories 703 kcal

Equipment

• Large dutch oven, large sauce pot with lid & steaming basket or cheese cloth to make dumplings, large skillet

Ingredients

  

Pork roast

• 1 6- pound boneless pork shoulder roast
• 9 small garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp vegetable oil; divided
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 5 balls of allspice Jamaican pepper
• salt & pepper to season
• 2 cup water

Dumplings -makes 4 logs

• 8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups warm milk +1/2 cup for the yeast starter
• 3 tsps salt
• 2 tsp instant dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp sugar

Sauerkraut

• 3 cups sauerkraut
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion
• salt & pepper to season
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Instructions

 

Pork Roast

• Preheat oven 350 F / 180 C. Take room temperature boneless pork shoulder roast and with paired knife, make 9 small holes on the top of the roast. Place 9 small garlic cloves inside. Season with salt and pepper. Let aside.
• In a dutch oven or any other cast iron pot reheat, vegetable oil on medium high and sear 1 large chopped onion for 1 min. Brown the roast on both sides, for about 1 minute each side.
• Remove the dutch oven from the heat. Add large bay leaf, caraway seeds and balls of allspice. Add 2 cups of water and place it in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, uncovered. After 30 minutes of roasting reduce the heat to 325 F/ 160 C and continue roasting for another 1 hour, covered.
• After one hour of roasting, uncover and roast for another and final 30 minutes. The roast must reach internal temperature 160 F/ 75 C. Use the juices to brush over the roast time to time.
• Let the roast sit in the dutch oven (covered) for 20 minutes, before you slice it.

Dumplings – makes 4 logs

• To prepare starter, place instant yeast in a small bowl with warm milk and sugar. Mix it well with spoon to get creamy texture. Cover the bowl with food foil and let it stand in warm place for 10 minutes. The yeast starter should double in size.
• In a bowl of stand mixer with hook attachment; add flour, egg, salt and yeast starter and mix on low speed. Add slowly warm milk, until the dough gets well combined. Knead the dough with hook attachment on medium low speed for 10 minutes. If you don’t have a stand mixer, knead the dough with your hands for 10 minutes or until the dough is stretchy and soft.
• Shape the dough in ball and place it back to the bowl and cover with plastic food wrap. Let the dough rise for 40 minutes to 1 hour in warm (sunny) place. The dough should double in size.
• After first rise, punch the dough in the bowl. The dough will slightly deflate. Place the dough on lightly floured surface and cut it in 4 equal pieces. Shape 4 dumpling logs and place them on baking sheet, covered by plastic food wrap or parchment paper. Cover those 4 logs of dumplings with clean cotton kitchen towel and let rise for another 20 minutes in warm place.
• In the meanwhile, prepare large sauce pot with steam basket. Fill it with water at the steam basket level. Brush the steam basket with butter or oil preventing sticking. Bring the water to a boil. Once the dumpling logs has risen for another 20 minutes, place 2 logs of dumplings in large sauce pot with steam basket. Cover the sauce pot with lid and lower the heat on medium-low. Steam the dumpling logs for 20-25 minutes.
• Remove the dumpling logs out of the steaming basket and poke them with toot pick or fork. Cut the dumplings with sawing thread or unscented dental floss. Serve!

Sauerkraut

• In a large skillet with lid, reheat vegetable oil and sear chopped medium onion for about 5 minutes, or until slightly brown.
• Add sauerkraut and water. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook covered, for 15 -20 minutes or until the water will slightly evaporate.
• Add sugar and flour and cook for another 1 minute on medium high heat, uncovered. Serve the pork with dumplings, sauerkraut and drizzle with juices from the roasted pork.

Notes

• If you don’t have dutch oven, you can use any roast pan and  sear the onion and roast pork on the side on skillet and then place it in the roast pan.
• If you love roasted onions, use 2 large onions for the roast pork, instead of one. This makes the whole dish even more flavorful. Onion brings lots of flavours in pork roast recipes.
• The dough for dumplings needs to double, make sure you leave the dough to rise in warm & sunny place. I always use my window in sunny days or place it close to the stove.
• If you don’t have large steaming basket & sauce pan, you can use any sauce pan and cheese cloth to steam the dumplings. Simply place the cheesecloth around the sauce pan and secure it by tightening the edges of cheesecloth to the handles of the sauce pot.                                                              (This picture is only visual guide, how to attach the cheesecloth to the sauce pot. Inside it’s not the dumpling log from this recipe. These are sweet strawberry dumplings).
• Dumpling logs will double in size in the steamer, so divide the dough accordingly. My sauce pot size is 10 inch and I used collapsible steamer basket in this recipe.
• Sauerkraut is sold mostly in jars with fermented water and sometimes this water is very sour or acid. Taste first your sauerkraut, if too acid, strain the sauerkraut and discard the fermented water.

Storing the dumplings

The dough for dumplings: Make the dough and instead of proving the dough, cover well in plastic food foil or place in a Ziploc bag. Place it in the freezer. The frozen dough is good for up to 3 months.
To defrost the dough: Remove the dough from the food foil and place it in a large bowl. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of all-purpose flour and cover with a tea towel or food foil. Leave it on the kitchen counter and let it prove until it doubles in size (this might a little bit of time more time, when the dough is frozen, usually 2-4 hours). Continue forming the logs and follow the recipe for second proving, etc.
Cooked dumplings: For already cooked logs of dumplings, they can be frozen as well. Wrapped them well individually with the food foil or in airtight container. Logs of dumplings can stay in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To defrost the cooked logs of dumplings: Place the logs still wrapped in the food foil or in an airtight container from the freezer to the refrigerator and let stay overnight.
The best option for reheating dumplings, is in a steamer basket. I use a large pot with a little bit of water on the bottom (1-2 inches), bring the water to the boil and place sliced dumplings in the steaming basket. It takes in between 2-5 minutes to reheat the dumplings.

Keyword comforting, dumplings, family food, festive, roasted pork, sauerkraut

I am linking this recipe to Cook blog share week 3