Sylte

Matprat calls sylte a classic Norwegian Christmas cold-cut preparation. This selected hodesylte version uses meat, fat and rind from half a pig’s head together with pork shoulder, seasoned with ground cloves, allspice and ginger.

The head stands in running cold water, or water changed frequently, for six to eight hours or overnight. The head and shoulder are then gently cooked in a separate batch of boiling water. While the head is still warm, its rind is removed as intact as possible, small rind pieces are chopped, and the meat and fat are cut and kept separately.

A cloth lines a bowl and one circle cut from the rind forms the bottom layer. Salt, pepper, the ground spices and gelatin powder are mixed, then sprinkled with chopped rind between alternating layers of meat and fat. A second rind circle closes the top.

The cloth is tightened around the assembled sylte and cotton string is wrapped firmly around it. The bundle goes back into the same cooking stock to steep at 90°C for about an hour without boiling.

The sylte is placed immediately in a press, lightly at first and more firmly as it cools. Matprat presents the finished layered preparation as a Christmas cold cut; weak brine is offered as an optional storage method.