Judd mat Gaardebounen

Ingredients

Meat

• 1.2 kgsmoked and cured pork collar (Judd), in one piece
• 2onions, halved
• 2carrots, chunked
• 1leek, halved
• 3bay leaves
• 8black peppercorns
• 6cloves
• 3 sprigssummer savory

Beans

• 1.2 kgbroad beans in the pod, or 500 g podded, fresh or frozen
• 2 sprigssummer savory (Bounekraut)

Cream sauce

• 40 gbutter
• 40 gplain flour
• 400 mlof the pork cooking broth
• 200 mldouble cream
• 2shallots, finely chopped
• 1 tspDijon mustard, optional
• Salt and white pepper

To serve

• 800 gboiled potatoes
• 1glass dry Moselle Riesling

Directions

1. Soak the smoked collar in cold water for 12 hours, changing the water twice. This is not optional: the cure is heavy and unsoaked Judd comes out too salty to eat.
2. Drain, put the meat in a large pot with the onions, carrots, leek, bay, peppercorns, cloves and savory, and cover with fresh cold water.
3. Bring slowly to a bare simmer and skim the grey scum carefully in the first 10 minutes. Never let it boil: hard boiling toughens the collar and clouds the broth you need for the sauce.
4. Simmer gently, part-covered, for 2 to 2.5 hours, until a skewer slides into the thickest part with no resistance and the meat gives when pressed.
5. Pod the broad beans. If they are large or older than early summer, blanch them 2 minutes and slip off the grey skins to reveal the bright green inner bean; this makes an enormous difference to both colour and texture.
6. Simmer the beans with a sprig of savory in a ladleful of the pork broth for 5–8 minutes, until tender but not collapsing. Drain, keeping the liquid.
7. Make the sauce: melt the butter, sweat the shallots for 3 minutes, stir in the flour and cook the roux 2 minutes without colouring. Whisk in 400 ml of the strained hot broth a little at a time to a smooth sauce, then simmer 8 minutes.
8. Stir in the cream and the mustard, simmer 3 minutes more until it coats a spoon, and season with white pepper. Taste before adding any salt, as the broth carries plenty.
9. Fold the drained beans into the sauce and warm through without boiling.
10. Lift out the Judd, rest 10 minutes, then carve into thick 1.5 cm slices. Lay them on warm plates, spoon the beans and cream sauce over and around, and serve with boiled potatoes and a glass of Riesling.

Technique

• Judd is smoked, brined pork collar, not fresh pork and not gammon. It is fattier and more marbled than loin, which is why it stays juicy through two and a half hours in the pot.
• Summer savory is again the defining herb, used both with the meat and with the beans.
• Skinning the broad beans is the step most home cooks skip and most restaurants do. Grey-skinned beans taste starchy and look drab in a cream sauce.
• The cooking broth is the sauce base, so control the salt by soaking the meat properly rather than by diluting later.

Substitutions

• No Judd: a lightly smoked gammon or kasseler collar, soaked the same way, is the nearest thing outside Luxembourg.
• Frozen podded broad beans are entirely acceptable and are what most Luxembourg households use out of season.
• If you cannot find summer savory, thyme with a pinch of marjoram is the usual fallback.

Variations

• A version where the beans are bound with a plain flour-and-broth sauce, without cream.
• Judd served with Stäerzelen, small buckwheat dumplings, instead of potatoes.
• The Bofferding brewery version braised with beer instead of some of the water.

History

Smoked pork collar with broad beans, treated as the national dish; the collar is brined and smoked, as farms preserved pork before refrigeration.

Frequently asked questions

What is Judd mat Gaardebounen?

Judd mat Gaardebounen is a main from Luxembourg: smoked pork collar with broad beans in cream sauce; national dish. Smoked pork collar with broad beans, treated as the national dish; the collar is brined and smoked, as farms preserved pork before refrigeration.

How long does Judd mat Gaardebounen take to make?

Judd mat Gaardebounen takes 20 min plus overnight soak of preparation and 2 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Judd mat Gaardebounen?

Yes, within limits. No Judd: a lightly smoked gammon or kasseler collar, soaked the same way, is the nearest thing outside Luxembourg. Frozen podded broad beans are entirely acceptable and are what most Luxembourg households use out of season. If you cannot find summer savory, thyme with a pinch of marjoram is the usual fallback.

What is the most important thing to get right in Judd mat Gaardebounen?

Soak the smoked collar in cold water for 12 hours, changing the water twice. This is not optional: the cure is heavy and unsoaked Judd comes out too salty to eat.