Judd mat Gaardebounen

Luxembourg's national dish, smoked pork collar soaked and simmered until tender and served with broad beans in a bacon and cream sauce

Origin: Luxembourg

From the journey of Beans.

Judd mat Gaardebounen is smoked pork collar with broad beans, and it is Luxembourg's national dish by common consent rather than by decree. The judd is a whole collar cured and smoked, soaked overnight to draw out salt, then simmered slowly with vegetables until it can be sliced thickly. The gaardebounen, garden beans, are broad beans cooked and finished in a sauce of bacon, onion, and cream, with savory if the cook is being traditional. The pairing is seasonal in origin. Broad beans come in early summer and the smoked collar is a winter-cured meat eaten into the warmer months, and the dish sits at the join. It is the food of the Éimaischen and the summer village fairs, and it is on the menu of every traditional restaurant in the country. Luxembourgish food generally sits at the intersection of French technique, German ingredients, and Belgian portions, and this dish shows all three: the smoking and the pork are Germanic, the cream sauce is French, and the quantity is considerable. The Moselle whites grown on the country's eastern border are what is drunk with it. Summer savory, Bounekraut in Luxembourgish, is the herb for broad beans across this whole region, and its name in several languages translates as bean herb.

Ingredients

Meat

1.2 kg smoked pork collar (judd), or smoked gammon joint

Broth

2 onions, halved
2 carrots, chunked
2 bay leaves
6 black peppercorns
2 cloves

Beans

1 kg broad beans, podded (about 350 g podded weight)

Sauce

150 g streaky bacon, diced
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp plain flour
200 ml double cream
3 sprigs summer savory, or thyme

Seasoning

0.5 tsp black pepper

To serve

1 kg boiled potatoes, to serve

Method

Soak the smoked collar in cold water overnight, changing the water once.
Drain, put it in a large pan with the halved onions, carrots, bay, peppercorns, and cloves, and cover with fresh cold water.
Bring gently to a simmer and cook, covered, for about ninety minutes to two hours, until a skewer slides in with no resistance.
Meanwhile pod the broad beans and blanch them for three minutes, then slip off the grey skins if they are large.
Fry the diced bacon until its fat runs, add the chopped onion, and cook for eight minutes until soft.
Stir in the flour and cook for a minute, then whisk in 300 ml of the pork cooking broth and simmer until it thickens.
Add the cream, the savory, and the beans, and simmer gently for five minutes. Season with pepper; it will not need salt.
Slice the pork thickly and serve with the beans and their sauce spooned over, and boiled potatoes alongside.

Notes

Frozen broad beans work perfectly well out of season and need no blanching, only skinning. Summer savory is the traditional herb and is called Bounekraut, bean herb, in Luxembourgish. Thyme is the usual substitute. The reserved cooking broth makes an excellent base for a pea or lentil soup the following day.

The Gastrographer

Name: Judd mat Gaardebounen
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Luxembourg
Ingredients: 1.2 kg smoked pork collar (judd), or smoked gammon joint; 2 onions, halved; 2 carrots, chunked; 2 bay leaves; 6 black peppercorns; 2 cloves; 1 kg broad beans, podded (about 350 g podded weight); 150 g streaky bacon, diced; 1 large onion, finely chopped; 1 tbsp plain flour; 200 ml double cream; 3 sprigs summer savory, or thyme; 0.5 tsp black pepper; 1 kg boiled potatoes, to serve

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control