Brassói aprópecsenye
Brassói aprópecsenye: garlic-and-marjoram fried pork with crisp potato cubes
Despite the name, which points to Brassó (Brașov) in Transylvania, this is a Budapest invention, and it is still one of the most ordered plates in the city's small family restaurants. Small cubes of pork neck or shoulder are fried hard with onion, lots of garlic, marjoram and a little paprika until they are browned and juicy, then tossed with golden, crunchy fried potato cubes. It is a quick, salty, garlicky dish, best with a bowl of pickles or a crisp cucumber salad and a glass of cold mineral water. The usual slip is crowding the pan, so the pork steams grey instead of browning; fry it in two batches. Chef's tip: add half the garlic at the start and the rest in the last minute, so you get both the mellow and the sharp flavour.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the pork
- 1 ⅓ lb pork neck or shouldercut into 1.5 cm cubes
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 6 garlic clovescrushed
- 1 ½ tsp dried marjoram
- 1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
- ½ tsp ground caraway
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup water
For the potatoes
- 1 ¾ lb waxy potatoespeeled, cut into 1.5 cm cubes
- 2 ½ cups sunflower oil for frying
- ½ tsp salt
To serve
- 5 ½ oz pickled gherkins or mixed pickles (optional)
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Rinse the 1 ¾ lb waxy potatoes and dry them very well in a clean towel.
5 minStep 2: Heat the 2 ½ cups sunflower oil for frying in a deep pan to 350°F (a cube sizzles straight away). Fry the potatoes in two batches for 8–10 minutes each, until golden and crisp. Drain on paper and sprinkle with the ½ tsp salt; keep warm in a low oven.
20 minStep 3: Meanwhile season the 1 ⅓ lb pork neck or shoulder with the 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper and ½ tsp ground caraway. Heat the 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a wide frying pan over a high heat and brown the pork in two batches for 5 minutes each, until browned on all sides.
10 minStep 4: Return all the pork to the pan, turn the heat to medium and add the 1 onion. Fry for 5 minutes, until soft and golden.
5 minStep 5: Stir in half the 3 garlic cloves, the 1 ½ tsp dried marjoram and the 1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika, add the ½ cup water and cook for 5 minutes, scraping up the browned bits, until the liquid has nearly gone and the pork is cooked through to 160°F.
5 minStep 6: Add the rest of the 3 garlic cloves and fry for 1 minute until fragrant. Taste for salt.
1 minStep 7: Toss the hot potatoes through the pork and serve at once with 5 ½ oz pickled gherkins or mixed pickles on the side.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 640 kcal
- Protein
- 33 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 40 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does brassói aprópecsenye take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Tteokgalbi
Tteokgalbi is rib meat chopped finely, pressed back into neat slabs and grilled, so it's soft enough to eat without struggling with a bone. Two places in South Jeolla claim it: Damyang, the bamboo county, where all-beef patties come with rice steamed in bamboo tubes, and Gwangju's Songjeong district, whose restaurant street near the railway station mixes beef with pork. This home version uses minced beef and pork, seasoned with soy, garlic and pear, then brushed with a soy and honey glaze as it cooks. Serve with rice, lettuce and a few banchan; leftovers are good cold in a lunchbox. Chef's tip: slap the mince against the bowl for a few minutes; it turns sticky and the patties hold together on the grill without any breadcrumbs.
Korean
Char siu
Hanging in long glossy strips in the windows of Guangzhou's siu mei shops, char siu is the roast pork Cantonese families pick up on the way home to put on rice, noodles or into steamed buns. The outside is lacquered, sweet and a little charred at the edges; the inside stays juicy, savoury and faintly scented with five-spice. Shoulder (pork butt) is the cut to use, because its marbling keeps the strips moist through a hot oven. Marinate it overnight in the fridge, roast it the next day and eat it warm with steamed rice and blanched greens, or cold in fried rice and noodle soups. Chef's tip: save the honey for the last ten minutes; brushed on at the start it burns black long before the pork is cooked.
Chinese