Air Fryer Stegt Flæsk (Danish Crispy Pork)

April 7, 2025

Air Fryer Stegt Flæsk (Danish Crispy Pork)

Stegt flæsk med persillesovs — crispy fried pork with parsley sauce — was voted Denmark’s national dish in 2014, and for good reason: crisp fried pork belly, a smooth roux-based parsley sauce and boiled potatoes are about as Danish as food gets. Here the pork is cooked in the air fryer instead of in the pan.

The air fryer makes frying easy and a little cleaner. The fat drips into the bottom instead of spattering all over the stove, and the slices crisp up all the way around without your having to stand and turn them in a hot pan. In return the pork can turn out a touch drier, so don’t cook it any longer than necessary.

The key to crispy pork is air. The slices should lie in a single layer with space between them, or stand upright on wooden skewers, so the hot air can circulate all the way around. Pat them dry and salt them before they go in — that draws moisture out of the surface and makes it crackle.

The parsley sauce is the classic roux-based kind: butter and flour let down with whole milk and stirred through with plenty of finely chopped parsley. Serve the pork with boiled, peeled potatoes and plenty of sauce — the trio that makes this a national dish.

Ingredients

Serves 4

The fried pork

800-900 g fresh streaky pork belly (frying pork), sliced about 1 cm thick
1-2 tsp coarse salt
freshly ground pepper (optional)

Parsley sauce

5 dl whole milk
25 g butter
25 g wheat flour
1 large bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped (about 20 g)
salt
freshly ground pepper
½ lemon, finely grated zest and juice (optional)

To serve

1-1.2 kg potatoes, peeled

Directions

The fried pork

Preheat the air fryer to 390°F (200°C). Preheating isn’t strictly necessary — if you skip it, add 2-3 minutes to the cooking time.

Pat the pork slices completely dry with paper towels, and season them with salt and, if you like, pepper on both sides. A dry surface and the salt draw moisture out and give a crisper result.

Place the slices in the air fryer basket with air between them — either in a single layer with space, or threaded onto 2-3 wooden skewers so they stand upright. Cook in several batches if the basket is full; the slices mustn’t sit close together, or the air won’t circulate.

Cook at 375-390°F (190-200°C) for about 20 minutes (15-25 minutes depending on thickness and model), until the pork is golden and crisp. If the slices lie flat, turn them after about 10 minutes. On skewers they don’t need turning.

Keep an eye on the last few minutes, and add a couple more if you want the pork even crisper. The fat will have dripped into the bottom along the way.

Parsley sauce

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the flour, and let the roux cook through for a minute without taking on color.

Whisk in the milk a little at a time, so the sauce turns smooth and free of lumps. Let it cook through over medium heat for 5-8 minutes, whisking regularly, until the raw-flour taste is gone and the sauce is medium-thick.

Stir in the finely chopped parsley, and season with salt and pepper and, if you like, a little lemon zest and juice. Serve the sauce right away.

To serve

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes until tender in lightly salted water, about 15-20 minutes depending on size. Serve the crispy pork with potatoes and plenty of parsley sauce.

Notes

The three keys to crispness: pat the pork dry, make sure there’s air between the slices, and cook until it’s really golden — better a couple of minutes too long than too short.
The skewer or rack method lets several slices stand upright at once, gives even crispness all the way around and saves turning — handy for 4 people or more.
Don’t bread the pork in the air fryer — the breading falls off. If you want breaded pork, that belongs in the pan.
Time and temperature vary with the air fryer model and the thickness of the slices. Use 375-390°F (190-200°C) for 20 minutes as a starting point, and adjust to your own machine.
The classic parsley sauce is a roux of butter, flour and milk. Cream and cornstarch versions are shortcuts, not the traditional one.