Steirisches Wurzelfleisch
Pork simmered with root vegetables, vinegar and spices, served with potatoes and freshly grated horseradish. A Styrian specialty.
- prep
- 25 min
- cook
- 1 h 30 min
- total
- 1 h 55 min
- serves
- 6
- level
- medium
Wurzelfleisch, literally root meat, is a rustic Styrian dish: pork simmered slowly with carrots, celery root and onion until everything is tender, finished with a splash of vinegar for a little sourness.
Fresh horseradish on the side is not a garnish you can skip or prep too far ahead. Grate it right before serving, since it loses its sharp bite fast once exposed to air.
Part of our 20 best Austrian recipes list.
method
Place the pork in a large pot with the water or stock, carrots, celery root, onion, bay leaves, caraway and allspice.
Bring to a boil, skim off any scum, then lower to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 1.5 hours, until the pork is very tender.
Stir in the vinegar in the last 15 minutes, and season with salt to taste.
Boil the potatoes separately until tender.
Serve the pork and vegetables with their broth in bowls, alongside the boiled potatoes and a generous pile of freshly grated horseradish on the side.
chef's tips
- Fresh horseradish, grated just before serving, is essential here; it loses its sharpness quickly once grated, so prepare it last.
- The vinegar added near the end is what gives Wurzelfleisch its slight sourness against the rich pork, a Styrian touch that sets it apart from a plain pork and vegetable soup.
- "Wurzelfleisch" literally means "root meat," a direct reference to the vegetables it is simmered with.
- This is a genuinely rustic, farmhouse-style dish from Styria, in the south of Austria, built for using root vegetables through the colder months.