The best recipes for Moravian sparrows or tender slow-roasted pork 3 times differently

Slow and lightly roasted pork meat in its own juice with homemade bread or sourdough dumpling sounds like the right choice for Sunday lunch!

Try one of these three fantastic Moravian sparrow recipes and enjoy it like you haven’t in a long time.

The combination of a fluffy homemade dumpling, with sour or sweet cabbage and tender meat is a classic that will never disappoint or offend anyone.

Cook, but a proper cauldron, because this goodness will only get dusty!

Moravian sparrow with cabbage and sourdough dumpling

Meat that falls apart just by looking at it? This is exactly how tender these pork pastries are. The meat goes through a long roasting process, but we are rewarded with tender pieces of meat in their own juices. And if you want, you can enrich the whole recipe with sauerkraut and home-made yeast dumplings.

What will we need

1. 1.2 kg pork shoulder
2. 600 g boneless pork belly
3. 4 onions
4. 10 cloves of garlic
5. 2 teaspoons of salt
6. 2 teaspoons cumin
7. 500 ml light beer
8. 400 ml of beef broth

For yeast dumplings

1. A teaspoon of sugar
2. 20 g of salt
3. 2 eggs
4. 20 g of yeast
5. 1 kg semi-coarse flour
6. 2 pcs of older rolls
7. 500 ml of milk

On the cabbage

1. 800 g of sauerkraut
2. 3 tablespoons lard
3. 2 onions
4. A pinch of cumin
5. Salt

Method

1. Cut the pork and belly into smaller cubes
2. Then transfer the cubes to the baking tray and add salt and cumin
3. Mix the meat and spices well to coat
4. Peel the garlic and either press it into the meat or cut it into larger pieces and add it to the meat
5. Finally, pour beer and ½ of the stock into the roasting pan
6. Put the roasting pan with the meat in the oven and bake it at 180 degrees for approximately 1 hour, until the meat is soft and golden brown
7. While baking, stir the meat and add stock and beer as needed
8. In the meantime, we will prepare dumplings and cabbage
9. Warm the milk slightly (it must be lukewarm, not hot) and pour about 100 ml of it
10. Finely crumble the yeast into the poured milk and add the sugar
11. Then let the yeast rise in a not warm place
12. Cut the rolls into cubes
13. Sift flour and salt into a bowl
14. Add eggs and yeast
15. We work everything together thoroughly and create a slightly sticky mixture
16. If the dough seems too stiff, add a little lukewarm milk
17. Finally, add the sliced bread roll
18. Dust the dough with flour, cover with a clean towel and leave to rise in a warm place
19. Then divide the dough into 4 equal parts, knead again and make dumplings
20. We then let them rest for another 15 minutes
21. Then cook the dumplings in boiling salted water for about 20 minutes (turn them halfway through cooking)
22. Pierce them with a fork immediately after removing them from the pot so that they do not collapse
23. Finally, we prepare the cabbage
24. Heat the lard in a large pan or pot and add the diced onion
25. Fry until golden, then add the cabbage
26. Mix and season with salt and cumin as needed
27. Moravian sparrow is served with cabbage, sourdough bread dumpling and baked juice

Moravian sparrow with spinach and potato dumpling

Tender meat, full of its own juice. This is how I imagine the perfect pork roast. But fantasizing was enough and you can prepare such delicious meat once or twice at your home. Let’s add a good portion of creamed spinach to it, together with a real potato dumpling.

What will we need

On sparrows

1. 500 g pork shoulder
2. 250 g pork belly
3. 2 onions
4. 5 cloves of garlic
5. A teaspoon of ground cumin
6. 100 ml water (or beef broth)
7. Salt (as needed)
8. Pepper (as needed)

For spinach

1. 3 tablespoons of butter
2. Onion
3. 600 g frozen chopped spinach
4. 2 cloves of garlic
5. 100 ml of 31% cream
6. Salt (as needed)

For dumpling

1. 250 g of potatoes
2. 110 g oat flour
3. Salt (as needed)

Method

1. Turn on the oven at 150 degrees
2. Cut the pork belly into larger cubes
3. Add it to the baking dish and thoroughly salt, pepper and season with cumin
4. Then add the pressed garlic and mix everything together thoroughly so that the meat is completely coated in the spices
5. Peel the onion and cut it into very small cubes
6. Then pour the onion into the roasting pan, add the meat over it and cover everything with water or broth
7. Be careful not to add too much broth, otherwise the onion won’t caramelize, the meat shouldn’t float
8. Place the tray in the preheated oven and bake it at 150 degrees for 2-3 hours
9. Check the meat regularly during baking, stir and baste as needed
10. When the meat is ready, take it out of the oven and pour the cooked juice into a clean pot and place it on the stove
11. Let the juice and onion continue to sauté at a high temperature to give it a more intense flavor
12. When the juice is ready, pour another 100 ml of water into it and mix everything into a smooth and thick sauce
13. Let the sauce bubble for another 15 minutes at a low temperature
14. Taste and season with pepper and salt as needed, add the meat and keep the mixture warm
15. For the spinach, melt the butter in a saucepan and fry the finely chopped onion until golden brown.
16. As soon as the onion is golden, add the spinach and cook for 10 minutes until some of the water evaporates from the spinach
17. Add the cream and pressed garlic and let it bubble at a low temperature
18. Taste and add salt, garlic or pepper to taste
19. Boil peeled potatoes in salted water for dumplings
20. When the potatoes are cooked, let them cool and then finely grate them
21. Add salt to the grated potatoes and gradually add flour
22. The dough will be sticky at first, but with more flour it will form a smooth potato dough
23. When the dough is ready, let it rest for 10-15 minutes
24. After that, we roll out donuts from it on a floured roll, which we cook in salted boiling water
25. The dumpling will cook for about 8 minutes, when it floats, take it out of the pot

Baked pork in the oven with red cabbage

Moravian sparrow recipe has never been easier! In a few steps, this delicious dish will be lying in front of you, with which you will not offend anyone, on the contrary! Make more of it just to be sure, because it just gets dusty.

What will we need

1. 2 onions
2. 3 cloves of garlic
3. 50 g lard (to grease the baking tray)
4. 500 g pork shoulder
5. 250 g boneless pork belly
6. 100 ml beef stock (or water)
7. 3 teaspoons of salt
8. 2 teaspoons of pepper
9. A pinch of cumin

On red cabbage

1. Red cabbage (finely chopped)
2. 2 bay leaves
3. Anise
4. ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
5. 200 ml vegetable stock (or water)
6. 50 g granulated sugar
7. 75 ml of apple cider vinegar
8. 2 apples (seeded and cut into wedges)

Method

1. Turn on the oven at 200 degrees
2. Peel the onion and cut it into rounds
3. Cut the peeled garlic cloves into slices
4. Grease the meat roaster with lard (don’t be afraid of a good layer of lard)
5. We then layer the garlic together with the onion in the baking dish
6. Wash, dry and cut the meat into cubes and add to the bowl
7. There, we salt the meat thoroughly, pepper it, add cumin and mix everything thoroughly
8. Pour the unseasoned pork into the roasting pan along with the onion and garlic and add 50 ml of stock
9. Cover the roasting pan with the meat with a lid and put it in the oven
10. Bake the Moravian sparrows for about 1 hour
11. During baking, turn the meat and baste with broth as needed
12. When the meat is soft enough, remove the lid and continue baking until golden brown for another 30 minutes
13. In the meantime, prepare the cabbage
14. Put all the ingredients except the apples in a large pot and season
15. Put the pot on the stove and turn it on to medium heat
16. Bring the cabbage to a boil in the pot
17. Then reduce the temperature and cook for another 30 minutes
18. Add the apples and continue to cook for 15 minutes until soft
19. We serve the Moravian sparrow with red cabbage and baked juice from the pastries

How to prepare pork perfectly?

When it comes to feasting, it’s hard to resist a plate full of tender pork with a perfect crispy crust. With a little know-how, you and your family can enjoy juicy meat with a crispy crust any day of the year. Come with us and see how you can prepare an incredibly delicious meatloaf step by step.

Dry the meat with a paper towel. Using a small, sharp knife, score the skin deeply at 1cm intervals without cutting into the flesh.

Place the cut meat in the refrigerator for an hour or overnight. This helps dry out the skin and makes it even crispier after baking.

Brush the meat with 1 tablespoon of oil and season with a little salt. Rub the oil and salt thoroughly into the cuts.

Place the meat on a wire rack inside the baking tray and bake at 240°C until the crust cracks.

Turn on the oven at 180°C and bake for 30-35 minutes per kg, depending on how well done you like your meat.

After cooking, let the roast rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Tips

One of the most important things when cooking a pork roast is to dry the skin as much as possible before you start cooking.

If you want cooked skin, look for a good ratio between fat, skin and meat. The most suitable parts are the thigh, ribs, back and shoulder.

If you don’t want baked goods, choose a skinless meat such as pork tenderloin. This piece has less fat, so they are also healthier.

Store the pork in the coldest part of the refrigerator. If you don’t use it within two days, you can freeze the pork for up to six months.

Place the pork in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag.

Defrosting takes 24-48 hours, at room temperature, depending on the size of the roast.

As a general rule, when roasting pork with the skin, preheat the oven to 220°C to crisp the skin, then reduce the temperature to 180°C to cook the meat.

To enjoy the most juicy pork roast, cook it until it remains slightly pink in the center.

After removing the pork from the oven, cover the roasting pan with foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing. This allows the juices to settle, helping to keep the meat tender and juicy.

Difference: Moravian sparrow vs pastries

It easily happens that Moravian sparrows are confused with pork pastries and vice versa. So how is it actually? What sets these dishes apart?

Moravian sparrow is meat cut into pieces and roasted until soft with a higher fat content.

Now watch out! Moravian sparrow is prepared in a mixture of cumin, garlic and onion spices. And it is precisely garlic and onions that distinguish sparrows from other types of pork meat pastries.

Both dishes are served with side dishes such as dumplings and cabbage. All recipes for both Moravian sparrow and pork baked goods with cabbage (red and white), with dumplings (potato and bun) can be found here in this article!

Enjoy with us!