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Recipes From Steven's Kitchen

Bavarian-Style Krustenbraten Pork Belly (Schweinebauch) with Wheat Beer Pan Sauce

Steven Calabrese makes a Vera's home-kitchen riff on Schweinebauch and Krustenbraten: scored pork belly, wheat beer, stock, onions, carrots, Yukon gold potatoes, and a pan sauce pureed from the braise.

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Raw pork belly on Steven Calabrese kitchen counter with baby Vera in the background.
A real home-kitchen test, with Vera nearby for the sweetest kind of company.

From Steven's kitchen

The plate started with a beer and a question.

Steven was looking at Bavaria: cold wheat beer, pork on the table, potatoes alongside it, and the kind of meal that feels warm, sturdy, and built for a long sit-down.

He kept this first pass honest. No overbuilt garnish, no pretending it came from a finished menu. Just pork belly, beer, stock, onions, carrots, potatoes, salt, pepper, and a sauce made from the pan.

Vintage southern Germany inspired scrapbook art with wheat beer, potatoes, cabbage, alpine village, and warm kitchen details.
Inspiration art: southern Germany, wheat beer, cabbage, potatoes, and an old-world kitchen mood.

Sauce Note

The sauce is the point: wheat beer, stock, carrots, onions, pepper, and pork juices pureed until the potatoes and pork have somewhere rich to land.

Next-Time Ideas

Next round, Steven would try potato dumplings, sauerkraut, or a homemade pickle project to push the plate deeper into Bavarian comfort.

The Method

Fresh pork belly showing meat and fat layers before Steven Calabrese scores it.

01

The cut

Start with pork belly that has enough fat to crisp and enough meat to stay rich after the long cook.

Raw pork belly scored in a diamond pattern before searing.

02

The score

The fat gets scored in a diamond pattern, then seasoned simply with salt.

Pork belly in a pan with the fat side cooked and scored.

03

The heat

A medium to medium-high sear starts the color. The secret is leaving it alone.

Paulaner Hefe-Weizen wheat beer used for southern German pork belly inspiration.

04

The braise

Wheat beer, stock, yellow onions, and shredded carrots become the base for the sauce.

The sauce was the point

Nothing fancy for the sake of fancy. Just the pan telling the truth.

The pork cooked covered at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about three hours, then uncovered on the top rack at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes. That final blast brought the fat up crisp.

The sauce came from the same pan as the pork: carrots, yellow onions, wheat beer, stock, pepper, and the juices from the cook. Steven pureed it until it became the thing that pulled the whole plate together.

The Yukon gold potatoes were boiled, but they did not eat plain. They were dragged through the carrot-onion-beer sauce, which is why they tasted buttery and rich without needing a pile of extras.

The sauce turns the potato into part of the whole plate.
Beer, stock, carrot, onion, and pork juices doing the work.
A finished test plate, honest and warm.
The crisp finish, served with Yukon gold potatoes and pan sauce.

Tools From Steven's Kitchen

Some tool links are affiliate links, which means Vera's may earn a small commission if you buy through them.

Shop Tool

Japanese-style chef knife

Used for the clean score before the sear.

Score the pork belly in a diamond pattern. Shop Tool

Cheese grater

Used to shred carrots into the braise.

Grate carrots so they melt into the sauce. Shop Tool

Stainless steel searing pan

Used for the medium-high sear.

Let the pan build color without moving the pork. Shop Tool

Roasting pan

Used for the covered beer-and-stock cook.

Hold the beer, stock, onions, carrots, and pork belly. Shop Tool

Spatula set

Used for moving and plating.

Lift, turn, and plate without tearing the crisp top. Shop Tool

Immersion blender

Used to turn the pan into sauce.

Puree carrots, onions, beer, stock, and pan juices.

Recipe Card

Bavarian-Style Pork Belly Wheat Beer Sauce

Based on Steven's test plate. Quantities can flex with the size of the pork belly, but the method stays the same.

Download Recipe Card Printable PDF for the kitchen

Ingredients

  • Pork belly slab, skin or fat side scored
  • Kosher salt
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Wheat beer, such as Paulaner Hefe-Weizen
  • Chicken or pork stock
  • Yellow onions
  • Shredded carrots
  • Yukon gold potatoes
  • Black pepper

Method

  1. Score the fat side of the pork belly in a diamond pattern and season simply with salt. Used here: Japanese-style chef knife
  2. Heat extra virgin olive oil in a stainless steel pan over medium to medium-high heat. Sear the pork belly without moving it for about four minutes so the pan can do its job. Used here: Stainless steel searing pan, Spatula set
  3. Move the pork belly fat side up into a roasting pan with wheat beer, stock, yellow onions, and shredded carrots. Used here: Roasting pan, Cheese grater
  4. Cover with foil and cook at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about three hours. Used here: Roasting pan
  5. Remove the foil, move the pan to the top rack, and cook at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes to crisp the top. Used here: Roasting pan
  6. Boil Yukon gold potatoes until tender.
  7. Puree the carrots, onions, beer, stock, pepper, and pan juices into a sauce. Spoon it under and around the pork and potatoes. Used here: Immersion blender

Recipe Notes

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Share what worked, what you changed, or what you want him to cook next.

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Kitchen Conversation

  1. stephanie stoudenmire Jun 12, 2026

    I love this recipe especially the scoring how it makes the crispys