Ribbe

The story

Ribbe is roast pork belly whose skin must bake into perfectly crisp crackling while the meat beneath stays juicy, and today it is the most common Christmas dish in eastern Norway, the region around Oslo where pig farming and more fertile land have long supported a different diet from that of the mountainous west, which celebrates with pinnekjøtt. Getting the crackling right is something of a national obsession. The roast cooks slowly at low heat so the meat doesn't dry out, and then the temperature is raised sharply toward the end so the skin blisters and turns crisp; every year before Christmas, Norwegian newspapers publish instructions and tips for pulling it off without a hitch. It is served with braised red cabbage and medisterpølse sausages. The rivalry between the ribbe camp and the pinnekjøtt camp is taken seriously in Norwegian homes, almost as a regional identity expressed on the plate. For families in the diaspora choosing between the two, the choice often reveals which part of Norway their ancestors actually came from.