Pork Crackling Potato Dumplings

Czech name: Bramborové škvarkové knedlíky

Dumplings are a typical Austrian dish but this is czech version of Pork Crackling Potato Dumplings.

For a long time in the past, potatoes used to be one of the most readily available and very cheap staple foods in the market. People used them a lot and cooked meals which many of us have forgotten or do not even know about. And this is also why there are many variants of filled dumplings. For making this delicious and easy meal you need these ingredients. The most important ones are potatoes which can be either raw, cooked, grated, or mashed. In addition, you’ll need a few eggs, ground crackling, salt, and flour.

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Ingredients

Potato dough
2 lbs mashed boiled potatoes
2 cups semolina durum wheat flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
3 slices white bread cut into small pieces
2-3 Tbs milk
oil

Filling
1 onion
3/4 cups ground crackling
1 Tbs plain breadcrumbs
2 Tbs oil or lard for frying
1 egg
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

To make the filling, first heat oil or lard in a skillet. Then add and sauté small onion slices and stir them so they do not stick to the pan. Next add the plain breadcrumbs and continue frying until the mixture starts to brown. Then let the mixture sit. After it cools, mix in the remaining ingredients: crackling, an egg, and salt and black pepper.

To make the potato dough, first pour fresh, cold water into a pot. Then add salt to the water and bring the water to a boil. When the water is boiling, add the potatoes to it. After boiling, drain the pot and remove the hot potatoes. Then use a grater to grate the potatoes. In a large bowl, mix the potatoes and the rest of the ingredients using a silicone spatula. Then transfer the dough ball to a lightly-floured work surface and use your hands to shape it into the right consistency.

Add a bit of milk if the dough is too tough. If it is a bit thin, then add semolina durum wheat flour.

There are two ways dumplings can be made. You can split the dough into small pieces so you can flatten and shape them into thin circles. Or you can split it into two pieces and use a rolling pin to make it thin and use a cookie cutter to make circles.

After making the dumpling dough, stuff it with the crackling filling and roll the mixture into balls. Make sure that the balls are sealed well. Put water into a pot, let it boil, and then put the dumplings into the hot water for about 20 minutes and cover the pot with a lid. Do not forget to turn the dumplings or they will stick to the bottom.

To complete this meal, cut an onion into small pieces, fry the pieces, and put them on top of dumplings and serve with sauerkraut. Some people also put plain breadcrumbs on them.

Dumplings may also be filled with other ingredients, such as fully-cooked smoked ham or Canadian bacon, ground beef or pork, or sliced boiled ham.

Please Note: There are several regional variants of this recipe. This is one of them.

This post was created by volunteers. You may help and support by clicking here.