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What to eat in Europe? Top 100 European Pork Dishes

Last update: Fri Feb 14 2025
Top 100 European Pork Dishes
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01
Kontosouvli
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Kontosouvli is a traditional dish consisting of large pieces of pork marinated in a mixture of herbs and spices, then skewered and slowly cooked on a rotisserie, much like a gyro or souvlaki. The marinade often contains ingredients such as garlic, oregano, thyme, rosemary, paprika, olive oil, lemon juice, and red wine.


After marinating, the meat is threaded onto a large skewer and roasted over an open flame, which results in a rich and flavorful outer crust with a juicy, tender interior. The cooked meat is typically served in thick slices, often accompanied by pita bread, tzatziki sauce, and horiatiki salad, among other possible accompaniments. 
02
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This traditional Portugal dish combines marinated pieces of pork with clams and a lightly spicy, wine-infused sauce. Though the name of this classic might imply it originated in Alentejo, it is believed that it initially appeared in the Algarve region, but was given its current name because of the highly-prized black pigs that are most commonly reared in Alentejo.


The dish is a restaurant staple that is found throughout Portugal. It is usually garnished with fresh cilantro and paired with lemon wedges, pan-fried potatoes, and country-style bread on the side.

MOST ICONIC Carne de porco à Alentejana

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03
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Leitão assado no forno is a Portuguese roast pork dish, and the name itself stands for "oven-roasted suckling pig".


A young suckling pig is typically chosen for this dish, as it has tender and flavorful meat. The piglet is seasoned with a mix of ingredients that usually include garlic, white pepper, salt, and sometimes a touch of chili pepper. Some recipes might also include herbs or other flavorings. 
VARIATIONS OF Leitão assado no forno

MOST ICONIC Leitão assado no forno

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04

Pork Dish

MEALHADA, Portugal
4.4
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Leitão a Bairrada is a Portuguese dish of suckling pig that's roasted and basted until the flesh becomes creamy and the skin develops its typical crunchiness. It is said that the best place to try this delicacy is the Bairrada wine region, particularly the city of Mealhada.


Pigs from this region are considered the best in Portugal, and they feed mostly on acorns. Their meat is rubbed with fat, coarse salt, pepper, and garlic, and it's then skewered on a pole before being cooked in eucalyptus-and-vine-fueled ovens. Once prepared, the suckling pig is traditionally served with batatas fritas, orange slices, and a fresh salad on the side. 

MOST ICONIC Leitão da bairrada

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05
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Porchetta is a traditional moist boneless pork roast prepared all over Italy. It originated in Lazio but many regions offer their spin on the recipe. Regardless of the region, the basic method is always the same: the pig is gutted, carefully trimmed, and washed.


The belly is then filled with the chosen stuffing, generously salted, rolled up and roasted until the crackling is golden, hard, and crunchy. The Umbrian version is stuffed with the pig’s chopped entrails mixed with lard, garlic, salt, pepper, and wild fennel. 

MOST ICONIC Porchetta Umbra

06
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Porchetta is a traditional, moist, boneless pork roast prepared all over Italy. This rustic dish is made by carefully deboning a piglet or a fully grown pig, flavoring it generously with salt, garlic, rosemary, fennel seeds or some other aromatic herbs and filling it with the stuffing, which changes depending on the region - it can be the liver, fat or pieces of skin and meat, also flavored with salt and spices.


The meat is then rolled up, spitted and slowly roasted over a wood fire. When finished, it is sliced very thinly and served warm or cold with some bread. Although popular in the whole country, with many regions offering their spin on the recipe, porchetta originated in central Italy, with Ariccia, in the Province of Rome, being the town most closely associated with it. 

MOST ICONIC Porchetta

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07
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Schnitzel Wiener Art is a take on the classic of Austrian cuisine, the Wiener schnitzel, a breaded and fried veal cutlet. But unlike the traditional Wiener schnitzel, the schnitzel Wiener Art is made with a pork cutlet, not a veal one. The reason behind this switch is the fact that pork is much cheaper and more available than veal.


Today, most restaurants in Austria and Germany serve the Wiener schnitzel made with pork and not the real Wiener schnitzel. Luckily, they are obliged by law to state so on their menu. Schnitzel Wiener Art is prepared the same way as the traditional Wiener schnitzel. 

MOST ICONIC Schnitzel Wiener Art

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08
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Porchetta di Ariccia is a savory, moist, boneless pork roast with origins in the province of Rome, along with being a culinary icon of the Lazio region. Mature pigs are deboned and stuffed with numerous seasonings such as fennel, rosemary, and garlic.


The pigs are then slowly roasted on a spit over a wood fire, resulting in succulent meat and crispy skin. The name of the dish stems from the word porco, meaning pork. It is a staple of numerous village festivals, fairs, markets, and concerts, when the street of Rome are packed with food trucks selling this flavorful dish. 

MOST ICONIC Porchetta di Ariccia

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09

Pork Dish

MESSINIA, Greece
4.3
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Gournopoula or gourounopoulo is a traditional dish originating from Messinia, and it's especially popular in Kalamata. The dish consists of a spit-roasted piglet. A piglet is placed on a spit and a mixture of salt and herbs is placed in the belly.


The belly is sewn shut, and the piglet is spit-roasted over high heat for about ten hours. Once done, half of the piglet's weight will be gone, but no one minds as the meat will become sweet while the skin turns crispy. The dish dates back to the times of the Turkish occupation.

MOST ICONIC Gournopoula

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10
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Considered to be a variation of the more famous Wiener schnitzel, the breaded pork cutlet known as kotlet Schabowy is one of the most popular Polish dishes. Even though it appeared in the 19th century under the influence of Austrian and German culinary tradition, it quickly became a mainstay in restaurants and households throughout the country.


It is typically prepared with a thin breaded pork chop or tenderloin, fried in lard, and served alongside cooked potatoes, sauerkraut, and various fresh and pickled salads.

MOST ICONIC Kotlet schabowy

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11
Pork Dish
BAVARIA, Germany
4.2
12
13
Sandwich
VENDAS NOVAS, Portugal
4.2
14
15
Pork Dish
SAARLAND, Germany
4.2
16
Stew
SZEGED, Hungary
4.2
17
18
Pork Dish
BAVARIA, Germany
4.1
19
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27
Pork Dish
PROVINCE OF SEVILLE, Spain
4.0
28
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30
Pork Dish
CASTILE AND LEÓN, Spain
3.9
31
32
Pork Dish
BERLIN, Germany
3.9
33
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40
Pork Dish
MEĐIMURJE COUNTY, Croatia
3.8
41
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47
Pork Dish
ANDÚJAR, Spain
3.7
48
Pork Dish
TUSCANY, Italy
3.7
49
50
51
Savory Pie
UNITED KINGDOM
3.5
52
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55
Pork Dish
PALATINATE, Germany
3.4
56
57
58
Pork Dish
CANTON GREVENMACHER, Luxembourg
3.4
59
60
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62
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64
Pork Dish
ANGERS, France
n/a
65
Pork Dish
PANZANO IN CHIANTI, Italy
n/a
66
Pork Dish
THURINGIA, Germany
n/a
67
Stew
LLEIDA, Spain
n/a
68
Pork Dish
LIMERICK, Ireland
n/a
69
70
Pork Dish
THURINGIA, Germany
n/a
71
72
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75
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77
Pork Dish
MOLISE, Italy
n/a
78
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83
Stew
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN, Germany
n/a
84
85
86
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88
Pork Dish
MAGDEBURG, Germany
n/a
89
90
91
92
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95
Stew
PROVINCE OF SEVILLE, Spain
n/a
96
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100

TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 100 European Pork Dishes” list until February 14, 2025, 3,962 ratings were recorded, of which 3,030 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.

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European Pork Dishes