Roasted Pork Knuckle (Schweinshaxe )

Roasted-Pork-Knuckle-(Schweinshaxe)

Roasted Pork Knuckle (Schweinshaxe)

Schweinshaxe is a large pork knuckle roasted till crispy on the outside and fork tender on the inside, popular in Bavaria.

Prep Time : 15 Minutes

Cook Time :  4 Hours

Ingredients :

• 1.5 Kg.Pork Knuckle (Schweinshaxe)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 bottle Dark Bavarian Beer,
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 1 onion rough chopped
• 1 Teaspoon Caraway seed

Directions :

• One trick for getting the skin nice and crispy is to leave the uncovered pork knuckle dry in the fridge overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Rub Pork Knuckle with the cloves of garlic.
• Put the Knuckle on the roasting pan, moisten with a just a bit of beer and rub with salt and pepper.
• sprinkle whole or ground caraway seed on the skin.
• Place Knuckle on a bed of rough chopped onion.
• This keeps it from sticking to the pan and leaves a lovely seasoned broth to be used for gravy.
• Roast in an oven for about 4 hours.
• Pour some beer in the dish bottom after an hour  to keep things moist.
• After the skin has started to crisp  baste with beer about every 45 minutes
• When it hits 200 degrees internal temperature turn the oven up to 450 degrees , pour a little  beer over the pork knuckle and crisp the skin for about 10 -15 minutes until skin is crispy. it should crackle and cut easy.
• If it is tough it is not crisp enough.
• Serve with sauerkraut or braised red cabbage (Rotkohl) and roasted potatoes.

When you cut into the Pork Knuckle,  the meat is butter soft and you can cut it with a fork.It is traditional to serve 1 knuckle per person. However with larger knuckles, you can bring the  dish to the table on a large platter and serve slices. Be sure to give some skin to each person, that is one of the best parts.