Bavarian Pork Leg Schweinshaxe Recipes

GERMAN PORK KNUCKLE (SCHWEINSHAXE) - SLOW ROASTED WITH CRISPY CRACKLING!

Steps:

• Prick skin: Poke lots of small holes all over the pork knuckle's skin, using a small sharp knife or even a pin (eg. safety pin, sewing pin). Take care not to pierce through the fat into the flesh (Note 7).
• Vinegar: Brush (or rub) 1 tbsp of the vinegar on the pork flesh only, including inside cracks / crevices and meat under the skin where it meets the flesh (but do not peel skin back). Avoid getting vinegar on the skin.
• Stud with garlic: Make shallow incisions in the pork flesh (only) with a small knife then stuff with the garlic slivers.
• Seasoning rub: Pound the rub ingredients in a mortar and pestle until it's a coarse powder (or use a Nutribullet, spice grinder or similar).
• Rub seasoning on pork: Rub pork skin with olive oil. Then rub the seasoning mix all over the pork - on the flesh, skin, and getting into all the cracks and crevices.
• Skewer skin (secret for crispy skin! Note 8): Pull the skin down to stretch it tight so there's no creases. Then thread through 2 metal skewers in a "X" formation near the base of the knuckle. Pierce through skin 2cm / 0.8" from the base of the pork knuckle to hold the stretched skin in place.
• "Marinate" overnight: Place pork standing on a plate, then leave uncovered in the fridge overnight (Note 9).
• Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan).
• Beer gravy: Put all beer gravy ingredients in a roasting pan (deep enough to hold all liquids and vegetables).
• Rack on pan: Place a rack over the pan. Place pork knuckle on rack, sitting upright. (Note 10)
• Slow roast: Roast for 2 hours 10 minutes, rotating tray half way. (If the liquid in the pan is getting too low and in danger of drying out, top with 1/2 cup of water at a time.) Roast until the internal temperature in the thickest part of meat reaches 85°C / 185°F.
• Remove knuckle from oven, transfer knuckle to a tray.
• Increase oven: Increase oven to 260°C / 500°F (240°C fan) (Note 11)
• Brush skin with vinegar: Brush skin with 1/2 the remaining 1 tbsp of vinegar. Place in oven for 30 minutes, rotating tray halfway and brushing with remaining vinegar.
• Skin should be crispy, dip golden and mostly bubbly.
• Rest: Rest 15 minutes before serving with German Beer Gravy!
• Strain liquid: Strain roasting pan juices into a saucepan. Ideally you should have around 1.5 - 2 cups.
• Thicken: Bring liquid to a simmer. Mix cornflour and water, then pour into liquid while stirring. Add sugar and salt to taste.
• Simmer: Simmer for 2 minutes or until it becomes a thin syrup consistency (German beer gravy should not be as thick as normal gravy, but quite runny). If it's too thick, add a touch of water. Too thin, simmer to reduce - it will thicken. Serve with pork knuckle!

AUTHENTIC SCHWEINEBRATEN GERMAN PORK ROAST BAVARIAN STYLE

Steps:

• wash and pat dry roast.
• mix all dry ingredients together and rub onto roast.
• spread a liberal amount of mustard onto roast.
• heat oil in a heavy roasting pan (enameled cast iron works well) on top of stove and brown carrots and leeks.
• push vegetables aside and brown roast from all sides in the very very hot roasting pan.
• ad onions INCLUDING the brown skins (this is VERY IMPORTANT since it will give your gravy an good color).
• ad broth and transfer everything to the oven.
• roast covered for 1 1/2 hours at 350°F.
• uncover, stir onions and veggies.
• turn roast over and roast uncovered for 1 hour (if liquid evaporates a lot, add some more occasionally.
• once roasting time has finished transfer meat to a plate to rest.
• take a basting brush, dip into the hot liquid and scrub all the sides of the roasting pan (and the lid if necessary). All the brown stains on the walls of your pan will ad flavor and color to your sauce!
• strain all the liquid through a fine meshed strainer (stainless steel will work better then the plastic ones). Press solids vigorously with a spoon to press as much liquid (as well all solids that can get pressed through) through the strainer into a sauce pan and reduce slightly on high heat.
• Slice roast into 1/2 thick slices and pour gravy liberally over everthing.
• Best served with potato dumplings and sauerkraut.

SCHWEINSHAXE (GERMAN PORK KNUCKLE)

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350F.
• Place the sliced onions in the bottom of a 8x8 baking dish.
• Rub the skin of each pork hock with half of a garlic clove. After rubbing, add the garlic to the onions in the baking dish. Rub roughly 1/2 Tbsp of salt into the skin of each pork hock. Nestle the hocks, meaty side down, in the onions.
• Pour the beer around the hocks.
• Roast the hocks in the preheated oven for 3 hours, until the skin is crisp and the meat is fall-apart tender. (Check the hocks ever hour to be sure they haven't fallen over and there is still enough moisture in the bottom of the pan. Add hot water if the pan seems to be scorching.)
• Each hock is traditionally served individually, with a fork and sharp knife, but most people find it easier to enjoy the crisp skin by just digging in with their hands.
• Serve with boiled potatoes, potato dumplings, or spaetzle, and braised red cabbage or sauerkraut. (And don't forget the onions from the baking dish!)

BAVARIAN PORK LEG (SCHWEINSHAXE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Rub pork legs with salt and pepper on all sides. Set into a deep-rimmed baking sheet. Pour boiling water on top.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Add onion, carrot, caraway seeds, and crushed peppercorns.
• Continue to roast until pork leg is cooked through, about 90 minutes more. Baste with liquids from the pork every 20 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).