Beer Roasted Crispy Pork Knuckle

Pork knuckle is a cut of meat also goes by the name ham hock or pork hock and it is the bit of the leg that falls between the main ham joint and the pig’s trotter, it is literally the knuckle and is therefore very rich in connective tissue of tendon and ligament that demand to be slow cooked to render into rich sticky gelatin.

This recipe is of German origin where this cut is very much appreciated.

Beer Roasted Crispy Pork Knuckle

Serves 4-6 with sides - Serve with braised red cabbage and roast potatoes

Ingredients:

1.2 Kg Pork Knuckle
300 ml Dark Beer
350 g Onion
6 Cloves Garlic
1 Tsp Caraway Seeds
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
2 Bay Leaves

Method:

Peel the onion and cut it into 1cm thick half moons.

Throw the onion and garlic into the base of a heavy based oven proof pan.

Stand the knuckle on the onions with "foot" end pointing upwards.

Pour over the beer and then season the pork with the salt, pepper and caraway seeds then tuck in the bay leaves.

Place in a pre-heated oven at 180°C or 350°F and roast for 3.5 hours. Keep an eye on the pan if it looks to be running "dry" pour in a little more beer.

After the pork has been cooking for 3.5 hours remove the onions and liquid from the cooking pan and blitz to form a gravy.

Turn up the heat to 220°C or 450°C and return the roast for a further 30 minutes.

Alternatively, if you have a fan assisted oven increase the heat to 200°C or 400°F for 30 minutes.

If you are using a fan assisted oven keep an eye on the pork as the crisping time varies greatly!

Finally, reheat the gravy to serve.