German Schweinshaxe
German Pork Hock, also known as roasted ham hock or Schweinshaxe, is a traditional Bavarian dish
that’s popular not only during the Oktoberfest but all year round. This easy pork knuckle
recipe takes a few hours but cooks without too much effort on your part and rewards you
with delicious pork crackling and tender meat.
Serves: 4 Num.of ingredients: 9 Prep.: 3 hours 35 mins Difficulty: Medium
Amount of calories per Portion [cal]: 371
INGREDIENTS
| about 1.5 lbs each | 2 pork knuckles, skin-on, uncured/unsmoked |
|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | caraway seeds (plus 1 tsp extra if poaching) |
| 2-3 | bay leaves (needed only if poaching first) |
| 4-5 | whole cloves (needed only if poaching) |
| 1 teaspoon | black pepper |
| 1 tablespoon | kosher salt |
| 2-3 | garlic cloves (needed only if poaching) |
| 1 | onion (plus 1 more if poaching) |
| 12 oz | dark German lager (dunkel, bock, schwarzbier or amber lager like Marzen or Vienna lager) |
INSTRUCTION
- Preheat the oven to 300 F. Then slice the onion into rings and place on the bottom of a roasting pan. Grind 1 tbsp caraway seeds (use pestle and mortar or spice grinder) and mix with ground pepper and salt.
- Score the skin (rind) of each pork hock and rub with the spice mix from the previous step. Place hocks on top of onions, with the tapered end facing up.
- Low roast for about 90 -120 minutes (depending on how large the hocks are, about 90 mins for 1.5 lbs hocks and about 120 for larger). Add the beer and a little bit of water to the pan and continue slow roasting for another 60-90 minutes. If the skin is browning too fast consider loosely tenting it with foil.
- Transfer the hocks to another pan and keep the pan with the drippings and onions (see gravy below). Place the hocks back in the oven and either roast at 400 F or broil, until the skin gets crispy and puffy. Watch them closely during this step to avoid burning.