Bavarian Pork Knuckle with Rotkohl

by Oliver Hagen July 18, 2020 2 min read

Bavarian Pork Knuckle with Rotkohl

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Serves 2 | 3 Hours

David, our resident German butcher said “You must serve one knuckle person, that’s how we do it in Germany”. How could we argue with the expert? It might seem like a lot, but trust us, you’ll get through it! Pair the knuckle with a sweet and sour red cabbage (Rotkohl) and some creamy mash. Fill a stein with Weihenstephan Tradition Bayrisch Dunkel and you’ll be transported straight to Oktoberfest. Das ist gut.
 

Ingredients:

From Hagen's:

2 pork knuckles
500ml of beef stock

From the pantry or Hagen's veggie box:

1 bottle of dark German beer
2 onions, roughly chopped
1 tbsp of Mount Zero Pink Lake Salt
1 tbsp of cracked black pepper
1 tbsp of caraway seeds, smashed

For the German Rotkohl (red cabbage):

1 red cabbage, finely shredded
2 apples, cored and grated
2 tbsp of Saint David Dairy Butter
1/2 cup of white wine vinegar
1/2 cup of water
Pinch of caraway seeds
4 tbsp of black currant jam
1-2 tbsp of sugar

*Serve one per person if you want to feed more.

Method:

1. For the red cabbage: remove and discard the outer leaves. Cut the cabbage in to quarters and remove the core. Shred very finely. Core the apples and grate. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat, add the cabbage and apples and toss for 5 minutes, making sure not to burn the cabbage. Add the vinegar, water, caraway, salt and pepper to taste, cover with a lid and cook over low heat, until cabbage is tender. This will take around 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Remove from the heat, add the black currant jam and sugar and stir.

2. Preheat your oven to 120c. Remove the pork knuckle for the bag. Score the skin with a sharp knife about 1cm apart. Rub the salt, pepper and caraway seeds into the skin and flesh making sure to get plenty in to the scores you have just made. Pour around 400ml each of beer and beef stock in to a roasting pan, preferably one with a rack that can suspend the knuckles above the liquid. 

3. Pop the knuckles in to the liquid along with the chopped onions and place in the oven. Cook for 15 minutes then turn the knuckles over and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. Remove the knuckle and place on a wire rack over the roasting pan and return to the oven for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

4. Turn the oven up to as hot as it gets and cook for a further 30 minutes ensuring you get a nice crispy skin and some good crackling. You may want to turn the grill on, just be careful not to burn the skin. Remove from the oven and set the knuckles aside to rest.

5. Strain the pan juices in to a small pot and pour in the remaining beer and stock and bring to the boil. This will be your gravy. If you like your gravy thicker, dissolve some plain flour in water and stir in to the gravy.

6. Serve your crispy knuckle with plenty of red cabbage, perhaps some creamy mash with lashings of gravy. Drink some German beer, the original craft brewers.