The most delicious shank recipe. How to cook excellent pork knuckle? Cooking at home

1. How to bake pork knuckle in the oven

2. Knuckle in a slow cooker

3. Pork knuckle baked in the oven in foil

4. How to cook shank in a sleeve

5. How to make jellied meat from pork knuckle

6. How to make a pork knuckle roll

7. How to cook Bavarian pork knuckle

8. Pork knuckle in Czech style

9. How to cook pork knuckle with potatoes

10. Knuckle with cabbage in the oven

11. Video: boiled pork knuckle

Pork shin (knuckle, shank, bullock) - part of the piglet's leg from the knee joint to the ankle. This is an inexpensive, but very popular piece of carcass from which you can prepare many amazingly tasty dishes appreciated by gourmets from different countries.
In order for the baked shank of a pig to be tender and aromatic, you need the right marinade. For pork knuckle in the oven, it is made by mixing mustard, wine or beer, honey, and unsweetened juices. It is used not only to soak raw or half-cooked meat, but also to pour it over the dish during baking. A properly prepared shank is thoroughly washed and cleaned, stuffed with vegetables, rubbed with garlic and spices. It exudes an incredible aroma during the cooking process, and when ready, it attracts eaters with the aroma of a hearty, substantial meat dish.

How to bake pork knuckle in the oven

The most understandable, classic way to cook pork leg will be described in this section. This recipe for pork knuckle in the oven is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. The main secret to the success of the dish: the shank must be carefully prepared. Wash the meat, carefully tar the skin over the fire. Yes, the pig owner tried to completely destroy the bristles, but don’t let an accident ruin your food. After cooking with fire, scrape off the scorch marks with a knife and wash the meat again. Before baking, the shank must be cooked until half cooked and kept in the marinade.

Ingredients:

back pork shin - 1 pc.;

soy sauce - 50 ml;

mustard - 2 tbsp. l.;

garlic - 5-6 cloves;

bay leaf - 3-5 pcs.;

dry herbs.

Cooking method:

Boil the prepared shank in a moderate amount of water and salt. You can add bay leaf and pepper (peas) for flavor. Cooking time is about two hours. Stuff the pork leg with garlic, coat it generously with a mixture of soy sauce and mustard, sprinkle with your favorite spices, pack in a bag and leave to marinate for several hours (2-8, longer). Place the drumstick on the bottom of a heat-resistant dish, cover with foil, and bake for about an hour at 200 degrees. Remove the foil, pour the remaining marinade over the meat and bake again until a crust forms on the skin.

Knuckle in a slow cooker

To create an excellent meat dish, you can do without an oven. Instead of one large drumstick, take a pair of small, front ones, and get to work. As easy as cooking pork shank in the oven, you can bake it in a multicooker bowl. Use the same principle: first boil the meat, then bake it to obtain a crust, and the pork knuckle in the slow cooker will be tender, tasty, and incredibly beautiful. Cooking with kitchen appliances is pleasant - it regulates the temperature itself and monitors the time, and all you have to do is prepare the shank and find the desired spices for it.

Ingredients:

front pork shin - 2 pcs.;

soy sauce - 50 ml;

mustard - 2 tbsp. l.;

honey - 1 tsp;

garlic - 4-6 cloves;

dry herbs.

Cooking method:

Boil the prepared legs for 1.5-2 hours, set to “stew” mode. Don't forget to salt the water. Remove the meat and pour in the broth (it will be useful for the first course or aspic). Stuff the cooled meat with garlic and brush with a mixture of honey, soy sauce, and mustard. Leave to marinate for some time. Place the meat in the multicooker container and turn on the “baking” mode for half an hour. After 15 minutes, turn the shanks over and baste them with the remaining marinade.

Pork knuckle baked in the oven in foil

Not all housewives boil the shank before baking it. Others say that raw knuckle baked in foil is wonderful: it turns out beautiful on the outside, and juicy and tasty on the inside. If you intend to serve the finished drumstick by cutting it into pieces, choose the back leg of the pig. Use the front bumps as portions; a person with a good appetite can easily eat one of them entirely. Marinate fresh shanks, stuff them with vegetables and bake. This will take a lot of time: two hours or more.

Ingredients:

garlic - 12 cloves;

carrots (medium) - 1/2 pcs.;

vegetable oil - 2 tbsp. l.;

mustard - 1 tsp;

Cooking method:

Prepare, wash, clean the legs. Make cuts on them in the form of a grid, cutting through only the top layer of skin. Stuff the shanks with thin carrot sticks and garlic cloves, cut into 2-4 pieces. Rub the meat with a mixture of mustard, oil, salt and spices. Wrap each portion in foil (three layers). Leave for 3-4 hours to marinate. Place the pan with the shanks to bake at maximum heat for about 2 hours. Open the foil, pour the resulting juice over the meat and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes to form a crust.

How to cook shank in a sleeve

In a similar way, pork knuckle is cooked in the oven in a sleeve. You can choose your favorite spices and make different mixtures for marinades. One thing remains unchanged: you can’t rush. For the front bumps, the baking time is about two hours, for the rear ones - even more. Each shank needs individual packaging, a separate section of sleeve. Remove excess air from the bag to prevent it from bursting during baking. To do this, you need to make two or three cuts or punctures.

Ingredients:

front pork shin - 3 pcs.;

garlic - 12 cloves;

French mustard - 1-2 tbsp. l.;

rosemary,

Cooking method:

Stuff the washed and prepared shanks with garlic cloves, cut lengthwise. Cut the skin with intersecting lines. Rub the meat with a mixture of mustard, salt and spices. Pack the shanks in a sleeve or baking bag and leave to soak in the marinade for 2-3 hours. Bake at 200-230 degrees for about two hours. 15 minutes before the end of the process, open the package to form a golden brown crust.

How to make jellied meat from pork knuckle

The pride of Russian cuisine is unsurpassed jellied meat with pork knuckle. Not a single holiday is complete without it. To prepare this dish, they take two or three types of meat (veal, chicken, turkey), but the shank (the ankle joint of a piglet’s leg) turns the broth into jelly and helps the jellied meat to harden. The secret to successful jellied pork knuckle is simple: you need to cook it for a long time, on the lowest heat. Add whole carrots and onions to the broth; it will become not only transparent, but also surprisingly aromatic.

Ingredients:

chicken or any parts thereof - 0.5-0.7 kg;

carrots - 2 pcs.;

onions - 2 pcs.;

black pepper in a pot,

Bay leaf,

Cooking method:

Wash and prepare meat. Bring the shank to a boil, drain the water, and rinse thoroughly. Place all the meat in a large saucepan (5-6 l), add whole peeled carrots, washed whole onions (with or without peel), and spices. Close the lid, but not too tightly. Place on the fire, skim off the foam as soon as the water boils. Cook the meat over very low heat for 3-3.5 hours. Half an hour before the end of cooking, add salt to the contents of the pan. Remove the meat, separate it from the bones and skin, and cut into small pieces. Strain the broth and pour it over the meat pieces. Place in a cool place for 5-8 hours.

How to make a pork knuckle roll

A beautiful dish that even a novice housewife can please with the result - pork knuckle roll in the oven. A very impressive cold appetizer always turns out delicious and simply charms guests at the festive table. Before you can prepare a delicious pork knuckle roll, you will have to choose a good shank: fresh, meaty, from the hind leg. The pork will be flavored with a mixture of peppers and spices to suit your taste. The finished dish should be kept in the refrigerator for several hours (ideally overnight).

Ingredients:

Pork hind shank - 1 pc. (1.2-1.5 kg);

ground black pepper - 1/2 tsp;

salt - 1 tsp;

ground red paprika;

dried ground garlic;

other spices of your choice.

Cooking method:

Cut the prepared shank from top to bottom to the bone to form one layer of meat. Remove the bone. Rub the inside and outside of the meat with the spice mixture and salt. Carefully roll the pork into a tight roll, skin side out. Wrap it tightly with twine to prevent it from falling apart during baking. Seal the roll in two or three layers of foil, place on the middle level of the oven, cook for 1.5-2 hours at 200 degrees. Open the foil and leave the dish to bake until a nice crust forms (about 15 minutes).

How to cook pork knuckle in Bavarian style

Even if you have never been to Germany, you are definitely familiar with the legendary German dish, recipes with photos of which can be found on any culinary website. Bavarian-style knuckle in beer, so popular in European restaurants, is great at home. To do this you need a good pork leg, some vegetables and one and a half to two liters of dark live beer.

Ingredients:

Pork hind shin - 2 pcs. (approx. 2.5 kg);

dark beer - 1.5-2 l;

onions - 1-2 pcs.;

carrots - 2 pcs.;

root or petiole celery - 50-100 g;

garlic - 1 head;

soy sauce - 50 ml;

mixture of peppercorns - up to 10 pieces;

honey - 1 tbsp. l.;

mustard - 1 tbsp. l.;

Bay leaf,

Cooking method:

Place the cleaned, washed shanks in a large saucepan, add vegetables, cut into large pieces, pour in beer, add soy sauce, pepper, bay leaf, cumin and salt (0.5 tablespoon). Pour beer over the shanks, cook for one hour, then turn the meat over. After another hour, remove the pork from the heat, remove from the broth, and let cool. Using a silicone brush, coat the shanks with a mixture of mustard and honey and place them in a baking dish. There you also need to pour a layer of beer (about 1 cm) in which the meat was cooked. Place the dish in the oven, heated to 180-200 degrees. Bake for 40 minutes, baste with beer broth every quarter of an hour.

Pork knuckle in Czech style

It's not just the Germans who cook pork shin in beer. Czech pork knuckle (baked boar's knee) is famous throughout the world and has long been the hallmark of the Czech Republic. There are many options for preparing this legendary dish. The knuckle is baked whole, or after removing the bone, a sauce is made from light or dark beer, and a variety of vegetable additives are added.

Ingredients:

pork shin, small - 2 pcs.;

garlic - 6-8 cloves;

carrots (large) - 1 pc.;

onion (large) - 1 piece;

parsley root - 1 pc.;

tomato - 2-3 pcs.;

rosemary,

dark beer.

Cooking method:

Prepare the vegetables: carrots, onions, cut into large pieces, garlic cloves should be fried until a soft golden crust is obtained. Add chopped tomatoes and spices to the vegetables and fry for 1-2 minutes. Place the resulting mixture in a baking dish. Prepare the shanks: remove them from the bone by cutting into the skin and muscles. It is necessary that the shank turns into a layer of meat on the skin, which is rolled into a roll. Pre-beat the layer, but not too much. Salt the meat inside, coat with mustard and grains, and wrap. Tie the bundle with twine or thread. Place the prepared rolls on a vegetable bed in a mold, add beer, which should cover the meat up to half or more. Bake the shanks until done in the oven at 180-200 degrees. Water frequently with beer and the juice that flows out of the mold.

How to cook pork knuckle with potatoes

For a hearty lunch, pork is served with a side dish. Traditionally, this role is performed by potatoes in different versions. Boiled shank can easily and quickly be turned into a dish called “pork knuckle with country-style potatoes.” Jacket potatoes, fried carrots and onions, boiled and fried meat - simple and tasty. Don't forget to serve sauerkraut and crispy pickles for lunch.

Ingredients:

pork shank - 1 pc.;

potatoes - 1 kg;

carrots (large) - 1 pc.;

onion (large) - 1 pc.;

sunflower oil (refined) - 30 ml;

Bay leaf,

Cooking method:

Before making pork shank in the oven, boil the potatoes in their jackets. Boil the shank until tender in water with salt and spices. Separate the meat from the bone and cut into large pieces. Chop carrots and onions into large strips and fry in sunflower oil. Add meat, fry until golden brown. Peel the potatoes, cut into large slices, mix with meat. Salt and sprinkle with pepper and chopped herbs.

Knuckle with cabbage in the oven

Stewed, fresh or pickled cabbage is an invariable companion of pork shank. Baked knuckle harmonizes especially well with cabbage. Whether in German, Czech or Russian, gourmets of different nations are unanimous in their opinion - there is no better side dish for drumsticks. The easiest option is to cook the cabbage separately from the meat and combine it at the last stage. Cabbage with pork in portioned pots turns out great. You can use raw or sauerkraut and enjoy the variety of flavors.

Ingredients:

pork shin - 1 pc.;

fresh shredded or pickled cabbage - 1 kg;

carrots - 1 pc.;

onion - 1 pc.;

Cooking method:

Boil the shank in salted water with spices (cooking time - about three hours). Remove the meat from the bone and cut into pieces. Cut the onions and carrots into strips and prepare the frying. Add and fry the cabbage. Don't forget to add salt and pepper. Place the cabbage in four serving pots and place the pork on top. Bake for another 15 minutes at a temperature of about 180 degrees.

Video: boiled pork knuckle

Pork dishes are very popular among guests during festive feasts and on the regular menu. Pork knuckle occupies not the last place here. Despite the fact that ready-made meals are very high in calories, they are incredibly tasty and also healthy due to the presence of collagen fibers.

Product preparation

Before you begin the process of cooking pork knuckle, it must be selected and carefully prepared. You should choose fairly dense specimens without any darkened areas; the skin must be light. The smell of the shank or, in other words, shank (buldyzhka) should be pleasant and fresh.

Depending on the condition of the shank, it must go through several stages of processing before going into the pan.

• Before starting preparation, the shank must be washed in warm water in order to clean it from dirt particles or straw, which is often used to scold the pig.
• If, after washing, bristles are visible on the skin, then it is additionally treated with fire. You can use a gas burner or a wood fire.
• Then you need to take a sharp knife and thoroughly scrape the skin. After the skin is free of scales, the shank is thoroughly washed under running water.
• Many shank dishes require removing excess moisture from the surface. The easiest way to do this is to use a dry paper towel.

General cooking rules

• As you know, the steering wheel can be front or back. The front part is very sinewy, so it is mainly used for making jellied meats and jellied meats. The hind shank is meatier and is often used for preparing meat dishes.
• If a frozen shank is purchased for food, it must undergo the correct defrosting procedure. Ideally, this process should take place in the upper (cooling) chamber of the refrigerator. And after defrosting, it is kept at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• During cooking, water should not only completely cover the product, but also have some reserve, since a certain amount of liquid will evaporate during cooking.
• After the water boils, the heat is reduced to low, and the foam that forms on the surface is constantly removed.
• The knuckle is cooked for about 2 hours. The exception is jellied meats and jellies, when, according to the recipe, they need at least 6 hours to prepare.
• If you want to boil the shank for further preparation of soup, you need to cut off the fattest parts of it along with the skin in advance.
• If you are going to boil the shank before baking, then leave it unchanged, that is, with lard and skin.
• At home, the readiness of the shank is determined using a knife or any sharp object (fork, toothpick). To do this, the shank must be pierced and when a clear liquid without blood flows out of it, we can conclude that it is ready.
• It is better to salt the shank immediately at the time of cooking, so that the meat has time to salt evenly.

Recipes

In order to understand the whole mechanism of cooking shanks at home, you need to see how to proceed step by step.

Boiled pork knuckle

Ingredients:

• pork knuckle – 1 pc.;
• onion – 1 pc.;
• carrots – 1 pc.;
• laurel – 2–3 leaves;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• allspice peas – 3–4 pcs.;
• salt - to taste.

Preparation. In order to cook the shank this way, it is recommended to choose a large pan, place the shank in it and cover with water. After boiling, it is advisable to drain the first broth, fill the shank with water a second time with a good supply and finish cooking in this water over low heat, reducing it after boiling. It is better to add salt to the water in which the shank is cooked immediately, so that the meat cooks evenly salted.

During the cooking process, approximately 40 minutes after boiling, you need to add onions without peels and carrots, respectively, without peels, as well as garlic cloves, peppercorns and bay leaves into the broth. Vegetables and seasonings will give the meat and skin a special color, taste and aroma.

The preparation time for such a dish usually takes 2.5 hours and depends on the size of the shank. At the end of cooking, you need to pierce the meat with a fork or knife to make sure it is soft. The tastiest shank is considered to be when the meat falls off the bone. If necessary, you can increase the cooking time to obtain the desired result.

Boiled knuckle meatloaf

Ingredients:

• boulder – 1 pc.;
• onion head;
• carrots – 1 pc.;
• bay leaf – 2–3 pcs.;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• allspice peas;
• salt - to taste.

Preparation.

Boil the pork knuckle with spices and vegetables for 2.5–3 hours. Then the finished shank needs to be cooled and the bones carefully separated. For our roll, we leave only the skin and meat.

Squeeze the garlic in a garlic press and coat the entire meat base with it, then pepper and, if necessary, add more salt. You can also add fresh chopped parsley, dill or cilantro to the roll.

After this, the knuckle is tightly rolled into a roll. In order for it to keep its shape, it is wrapped with thread along its entire length and wrapped in foil. Then the roll is sent to the refrigerator for 1.5-2 hours. During this time, it cools down and is saturated with the aroma of garlic, pepper and herbs.

To serve the dish, it is freed from foil and thread, cut and offered for consumption along with horseradish or mustard.

Baked boiled shank

You will need:

• pork knuckle – 1 pc.;
• onion - head;
• carrots – 1 pc.;
• cloves – 3 pcs.;
• bay leaf – 2–3 leaves;
• a couple of cloves of garlic;
• black pepper, ground;
• vegetable oil – 2 large spoons;
• mustard (ready) – 1 large spoon;
• salt - to taste.

Preparation.

Pour water into the pan, add onions, carrots and spices. After the vegetable broth boils, place the prepared pork knuckle into it. The foam that forms must be removed.

It is better to add salt to the broth in which the shank is cooked at the very beginning of cooking. The optimal cooking time is 1.5–2 hours. When finished, remove the shank from the broth and carefully cut the skin crosswise in one place without touching the meat.

Coat the top of the meat with mustard-oil mixture and place in the oven for baking. The optimal temperature for baking is 250 degrees. Bake for 10–15 minutes until golden brown.

Knuckle in a pressure cooker

Ingredients:

• pork knuckle – 1 pc.;
• black pepper, ground;
• salt, garlic - to taste.

Preparation.

Coat the pre-washed and cleaned pork knuckle with salt and pepper. For added spice, you can make several cuts in it and stuff it with cloves of garlic. In addition to ground pepper, you can use any spices you like.

Then put it in a pressure cooker and add water. We cover the pressure cooker with a lid and the shank is cooked under it all the time. To cook a shank in a pressure cooker, 1.5 hours is usually enough.

The finished shank is cooled, portioned pieces are cut off and served with your favorite sauces. You can serve the shank with fresh herbs or vegetables.

Jellied pork knuckle

Ingredients:

• pork knuckle – 3 pcs.;
• onion – 1 head;
• carrots – 1 pc.;
• bay leaves – 2–3 pcs.;
• garlic – 1 head;
• peppercorns – 3–4 pcs.;
• salt - to taste.

Preparation.

To cook jellied meat, it is better to choose a larger pan, approximately 8–9 liters. The shanks themselves will take up about half the volume in the pan.

After you have placed the washed and well-cleaned bullocks in the pan, add water there, leaving 5–6 cm to the edge. After this, place the pan on the stove and bring its contents to a boil. Then the heat must be reduced to minimum, and the resulting foam must be removed, removing it until it stops forming.

About 5-10 minutes after boiling, you need to put the whole peeled carrots and onion into the pan. It is important to note that the onion must be lowered unpeeled, but well washed directly with the husk, then the broth will acquire a beautiful golden hue. Also at the same time, bay leaf, peppercorns and salt are added to the pan with the shanks.

During the cooking process, it is necessary to ensure that the future jellied meat simmers over very low heat, and the gurgling on the surface is barely noticeable. In this state on the stove it should cook for 5.5–6 hours. At the end of cooking, remove the shanks into a separate cup and leave to cool. In this case, the meat should lag well behind the bone.

After the meat has cooled, remove the bone and everything that you don’t want to see in your jellied meat. You can leave only meat, but some housewives add pieces of skin to the meat base for jellied meat.

Next, squeeze the garlic into each prepared form for jellied meat using a garlic press, about 1 small head for the entire volume. Then we lay out the meat cut into pieces and fill it with broth. Before this, you need to strain the broth, using a sieve or colander. After the broth has cooled completely, close the forms with jellied meat with lids and place them in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours.

It is worth noting that jellied meat can be cooked from several types of meat and chicken, turkey or beef can be added to the pan together with pork butts.

To learn how to cook pork knuckle, watch the video below.

Alexander Gushchin

I can’t vouch for the taste, but it will be hot :)

Content

The part of the pork butt that is adjacent to the knee joint is called the knuckle. The back one is more often used for hot dishes. From the front room they make jellied meat or broth for soup. The baked pork leg turns out delicious. It can be grated with mayonnaise, mustard, and regular salt.

Boiled shank in beer

• Time: 2.5 hours.
• Number of servings: 7 persons.
• Difficulty: medium.

Pork knuckle in beer is a real Bavarian dinner. This classic German dish is called Schweinehaxe. Traditionally it is believed that dark beer has a richer taste. Before cooking, the meat can be soaked in milk for a couple of hours.

Ingredients:

• celery – 100 g;
• pork shin – weighing 2 kg;
• carrots – 100 g;
• cloves - to taste;
• allspice peas – 3 pcs.;
• onion – 1 head;
• salt – 1 tbsp. l.;
• bay leaf – 3 pcs.;
• dark beer – 2 l;
• cumin - a pinch;
• garlic – 1 head;
• black peppercorns – 3 pcs.

Cooking method:

1. Wash the drumstick, place in a saucepan, pour in beer, and put on high heat.
2. Peel all vegetables. Chop the carrots and celery coarsely and stick a clove into the onion.
3. When the beer boils, reduce the heat, remove the foam, add spices and vegetables.
4. Cook the shank, covered, for another 2-3 hours. Turn over periodically so that the meat is thoroughly cooked.

Recipe in the oven

• Time: 4 hours 45 minutes.
• Number of servings: 5 persons.
• Difficulty: medium.

Pork knuckle in the oven will be juicier when baked in a sleeve. The dish is prepared practically without the participation of the hostess; you only need to prepare the shank and send it to the oven. Suitable spices include suneli hops and cloves. You can get by with salt.

Ingredients:

• pork shin – 1.5 kg;
• potatoes – 500 g;
• soy sauce – 2 tbsp. l.;
• paprika - st. l;
• vegetable oil – 2 tbsp. l.;
• garlic – 2-3 cloves.

Cooking method:

1. Rinse the knuckle thoroughly, scrape the skin with a knife, rinse and dry.
2. Mix soy sauce with chopped garlic and paprika.
3. Rub the resulting mixture onto the drumstick, cover with a lid, and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
4. Peel the potatoes, cut into large cubes, sprinkle with paprika, salt, and add oil.
5. Place the meat and potatoes in a baking sleeve and make 2-3 punctures in it.
6. Cooking the pork knuckle lasts about 1 hour. The oven must be preheated to 200 degrees.

Baked in foil

• Time: 2 hours.
• Number of servings: 4 persons.
• Difficulty: medium.

This pork knuckle recipe is versatile. It can be served with a side dish or solo. Another option is to make slices for sandwiches from such shanks.

Ingredients:

• garlic – 4-7 cloves;
• olive oil – 3 tbsp. l.;
• honey - 2 tbsp. l.;
• lemon – 0.5 pcs.;
• salt, spices - to your taste;
• pork shin – 1.5 kg.

Cooking method:

1. Make a cut in the shin all the way to the bone and cut it out.
2. Place the meat skin side down. Place finely chopped garlic on top, grate with spices and salt.
3. Roll it up and tie it with strong thread.
4. Separately mix spices with honey, oil and lemon juice.
5. Brush the resulting sauce onto the drumsticks and place bay leaves on top.
6. Wrap in foil and bake for 1.5 hours at 180 degrees.
7. After the time has passed, unwrap the foil and place the dish in the refrigerator until it cools completely.
8. Before slicing, remove the bay leaves and remove the thread.

Spicy with apples

• Time: 3.5 hours.
• Number of servings: 5 persons.
• Difficulty: medium.

When baked, apples acquire the consistency of puree, so they serve as an unusual sauce for the finished shank. The marinade for meat can be omitted, but with it the dish acquires a sharp, fresh citrus aroma and taste.

Ingredients:

• basil – 3 pinches;
• nutmeg and oregano - to your taste;
• zest and juice of half a lemon;
• mint - optional;
• garlic – 1 head;
• pork shin – 1.5 kg;
• sweet and sour apple – 2 pcs.

Pork knuckle is a very tasty, satisfying and appetizing dish, especially when it comes to homemade pork knuckle. This is usually the name given to the part of the ham that is adjacent to the knee joint. In addition to muscles, there is connective tissue, fat and skin. But if you cook the shank correctly, the dish will turn out excellent! So, let's go to the kitchen to make one of the most popular snacks in Czech and German beer restaurants!

Choosing pork knuckle

Some housewives believe that it is difficult to prepare a tasty shank, because its meat is not tender. Since the leg muscles are constantly involved in movement, this part of the ham is dry and requires special handling. Keep in mind that the back shank is meatier and more tender, so it is usually used for preparing main courses, while the tougher front shank is better for soups and. How to understand which knuckle is in front of you? The shanks from the hind legs usually weigh at least 1.5 kg, while the front ones - about 1 kg, since they have more bones.

When purchasing, pay attention to the quality of the meat - it should be grayish-pink, with thin layers of fat, and the skin should be light and without spots. If the color of the ham is too bright, it may indicate that the meat has been treated with potassium permanganate. If the meat is dark and the fat is yellow, it means the animal was old. And be sure to press the knuckle with your finger - on fresh meat, which is firm and elastic, the dent will not last long. A stale pork ham will not spring back, and the finger hole will remain for a long time.

Marinade for every taste

Baked pork knuckle (“boar’s knee”) has been prepared in Europe since the 11th century, since the favorite pastime of the nobility was hunting, after which feasts with game dishes were held. Nowadays, pork knuckle is especially popular in countries with a developed beer culture, but in Germany it is loved most of all - it is no coincidence that this snack has become a symbol of the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich.

The shank can be baked in the oven in foil or in a sleeve, cooked in a slow cooker or on the grill, made into jellied meat or meatloaf. But to do this, you will have to master some tricks so that the dish will definitely turn out.

First, of course, the meat needs to be washed and scraped to get rid of the bristles (if any), and then make several cuts with a knife in the fleshy part and marinate the pork.

This can be done in different ways - either rub the shank with spices, pressing some of the seasonings into the cuts on the skin, or grease with lemon juice mixed with soy sauce and garlic. Marinade options depend on the specific pork knuckle recipe. This could be pomegranate or tomato juice, ginger sauce or olive oil. Provençal herbs, rosemary, juniper, bay leaves, garlic, cumin, red and black pepper are very good. Some housewives soak the meat for several hours in cold milk to make the shank tender.

After this, the pork leg can be baked, although many cooks first boil it for an hour in broth with roots and vegetables, or in beer, as in Munich. However, if desired, beer can be successfully replaced with kvass.

Pre-cooking is needed in order to reduce the baking time, since the boiled pork knuckle is in the oven for 20-25 minutes, not 1-2.5 hours. If you use a multicooker, set it to the “Stew” mode, and then to the “Frying” mode.

Before baking, the shank is often coated with mustard-honey sauce for a piquant taste and a beautiful golden crust. On a baking sheet under and next to the meat, you can place large onion rings, which, after caramelization, will release their juice to the baked meat.

Pork knuckle: recipe with photos step by step

Let's prepare baked pork knuckle without foil and sleeve, simply and quickly. This method is often used in Czech restaurants.

Ingredients:

• pork knuckle weighing about 1 kg
• carrots - 1 pc.
• onion - 2 pcs.
• celery stalk - 3 pcs.
• cumin - 1 tbsp. l.
• sugar - 1 tbsp. l. with a slide
• salt - 1 tbsp. l.
• cinnamon - 5 sticks
• peppercorns - 1 tbsp. l.
• dark beer - 500 ml
• light beer - 500 ml
• water - 2 liters
• vegetable oil - 2 tbsp. l.

For the glaze:

• liquid honey - 100 g
• Dijon mustard - 50 g
• lemon juice - 50 ml
• star anise - 3 pcs.

Rinse the shank with cold water and lightly scorch it if necessary if it has bristles. Make punctures with a knife along the entire surface of the shank so that the meat is better saturated with the aroma of spices. Place the shank in a saucepan, cover with beer and water. Cut the vegetables into arbitrary pieces and throw them on the shank along with the spices. Bring the broth to a boil and simmer over low heat for one and a half hours. Prepare the glaze: mix honey with star anise and bring to a boil. Add lemon juice and mustard to the honey, then remove from heat. When the shank is cooked, cool it directly in the broth. Turn on the oven to 180°C. Place the shank on a baking sheet and brush it with vegetable oil. Place the meat in the oven for half an hour. Increase the heat to 200°C and brush the shank with the honey mustard sauce before putting it back in the oven. Place the pan in the oven for another 15 minutes.

The meat will turn out rosy, shiny and as if glazed. It is no coincidence that in Germany a similar dish is called ice leg - the crust shines like ice under the sun. Very beautiful and appetizing! By the way, instead of lemon juice in this recipe, you can use soy sauce in the same proportion, although this ingredient appeared in Germany and the Czech Republic relatively recently, it successfully complemented the classic versions of dishes.

In foil - hot, hot

Try cooking pork knuckle in the oven in foil with lemon and garlic - this dish is accessible even to novice cooks. It does not belong to any national cuisine and may well be considered international. Pork according to this recipe always turns out soft and juicy, since the foil retains heat well. However, you will also need soy sauce and a little black pepper.

Ingredients:

• knuckle - 1 pc.
• lemon - 1 pc.
• soy sauce - 150 ml
• black pepper - 1 tsp.
• garlic - 1 pc.
• salt - to taste

The beginning of working with the knuckle is traditional: scrape, rinse, dry. Next, make incisions in especially fleshy places and prepare a marinade from squeezed lemon juice, soy sauce and black pepper. Crush the garlic to a puree and add to the marinade, and you don’t have to add salt or add just a little salt, since soy sauce itself is quite salty.

Place the pork leg in a food-safe bag, cover with the marinade, seal well and refrigerate overnight to marinate the meat. Next, wrap the shank in foil, place it in a baking dish and place it in the oven for an hour at 200°C. Reduce heat to 170 °C degrees and keep the meat in the oven for another hour.

Unfold the foil, pour the remaining marinade over the meat and cook for 15 minutes, then turn the leg over, pour the marinade over again and leave in the oven for another 10 minutes. The shank will brown, become juicy, tender and amazingly tasty!

A wonderful combination with vegetables

If you cook the shank with vegetables, you will have a ready-made dish that doesn’t even need a side dish! Change vegetables according to the season and serve meat in a new role each time.

Ingredients:

• pork knuckle - 1.5 kg
• champignons – 300 g
• bell pepper - 2 pcs.
• eggplant - 300 g
• potatoes - 3 pcs.
• meat broth - 200 ml
• salt, pepper mixture and rosemary - to taste

Pork knuckle cooks perfectly in a sleeve in the oven, in this case the knuckle is baked in its own juices, just like when using foil, so it will melt in your mouth! Rub the washed shank with seasonings and leave to marinate on the table for about half an hour. Chop the bell peppers, mushrooms, eggplant and grill the vegetables.

Slice the potatoes and place them together with the shanks in a baking sleeve. Pour the broth into the sleeve, secure its edges well and place in a baking dish. Cook for 2.5 hours at 200 °C, and when the meat is ready, cut the top of the sleeve and continue cooking for another 15 minutes until a golden brown crust forms on the meat. Serve with vegetables.

Pomegranate knuckle

In this recipe, the pork knuckle is baked not in the oven, but in a slow cooker, and even in a pomegranate marinade.

pork knuckle 1 if more than 1.5 kg or 2-3 if small
water
onions 2 pcs.
carrots 1 pc.
celery stalk
black peppercorns
beer
pepper, thyme, rosemary
garlic
Add an onion, a carrot, a stalk of celery, a couple of black peppercorns to the water, add the legs, add salt and cook for 20-30 minutes. Add beer to the broth. Remove the legs, rub them with pepper, dry thyme and rosemary, and garlic. Place on a wire rack, place a baking sheet down (I used one from the microwave), and pour a little beer onto it. Bake for 1.5-2 hours, brushing with beer every 10-15 minutes (it’s best to use unfiltered Bavarian beer, but any light beer is fine).
If the legs have skin, then before putting them in the oven, cut the skin diagonally with a mesh and 30-40 minutes before they are ready, grease the legs every 10 minutes with a mixture of beer and sugar or honey. In this case, you will get a beautiful golden brown crust. Separately, simmer the sauerkraut with fried onions.

Pork knuckle recipe

Take a pork knuckle, rinse it with water. Wrap the knuckle tightly in gauze and tie the gauze so that it does not come undone during cooking. Do this so that the meat does not fall apart during cooking and does not come away from the bone., and cook it with vegetables: peeled onions whole, you can put 2 pieces, 2 whole carrots, a small bunch of dill and parsley, also whole, a pinch of black peppercorns, salt to taste. and cook over low heat from the moment of boiling for seven hours. then you take out the shank, you need to cool it, then you need to sprinkle it with salt, a pinch, a little pepper, grease with sweetened water, this is so that when baking the crust is golden and crispy. put everything in the oven and bake until golden brown. stew the cabbage separately, cut the cabbage into small cubes, salt it, pepper, add a little sugar, add a little onion into cubes, rub the cabbage a little with your hands so that it gives juice, cut the carrots into thin slices slices and simmer over low heat with the lid closed until done. Serve: place the shank on a plate, add cabbage and serve with mustard and creamy horseradish. Believe me, it’s very tasty, I cooked it in a restaurant and they always ordered it, and beer has nothing to do with it.

German knuckle with cabbage recipe

2 shanks (one kilogram each; skin cut into diamond shapes)
1/2 tsp. tarragon
pepper beans and ground pepper
bunch of roots
4 onions
2 bay leaves
5 cloves garlic
1 kg sauerkraut
1 tbsp. l. rendered lard
marjoram
salt
Rub the shanks with salt, pepper, garlic and marjoram and fry over high heat with lard in a frying pan with high sides (about 15 minutes). Before removing the shanks from the heat, add finely chopped carrots, celery root, onions and leeks and fry a little. Add half the beer. Place the shanks in an oven preheated to 200 C on the middle level. Bake them for about an hour, periodically pouring broth and beer. Then increase the temperature to 220 C and, using the remaining beer for basting, bake for another 25 minutes.
At this time, fry 2 chopped onions in smoked lard. Add cabbage, salt, add boiling water. Simmer for 1.5 hours. Season with salt, pepper, marjoram. Serve with knuckle.

Pork knuckle recipe baked in the oven

2 pcs. pork knuckle
For the marinade: 2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tooth garlic
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. l. mayonnaise
0.5 tbsp. ketchup
ground black pepper
rosemary
basil Clean the pork knuckle, wash and dry.
Prepare the marinade. To do this, mix soy sauce with chopped garlic, basil, rosemary and ground black pepper. Add ketchup, mayonnaise and olive oil.
Spread the prepared marinade on the shanks and set aside for 20-30 minutes. (maybe overnight).
Place in a baking dish, cover with a lid or foil and bake until golden brown (approximately 2-2.5 hours, the meat will begin to separate from the bone).
As a side dish, you can serve any greens or vegetable salad (but not starchy ones!).
The knuckle can be eaten either hot or cold.
The bone is removed very easily from the finished hot shank, so remove it immediately.
Cut the cold shank into portions and serve like ham.
Bon appetit!

Pork knuckles with beans recipe

For the recipe you will need:
white beans - 400g
onions - 2.5 pcs.
vegetable oil (or pork fat) - 100 ml
tomato paste - 2 tbsp.
savory - 2g
garlic - 5 cloves
bay leaf - 1 pc.
salt, pepper - to taste.
Place the sorted and well-washed beans to boil in cold water. Boil for 20 minutes, drain the water, add cold water again (3 fingers above the beans) and cook over low heat.
Fry pork knuckles and shanks (chopped into pieces) in hot fat, transfer to another pan, and sauté finely chopped onion in the remaining fat, add tomato paste, finely chopped garlic, pour in bean broth, salt, pepper, add savory, bay leaf and fried shanks and shanks and cook over moderate heat until the meat is cooked. Place cooked beans into the prepared meat and place the pan in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
Serve hot, placing a piece of shank and beans with sauce on each plate.
Serve separately with sauerkraut salad with ground red pepper or assorted salad with pickled vegetables. The dish tastes better if it is prepared from smoked shanks and shanks.

Stuffed shank recipe

For the recipe you will need:
knuckle (large) - 1.2-1.5 kg
soup greens
pork (lean) - 150g
sauerkraut - 150g
egg - 2 pcs.
salt, pepper - to taste
sour cream - 100g
cream - 1 glass
butter - 150g
flour - 15g
mustard (spicy) - 2 tbsp.
peas (canned) - 450g.
Cut the knuckle lengthwise, remove the bone from it, place it in a saucepan with four liters of water, add coarsely chopped herbs and bring to a boil. While the meat is cooking, finely chop the sauerkraut, pass the lean pork through a meat grinder and mix the minced meat with cabbage and eggs. Salt and pepper the filling to taste.
When the water boils, take out the knuckle, place it on a clean napkin, put the prepared filling inside, wrap the knuckle tightly in a towel and tie it on both sides. Place the meat in boiling water again and cook for 1.5 hours over low heat, strictly avoiding boiling.
After an hour, drain a glass of broth, add sour cream and cream and put it on the fire until the whole mass has evaporated to a volume of about 400 g. Then add butter and flour, as well as salt, pepper and mustard to taste.
While the main dish and sauce are being prepared, add a little butter to the peas, stir them with a mixer until pureed, add the remaining butter and season with spices. By this time the meat should be cooked. Remove it from the pan, cool slightly, unwrap it, cut it into slices and place on plates along with the mashed potatoes and sauce.

Pork knuckles with garlic in the oven

For the recipe you will need:
pork knuckles and shanks - 5 pcs.
pork fat - 100g
tomato paste - 2 tbsp.
garlic - 10 cloves
flour - 1 tbsp.
wine - 1/2 cup
onions - 2 pcs.
potatoes - 10 pcs.
salt, pepper - to taste.
Wash the chopped shanks and shanks, dry them, add salt, fry on all sides and place in a pan.
Saute finely chopped onion and garlic in the remaining fat, add tomato paste and pour in warm water (1 l). When the sauce boils, add salt and pepper and put the fried shanks and shanks in it, cover the pan with a lid and put in the oven.
Place whole peeled potatoes into the semi-cooked meat, pour in the wine mixed with flour and leave in the oven until cooked.
Serve hot when the sauce has reduced well.

Smoked shanks with sauerkraut recipe

For the recipe you will need:
smoked pork knuckles and shanks (with skin) - 5 pcs.
sauerkraut - 1 head
cabbage brine - 1 cup
tomato paste - 50g
potatoes - 1kg
fat - 75g
tomatoes - 5 pcs.
sweet pepper - 1 pc.
pepper (peas) - to taste.
Finely chop the cabbage, place half of the cabbage on the bottom of the pan, place smoked shanks on the cabbage, cover with the remaining cabbage, pour in cabbage brine diluted with water. Top with finely chopped and fried sweet peppers, tomato paste and peppercorns. Simmer for about 2.5 hours until the meat and cabbage are completely cooked.

Knuckle in a pot recipe

For the recipe you will need:
knuckle - 4 pcs.
sausages (homemade) - 2 pcs.
salt - 1 tsp.
red pepper (ground) - 1/2 tsp.
black pepper - a few peas.
Rinse the shanks thoroughly, cover with water, add salt and cook until fully cooked. Separate the pulp from the bones, cut into cubes and place in pots (in each pot - the pulp from one shank), sandwiching the sausages with slices.
Dilute red pepper with 8 tablespoons of broth and pour 2 tablespoons into each pot, season with black pepper.
Place the pots in the hot oven and bake the shanks for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Knuckle with fried cabbage recipe

For the recipe you will need:
pork shank (knuckle) - 2 pcs.
sauerkraut - 250g
bacon (smoked) - 100g
for the marinade:
red dry wine - 1 glass
water - 1 glass
onion - 1 pc.
garlic - 1 clove
salt - 1 tbsp.
bay leaf, peppercorns - to taste
for garnish:
young zucchini squash
tomato, cheese slices.
For the marinade, mix water, wine, salt, spices, chopped onion and garlic. Place the shanks in it and keep for 12 hours at room temperature.
In the same marinade we cook the shanks for 1.5 - 2 hours. Remove from the broth, place in a frying pan, spread with a mixture of mayonnaise and crushed garlic and bake in the oven until golden brown. At the same time as the shanks, bake zucchini circles in the oven, topped with slices of tomato and cheese.
Scald the sauerkraut in a colander with boiling water (blanch). Cut the bacon into finger-width pieces and fry in a dry frying pan until the fat is rendered. Add cabbage to the bacon and fry for 10 minutes so that the cabbage is saturated with its taste.