Schweinshaxe

[Wolfy]

Schweinshaxe, Bavarian style roast ham hock (pork knuckle).
It looks something like this when ordered at the German Club in Brisbane:

Surprisingly easy to make at home (and almost as good).

Roughly chop an apple and onion and place in a pan, deeply score the pork hock and rub lots of salt into the skin:

Rub garlic, caraway fruit (seeds) and a little oil into the hock and place meat-end down into the pan, cover base of pan with some beer (Bavarian Lager is ideal):

Slow roast (about 180degC) for 2.5+ hours:

Typically served with potato dumplings and red cabbage, but I enjoy roast potatoes (and they are easier), sauerkraut, apple sauce and some gravy made from the drippings in the pan:

 

[jlm]

Another way I've been trying (suggested to me by the local german butcher) is to boil the hock slowly in salted water with a leek and a heap of herbs, last one I did had a shed load of sage and parsley. After an hour, hour and a half, remove from the pot and let dry out a bit and throw it in a hot oven. Has given me the best "Brisbane Deutscher Turn Verein" imitation so far, with the all over cover of bubbly crackling.

Butcher in question (Black Forest in Invermay) also does a pickled hock which is fantastic done the same way. Also, cutting the hock in half across the middle certainly makes it a bit more manageable on the plate. Now I'm hungry........

 

[PhantomEasey]

Great timing Wolfy, I've got German heritage, and have organised to visit my grandparent's place in a few weeks to learn how to make the potato dumplings (kartoffelnkndel).

I'll report back afterwards with the requisite how-to.

Did you get the hock for the Schweinshaxe from a regular butcher, or a continental butcher?

 

[fraser_john]

Different thread same food

Done on rotisserie, lovely crackling and one of the best brew foods around,except maybe good pizza and buffalo wings! Have found a great butcher in Geelong that has fantastic hocks to make them from, Siketa Meat in Bell Post Hill if anyone is looking!

 

[Airgead]

Made something very similar last night with a chunk of pork leg and a liter or so of Octoberfest i had left over from kegging...

Slow roasted for 2 1/2 hours covered with some beer in the pan to keep things moist. Uncover and crank up the heat to crisp it up. Keep topping up the beer in the bottom. Made a gravy from all the lovely caramelized beery goodness, some extra beer, some apple brandy and some caramelized onion and apple slices.

Served with a potato salad with a mustard mayonnaise dressing.

:icon_drool2:

 

[of mice and gods]

So the million dollar question is.. now that ALDI have stopped their Oktoberfest special, where is the best place to get uncook pork knuckle from in Brisbane? Ideally brined, but if not I will brine myself.

Is there a reasonably priced butcher that has these in stock or turns over a decent amount of pork? I need about 6 for Saturday

 

[of mice and gods]

All good I just ordered them through a decent continental butcher. However I have a feeling this is gonna cost me more then 6.99p/kg..

 

[mr_wibble]

A couple of things to note:

My local butcher refers to this part of the leg as a hock. When I asked for pork knuckles I got a blank look.

He sells ham hocks as part of normal everyday inventory, but this is not what you want - they can be used, but are already pickled/salted/smoked/ham. I tried them in desperation, and it was waaay too salty. Maybe you could soak them for a few hours? I dunno.

There are a two common ways of doing pork knuckles, IMHO the best way is baked as you would a piece of pork (which I think of as Munich-style) which is what Wolfy presents above.

But another way (which is common in Switzerland) is to brine, and somehow steam? (I dunno) but the net effect is for the skin to be very soft, not crackling.

For me the first way is far, far superior. The other way still produces a very nice thing to eat, but I always feel a little sad when my pork knuckle arrives without crackling.

 

[of mice and gods]

My usual routine uses lightly brined pork knuckle (hock), everywhere seems to sell the smoked ham hocks but finding the raw deal can be hard.

I score the skin, rub with a mix of herbs and spices and put into an oven bag with a cup of malty beer and a cup of malty cider as well as a handful of sauerkraut. Bake this about 160 C for about 3 hours. At about 3-3.5 hours I remove this from the oven, if the meat is soft and falling apart tender I open the bag and put the knuckle on a baking tray and pour the juices from the bag over the knuckle (discard bag at this point) and roast for another 60 mins ramping to 220 C to crisp up the skin. You can also add your potatoes at the 60 min point but i wouldn't add the main bed of additional sauerkraut until the last 20 mins or so (at these temps anyway).

I'll take some pictures on the day

al

 

[Aces High]

Mama's in bali does awesome pork knuckle. Im pretty sure they're cured before going on the rotisserie as the meat is pink like a ham. Ive made a few hams and boiled them using injection/tub brining with cure #1 then simmering and they turn out great.

Ive been meaning to have a crack at pork knuckle version of this cooked on the bbq rotisserie.

You've just inspired me to give it a go