Roast Bavarian Ham Hocks With Beer Caraway Juniper Recipes

ROAST BAVARIAN HAM HOCKS WITH BEER, CARAWAY & JUNIPER

Steps:

• Ham hocks are very salty; to get rid of the excess, soak them in a pan of water for 8 hrs or overnight, changing the water a couple of times, then drain.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Crush or grate 4 of the garlic cloves, finely slice the other 2 and reserve them. Crush the caraway and the juniper seeds using a pestle and mortar. Mix 5 tsp of the spices with the crushed garlic and the olive oil. Make small, deep slits through the rind of the hocks, then rub the garlic and spice mixture all over the skin and flesh, pushing some of it into the slits. Rub more oil into the skin and season. Put in a large roasting tin and cook for 30 mins.
• Remove from the oven and take the hocks out of the tin. If there are any burnt bits of garlic or spices in the bottom of the tin, scoop them out (otherwise they will taint the flavour of the cooking juices). Reduce oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.
• Spread the onions and celery out in the tin, sprinkling over some of the rest of the spices and some seasoning. Layer the potatoes and celeriac on top, season, add the sliced garlic and sprinkle over any remaining spices. The onions should be completely covered. Add the apple and the bay leaves.
• Heat the beer in a saucepan, but don't boil it, then pour it over the vegetables in the tin. Put the hocks on top, return to the oven and cook for 2½ hrs - baste the pork a few times and make sure that the potatoes and apples don't get too dark (turn the apples over and baste them from time to time). When there's 30 mins left, sprinkle the apple wedges with a little sugar and return to the oven.
• After cooking, there shouldn't be much juice left in the tin. But if the vegetables are too 'soupy', remove the hocks and keep them warm, then set the tin on the hob and simmer until some of the liquid has evaporated. Transfer everything to a shallow serving dish.

BEER BRAISED PORK KNUCKLES WITH CARAWAY, GARLIC, APPLES AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the salt and caraway seeds into a bowl, mince or grate in the garlic, and stir to combine. Add the pork knuckles and rub them well with the caraway mixture, getting it into the slits in the rind where it was scored.
• Peel the onions and slice them into rounds and add them to the bottom of a roasting tin, making a bed or platform. Sit the knuckles on top of the onions and cook them for 30 minutes.
• Take the tin out of the oven and quickly arrange the apples and potatoes around the knuckles. Carefully pour 1 cup of the beer over the knuckles, so they are basted as the liquid pours into the tin. Put the pan back into the oven. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and roast for 2 hours.
• Turn the oven up again to 425 degrees F, and baste the hocks with the remaining beer. Roast for 30 minutes more.
• Remove the tin from the oven and transfer the apples and potatoes to a warmed serving dish. Lift the knuckles onto a carving board and leave the onion and juices in the tin. Put the tin on the stove over medium heat and add 2 cups boiling water, stirring to deglaze the pan to make a gravy. Transfer the gravy to a serving bowl.
• Take the crackling off the knuckles and break it into pieces, then add them to a serving bowl. Pull or carve the pork meat and add it to the bowl with the crackling. Serve with the apples, potatoes, gravy and some German mustard.
• Make Ahead Note:
• The pork and onions can be put in roasting tin up to 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Just before cooking, rub with the salt, caraway and garlic and cook as directed.
• Making leftovers right:
• Leftover pork can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 3 days. Eat it cold or reheat gently in a saucepan with leftover gravy, until piping hot. You should store any leftover gravy in a separate airtight container in the in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.
• Leftover pork can be frozen for up to 2 months, tightly wrapped in foil, then defrosted overnight in the refrigerator. Even if you have an amount too small to be useful by itself (a likely outcome), simply bag and mark it up and freeze it for future use in the Pantry Paella recipe.

SCHWEINSHAXE (GERMAN HAM HOCK)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F.
• Rinse the hocks and pat dry.
• Cut the fatty skin diagonally in both directions so that you have a diamond pattern. Season with pepper, salt and paprika.
• Heat the lard in a dutch oven and brown the hocks for approx 10 mins on all sides (quite hot).
• Peel and quarter the onion and add to the pot, add the bay leaf, juniper berries, cloves and mustard grains.
• Pour in 1/8 quart of boiling water and place the pot in the middle of the oven.
• The hocks will need approx 1 1/2 - 2hrs, depending on size, baste with beer from time to time and if required add a little water.
• Remove the hock from the pot and using beer and water make sure you scrape up the bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Thicken using a cornstarch/water paste and season with salt and pepper.
• Serve with sauerkraut and knoedel or mashed potatoes.