Beer Braised Pork Knuckles with Garlic and Caraway

What is a pork knuckle? I know what you're thinking... it's not that. It's a genuine cut of meat.

Voila

Pork knuckles can also be called Ham Hocks, which more people may be familiar with. It's a cut of meat that I found notoriously hard to track down. Of course, my local supermarket doesn't stock it... that would actually be useful. Then after several butcher trips, I struck gold. This beauty fed three of us (with healthy appetites) easily with enough left overs for tomorrows packed lunch. Getting hold of one of these was inspired by a recipe in 'Kitchen' by Nigella Lawson - Beer Braised Pork Knuckles with Garlic, Caraway, Apples and Potatoes.

This is a cheap cut of meat and would make a great family Sunday lunch or any day you fancy something a little bit indulgent and comforting. 

So here is the recipe:

Ingredients

- 1 tsp salt

- 1 tsps caraway seeds

- 2 garlic cloves

- 1 large or 2 small pork knuckles

- 2 onions

- 2 eating apples, cored and quartered - I used Granny Smiths

- Enough potatoes to feed your crowd, cut into wedges

- 1 500ml bottle of good amber or dark ale - I used Fullers Honeydew Ale for a touch of sweetness

- 2 cupes of boiling water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the salt and caraway seeds into a bowl with the garlic (minced or grated) and combine. Add the pork knuckles and rub them well with the caraway mixture. Spend time giving it a good massage and make sure the mixture gets into the scores in your rind.
2. Peel the onions and slice them into rounds, then add them to the roasting tin so that they make a layer for the pork knuckle. Put the pork knuckle onto the onions and cook for 30 minutes.
3. Get your tin out of the oven and arrange the apples and potatoes around the knuckle. Now here, I realised that I was using the wrong kind of tin so please make sure you are using a deep roasting dish (something missing from my culinary equipment). I had to make do with a casserole dish and the crackling did suffer.
4. Pour half of the beer over the knuckle so that it is absorbed as it pours into the tin. Put it back into the oven at 325 degrees F and roast for 2 hours.
5. Turn up the oven to 425 degrees F, and baste the hocks with the remaining beer. Roast for 30 more minutes.
6. Once the outside is crispy and the potatoes and apples are nicely cooked, remove your tin and transfer the apples and potatoes to a warmed serving dish. Lift the knuckle onto a carving board and leave the onion and juices in the tin.
7. Put the tin on the stove over a medium heat and add 2 cups of boiling water, stirring to deglaze the pan and to make a gravy. I chose to add a 25ml shot of whisky to our gravy for a boozy compliment to the apples. Transfer the gravy to a gravy boat or jug.
8. Take off the crackling and break it into pieces (or just eat them...) and serve with your other parts.
9. Pull or carve the meat and serve it with the crackling, apples, potatoes and gravy. Can be served with a strong, German mustard.