How to cook a pork knuckle in the oven

Oven-baked pork knuckle is a fragrant, toning dish for real men. Cooking it is quite simple, even an inexperienced person in culinary skills will cope. The dish is well suited for a friendly male meeting, especially in a duet with several bottles of cold beer. It will also be appropriate when meeting face-to-face and, if the expression that the path to the man’s heart lies through the stomach, then you are on the right track!

“A brownish crust, tender meat, and the smell is such that it drives you crazy!”
But who is on a diet - Let's go aside, envy silently and chew salad! ”

And this is all about her - the knuckle baked in the oven. It is a pity that writing is possible only with words, and not with smells and tastes, alas - the prose of life, we will return from heaven to earth and get down to cooking. There are many recipes, but the technology is almost the same.

Preparation for baking and technology

• It’s better to buy a shank at the bazaar, because there is more choice, and the meat is fresher. If knuckle from the front legs is better for cooking jellied meat, then for baking it is necessary to take from the hind legs, it is larger and there is more meat. Pay attention to the skin, it should be even cream in color and without dark spots, and the fat layer should be minimal, the meat light pink and elastic when pressed, this is a guarantee of freshness and “youth”.
• At home, scrub it under running water with a knife and rinse thoroughly, slightly dry. Then turn on the gas and the hood (it’s a very specific smell), scorch the leg, once again peel the skin with a knife, because in the finished dish it is the most delicious: beautifully baked and crispy.
• It’s not worth it to go further, choosing between different marinades and sets of spices. The next step is cooking. Some recipes are recommended to marinate before cooking, but this is not entirely reasonable, since everything that absorbs meat will be after cooking in the broth. If you wish, of course, you can swap these 2 stages, compare the results and choose the best.
• Now you can send the garlic shank stuffed with garlic to the marinade, the options of which are many: beer, mustard with sour cream or mayonnaise with the addition of soy sauce, garlic, caraway seeds, ginger and other spices. Let it lie there for 6-7 hours (you can also do it all night), get it, put it in the oven, bake until ready for about 2 hours. Another touch - periodically when baking, pour sauce if it is not cooked in foil or sleeve.

Baked pork knuckle - classic recipe

One of the options for instant cooking of baked shank at home is without preliminary cooking and many hours of pickling.

• Vegetables and spices prepared, shank cleared, you can start cooking. Grate garlic or crush with a press. Put rosemary in a mortar, add peas of pepper, break bay leaves into pieces, grind everything thoroughly, add garlic, mix.
• With a little effort, rub the mixture into the knuckle, let stand a little.
• Cut the onions in half (it’s easier and faster to peel), remove the husk, chop into large half rings, pour into the bottom of the mold.
• Lay a knuckle rubbed with coarse salt on top of the onion.
• Place in the oven preheated to 230-250 degrees for about half an hour, then reduce the heating to 190, bake for about an hour and a half (depending on the size of the meat and oven), pour over the juice that will appear during the baking process.
• Wash medium-sized tubers, peel (young can be left in the peel), cut into quarters. Fold in a bowl, add a little salt, pepper, you can add your favorite spices, mix, spread around the shank for 20-25 minutes until it is ready.

How to bake a knuckle in foil or in a sleeve

A dish prepared according to this recipe will be tasty both in cold and in hot form. Its rich, intoxicating aroma with fruity notes in a matter of minutes will fill the kitchen. And when it is ready, you don’t have to call home twice! Vegetables perfectly complement its taste, but a side dish of potatoes, especially young ones, is also suitable.

• 30-35 g of liquid honey;
• 4 garlic cloves;
• 40 ml of soy sauce;
• half a lemon and an orange;
• 25-30 g adjika;
• salt and spices (to taste).

1. Prepare the shank, wash well and scrape under running water, dry with a multi-layer paper towel.
2. Squeeze orange-lemon juice. Mix adjika and honey, add spices, sauce, pour in a mixture of juices, mix, if necessary, add salt. Spread the saucepan evenly with the mixture, put in a deep bowl, cover with a film, let stand in the refrigerator or cool place for 2-4 hours.
3. Cut the peeled garlic into slices, put half in a sleeve tied on one side, then send the knuckle and the remaining garlic to it, pour the marinade, and tie the other side of the sleeve well.
4. Place the sleeve in the mold, pierce the top in several places with a toothpick, put in the oven for 2-3 hours, cook at 180 degrees.
5. Carefully, in order not to get a steam burn, make a full-length incision on the sleeve. Bake for about 15 minutes. As a result, a brownish crust should appear, causing an appetite and a desire to eat it sooner.

Shank recipe in both the Czech Republic and Germany

What are the most famous "beer" countries? That's right - Germany and the Czech Republic! Naturally, the shank is also prepared there with this national foamy drink. It is first brewed in beer with apples (you can even without them), and then it is already baked according to a long-standing national tradition with sauerkraut. It is cooked in the oven in beer simply, not quickly in time, but you do not need to “stand over the pan”.

• beer (preferably light) - 1.5 l;
• carrots - 2 pcs.;
• bulbs - 2 pcs.;
• apples cf. size - 2 pcs.;
• sauerkraut - 1.5 kg;
• garlic 4-5 cloves;
• honey 2-3 tbsp. l .;
• herbs, salt and spices to taste.

1. Coarsely cut vegetables and fruits, apples are better to take hard with sourness. Pour everything into a pan, add spices, mix, put the shank. Pour everything with beer (leave about a quarter cup for the marinade), salt, cook for a couple of hours (depending on size), but do not digest the meat to keep up with the bone.
2. Prepare the marinade from the rest of the beer with the addition of pepper, honey, garlic and beer.
3. Cover the baking sheet with the sides with foil, pour a little broth from the pan, lay out a layer of cabbage, and put a shank on it, cut the skin with rhombuses, and grease with a honey mixture. Repeat when baking every 10-15 minutes so as not to dry.
4. Leave a little broth when the dish is warming up, then pour a little on a baking sheet or pan, then the meat will preserve the juiciness and taste of freshly cooked.

Baked dough knuckle - a simple dish for a festive table

Unusual dish from the “lazy” series, but very tasty. Appetizing crispy bread crust is eaten without residue. It is described in just 3 short words: easy, fast and tasty!

• shank - 1 pc.;
• salt - 2 tsp. (1 tsp. To meat and 1 tsp. To the dough);
• peas of pepper - 10 pcs.;
• water - 1 cup;
• flour - about 550 g;
• garlic - 4 cloves;

1. Stir the chopped peas of pepper with grated garlic and a teaspoon of salt, grease the shank on all sides, let stand for a couple of hours and soak.
2. Knead dough from a glass of salted water and flour, like dumplings, "mature" for about 40 minutes.
3. Roll the kolobok of dough into a layer (1 cm thick), place a shank on its middle, carefully and accurately pinch, put on a baking sheet with sides, place in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 30 minutes.
4. Remove, carefully “pack” with foil, reduce heating to 150 degrees, cook for 2 hours or a little more, depending on size.
5. Get the finished dish, let it cool slightly, serve. And if the meat can still remain, then the crust of dough soaked in a fragrant saturated broth never remains. This way you can bake and boiled pork.

Calorie pork shank

The knuckle can not be attributed to dietary dishes, but sometimes you can treat yourself, even if you adhere to the PP, for example, on holidays. It is especially good to cook it in the off-season and in winter. It is quite high in calories - 294-332 kcal per 100 grams. The value varies and depends on a number of reasons: the size of the layer of fat, the method of preparation, the composition of the marinade, for example, light beer is less caloric than dark beer, etc.

Choosing the best marinade for shank

You can choose a marinade from the following, any of them has the right to life, each is good in its own way. To paraphrase the famous words: “all recipes are good - choose to taste”! The process is creative: you can add something to any of them and remove something.

• garlic - 4 cloves;
• olive oil - 50 ml;
• soy sauce - 50 ml;
• a mixture of peppers to taste;
• dried rosemary - to taste.

• apple cider vinegar - 2 tbsp. l .;
• soy sauce - 2 tbsp. l .;
• oil - 3-4 tbsp. l .;
• salt - 1-2 tsp;
• mustard seeds and spicy - 2 tbsp each. l .;
• garlic - 6-7 cloves (crush by press);
• marjoram, basil, rosemary, paprika, coriander - to taste.

• soy sauce - 2 tbsp. l .;
• mayonnaise - 2 tsp;
• nutmeg and black pepper - 0.5 tsp;
• seasoning for meat - to taste;
• salt (if it is not in seasoning) - to taste.

• light beer - 1 liter;
• coriander - 1 tsp;
• oregano - 0.5 tsp;
• caraway seeds - 1 tsp;
• peppercorns - 1 tsp;
• mustard - 1 tbsp. l .;
• salt - 2 tsp;
• honey - 2 tbsp. l .;
• garlic - 5 cloves.

Useful Tips

Cut the garlic, prepared for shpigirovaniye, cut in half lengthwise, roll in a mixture of pepper with other spices, and then insert into incisions. If the knuckle will be brewed in beer, do not forget to turn on the hood or close the kitchen door tightly and open the window, otherwise the apartment will fill with an alcohol smell.

It is not difficult to bake the knuckle in the oven; there are recipes that are different in terms of “labor costs”. In the technological chain, boil-marinate-bake the first two links can be interchanged, or it can be completely eliminated. But you still have to stock up on patience, since from the beginning of preparation to the tasting of the dish about 3 hours will pass. This is if you do not keep long in the marinade. Successful experiments in the kitchen and recognition of your culinary talents as household members!