Du bist, was du isst.

You are what you eat.

Well, yeah. A greasy, fat, pork meat.

Or a pig, if you like. 🙂

Bavarian Style Roasted Pork Shank

What you need:

• two pieces of back pork shank/knuckle
• 2-3 carrots
• 3-4 celery stick
• 1 Spanish onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• salt
• 500-700 ml dark beer

Place the shanks in a large pot. Add the carrots, celery sticks, the finely chopped onion, finely chopped pepper, garlic cloves, spices and bring it to boil.

Simmer the meat on a low heat for at least 1 hour. Place the knuckles in a roast pan and baste them with the ale. Add water from the broth to the pan, and roast them for 1-2 hour, until the meat is tender and it’s coming off the bone.

Grill them for a few minutes until the skin becomes crispy.

For the braised sauerkraut:

• 500-700 g sauerkraut
• 1 finely chopped Spanish onion
• 1-2 rashers of diced bacon
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• one cup of broth
• 2 bay leaves

In a large pan cook the bacon for a few minutes, add the onion and saute for a few more minutes until the onion is golden brown. Add the sauerkraut with ground pepper, bay leaves and broth and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally.

There’s no need to add extra salt, as the sauerkraut already has salt. If the taste is too strong, drain it in a colander and rinse it with cold running water to lighten it a bit.

Serve the roast shanks with braised sauerkraut and fresh, sourdough bread.

And dark ale, of course.

Guten Appetit!