Roasted Pork Leg a la Schweinshaxe
Crispy skin with the moistest meat underneath. Cooking roasted pork leg cooked German-style with beer is not as hard as you may think. After the initial prep, just pop in the oven.

Ingredients
- 1 whole pork leg (or hock in some regions)
- 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons grated garlic
- 2 large onions thinly sliced
- 1 can beer pale, not dark plus equal amount of bone broth
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 sprigs thyme
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Mix together the garlic, caraway seeds and salt.
- Rub all over the pork.
- Cover the bottom of an ovenproof dish with the onion slices.
- Stand the pork knuckle in the dish, the end with the exposed meat touching the onion slices.
- Pour in the beer and broth. The liquid should come up to almost half the height of the pork knuckle. Depending on the size of the pan, you may need to use more or less broth. The trick really is to expose the skin to the oven’s dry heat while the meat absorbs the liquid to prevent it from turning dry. That’s why the pork knuckle is in a “standing” position.
- Add the herbs. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Roast at 425F for two to two-and-a-half hours. If the liquid dries up, add more broth, no more than a cup at a time.
- Transfer the pork knuckle on a plate. You may make a gravy by straining the remaining liquid from the pan, adding flour and butter and cooking until thick.
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