Pork knuckle

When the cold creeps in, get cracking with Colin Fassnidge and Anthony Puharich’s German-inspired roast.

A: This one’s a cracker.

C: The whole thing about pork knuckle is that crackling.

A: It’s all about the crackling – the juicy meat, too – but the crackling is big time. C: You also want a pork knuckle with a lot of meat, because there’s no point cooking it if there’s no meat on it.

A: To guarantee that there’s plenty of meat, you’ve got to get the hind leg – the hock – because that’s the big, fat meaty one. Whereas the one from the front leg is a bit scrawny, like Colin.

C: Yeah, I’m more of a greyhound… Now the secret with knuckle: you want to dry it out in the fridge for a couple of days on a plate, not covered, near the top of the fridge. You want the skin to go nice and brown. Then you salt it, oil it, and put it into a really high-heat oven.

A: Would you make a gravy to go with it?

C: I’d sit the knuckle on a trivet made of vegetables – potato, sweet potato or other root vegetables – not just sitting on a tray, to soak up all the roasting pork juices. And add a bit of cider in the bottom of the tray with the vegetables. A: That will provide a bit of sweetness. Cider-y apple always goes with pork. And how about sauerkraut on the side? C: Or take a red cabbage, roasted with some spices and vinegar, like a sweet and sour job. And some sort of a pickle, even make your own pickled cucumbers. A: This is classic German comfort food; you can’t get more German than this.

C: Serve it with a beer, a wheat beer.

A: Or a German pilsner.

C: So you’ve got the pork, the potato, the cider. We have the pickles. We have the cabbage. The pork is going to be moist underneath and crispy on top. Done – thanks for coming.

A: Cracking.

ROAST PORK KNUCKLE WITH PERFECT CRACKLE

SERVES 4

Begin this recipe 2 days ahead. You’ll need 4 metal skewers and a meat thermometer.

2 x 1.6kg hind leg pork knuckles 1 tbs apple cider vinegar

1kg orange sweet potato washed,

unpeeled, cut into 5cm pieces 4 carrots, trimmed, unpeeled 1 bunch baby beetroot, green tops

trimmed, leaving 3cm attached 375ml can apple cider

1 bunch sage, leaves picked

DILL PICKLED BABY CUCUMBERS

250g baby cucumbers, very thinly sliced 1 tsp caster sugar

2 tbs apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup firmly packed dill leaves

SWEET ROASTED CABBAGE

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1/2 (750g total) medium red cabbage,

cut into 4 wedges through core 3 tsp caraway seeds (or fennel seeds) 1 tbs brown sugar

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

50g unsalted butter

Stand pork knuckles upright on a wire rack set over an oven tray. Place in the fridge, uncovered, for 2 days to dry out.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Position oven rack on lowest shelf. Dry pork knuckles with paper towel. Prick skin all over (the more you prick the skin, the crispier the crackle) using the tip of a metal skewer. Brush flesh only with 2 tsp vinegar (this prevents a strong aroma when cooking), then rub skin all over with 1 tbs fine salt. Stretch skin down firmly towards base of knuckle and secure with two metal skewers, crossing over, going through the flesh as close to the bone as possible (this prevents the skin shrinking or tearing as it bakes). Set aside.

Place sweet potato, carrot, beetroot, cider and sage in a very large, deep roasting pan. Season well. Set a wire rack over pan and place pork knuckles, standing upright, on rack. Roast, rotating pan halfway and adding 1/3 cup (80ml) water if cider reduces by more than half, for 2 hours 30 minutes or until cooked when thickest part of the knuckle is 85°C on a meat thermometer and skin is light golden.

Meanwhile, for the pickled cucumber, place all ingredients and 1/2 tsp fine salt in a medium bowl. Gently toss. Season, cover and chill, tossing occasionally.

Carefully remove roasting pan from oven, then transfer pork knuckles and rack to a foil-lined baking tray. Cover roasting pan with foil to keep vegetables warm. Increase oven to 260°C/240°C fan-forced. Brush knuckle skin with some remaining vinegar. Roast for 40 minutes, brushing with a little more vinegar and turning a quarter turn every 10 minutes, until skin is evenly crisp. Remove from oven and rest for 15 minutes, then carefully remove skewers.

Meanwhile, prepare the cabbage. Heat oil in a large ovenproof frypan over high heat. Cook cabbage wedges for 2 minutes each side or until lightly charred. Remove from heat and add all other ingredients and 1/2 tsp fine salt. Turn cabbage to coat, then transfer pan to the 260°C/240°C fan-forced oven and roast for 10 minutes or until tender and caramelised. Turn cabbage in pan once more and serve with pork knuckles, vegetables and cucumber.