Roasted Pork Shanks With Crackling(Χοιρινο Κοτσι με Τραγανη Πετσα “Κρατσα-Κρουτσα Pork shanks with crispy skin takes time, patience. You’ll be rewarded with juicy, flavourful pork shanks and crispy skin (crackling) and one pork shanks can feed two well or one shank for one hungry fella!
Ingredients
4 pork shanks, with rind (skin)
olive oil for rubbing pork skin
6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tsp. of fennel seeds, ground
Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1 tsp. marjoram leaves, chopped
2 Tbsp. mustard powder, fine
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1-2 depending on size apples,
fennel bulb,
red onion
several pink skinned potatoes
500 ml of beer
extra stock and beer for roasting pan
Method:
Pre-heated 250c oven
Grind your fennel seeds and mix with the garlic, mustard, chopped thyme, marjoram and rosemary and rub well into the shanks then season generously with sea salt and some fresh ground pepper.
Place the pork shanks upright in the pan and pour the beer all round the pork and place in your pre-heated 250c oven (middle rack, uncovered) for 30-40 minutes or until crackling has formed.
Now reduce to 160c and continue the slow roast.
Chop apples, fennel bulb, red onion potatoes into wedges or large cubes, place around hocks about 1.5 hours before serving time.
Grind your fennel seeds and mix with the garlic, mustard, chopped thyme, marjoram and rosemary and rub well into the shanks then season generously with sea salt and some fresh ground pepper.
Place the pork shanks upright in the pan and pour the beer all round the pork and place in your pre-heated 250 oven (middle rack, uncovered) for 30-40 minutes or until crackling has formed (the skins is hard when you tap it). Now reduce to 160c and continue the slow roast.After a couple of hours, check/replenish the liquid in the pan and add more beer but ensure the liquid in the pan doesn’t come up the pan more than 1 inch. Continue to roast and take out of the oven after 4 hours. Tent with foil and keep warm. Pure the pan liquid with the roast vegetables to make a sauce. Serve with crispy potatoes or rice flavoured with min, garlic and lemon zest and a side of Greek yoghurts
MY VARIATIONS: Ok so I didn’t have any fresh herbs so I used whole dry ones, beat the &&& out of them in mortar & pestel, then added 2 tsp crushed garlic. More pounding. I did this about an hour before to let the flavours fuse. Rubbed the mixture into all into the cuts of the hocks, which I oiled before. Then put them into the pre heated 250C oven for 30 minutes, took out to look, mmm, then poured a bottle of beer into pan, not quite enough liquid so added a bit of water and a good pinch of what was left of the rub. Turned oven down to 150c and put back. Let them go for 2 hours, took them out and basted with the juices.Then I finely sliced a red onion, apple and ¼ of a huge fennel bulb and scattered all around the hocks, and the last of the rub. Back into the oven for another 1 ½ hours then sliced baby potatoes in half, peeled small carrots, rubbed in oil and into top pan. Turn oven up to 200. Gavne them another ¾ hour and done. Rested hocks, covered in foil. Decided to just put a bit of cornflour into the juice as other ½ doesn’t like it liquid, Preference is up to you. Served it up and oh my goodness IT WAS AWESOME!!!
Only a problem was that we didn't have any nore beer to wash it down with. Make sure you do!
Roasted Pork Shanks With Crackling (Χοιρινο Κοτσι με Τραγανη Πετσα “Κρατσα-Κρουτσα”)
Ingredients
4 pork shanks, with rind (skin)
olive oil for rubbing pork skin
6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tsp. of fennel seeds, ground
Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1 tsp. marjoram leaves, chopped
2 Tbsp. mustard powder, fine
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1-2 depending on size apples,
fennel bulb,
red onion
several pink skinned potatoes
500 ml of beer
extra stock and beer for roasting pan
Method:
Pre-heated 250c oven
Grind your fennel seeds and mix with the garlic, mustard, chopped thyme, marjoram and rosemary and rub well into the shanks then season generously with sea salt and some fresh ground pepper.
Place the pork shanks upright in the pan and pour the beer all round the pork and place in your pre-heated 250c oven (middle rack, uncovered) for 30-40 minutes or until crackling has formed.
Now reduce to 160c and continue the slow roast.
Chop apples, fennel bulb, red onion potatoes into wedges or large cubes, place around hocks about 1.5 hours before serving time.
Grind your fennel seeds and mix with the garlic, mustard, chopped thyme, marjoram and rosemary and rub well into the shanks then season generously with sea salt and some fresh ground pepper.
Place the pork shanks upright in the pan and pour the beer all round the pork and place in your pre-heated 250 oven (middle rack, uncovered) for 30-40 minutes or until crackling has formed (the skins is hard when you tap it). Now reduce to 160c and continue the slow roast.After a couple of hours, check/replenish the liquid in the pan and add more beer but ensure the liquid in the pan doesn’t come up the pan more than 1 inch. Continue to roast and take out of the oven after 4 hours. Tent with foil and keep warm. Pure the pan liquid with the roast vegetables to make a sauce. Serve with crispy potatoes or rice flavoured with min, garlic and lemon zest and a side of Greek yoghurts
MY VARIATIONS: Ok so I didn’t have any fresh herbs so I used whole dry ones, beat the &&& out of them in mortar & pestel, then added 2 tsp crushed garlic. More pounding. I did this about an hour before to let the flavours fuse. Rubbed the mixture into all into the cuts of the hocks, which I oiled before. Then put them into the pre heated 250C oven for 30 minutes, took out to look, mmm, then poured a bottle of beer into pan, not quite enough liquid so added a bit of water and a good pinch of what was left of the rub. Turned oven down to 150c and put back. Let them go for 2 hours, took them out and basted with the juices.Then I finely sliced a red onion, apple and ¼ of a huge fennel bulb and scattered all around the hocks, and the last of the rub. Back into the oven for another 1 ½ hours then sliced baby potatoes in half, peeled small carrots, rubbed in oil and into top pan. Turn oven up to 200. Gavne them another ¾ hour and done. Rested hocks, covered in foil. Decided to just put a bit of cornflour into the juice as other ½ doesn’t like it liquid, Preference is up to you. Served it up and oh my goodness IT WAS AWESOME!!!
Only a problem was that we didn't have any nore beer to wash it down with. Make sure you do!
Bron Doingit
Now to maintain.....hard work!
Now to maintain.....hard work!
