How to cook pork knuckle?
Pork carcass is cut into pieces of meat different in values, among which the knuckle is not the last. You can bake it in the oven, boil it, create real culinary masterpieces, following the recipe and the basic rules of cooking.
What it is?
Pork knuckle refers to that part of the carcass, which the butchers call a shank. It looks like a good piece of meat on the bone, cutting it off from the hoof to the knee joint. It is worth saying that in its smoked form the knuckle looks very meaty, and in taste it is better than any ham.
You can use this part of the carcass for jelly, because it contains a lot of connective tissue, and accordingly collagen, which is responsible for transforming hot broth into jelly.
Calorie content
For each piece of pig carcass, the ratio of fat and protein varies depending on which part it was taken from. Belly, bacon and pancetta are very fatty meat, so they have a high calorie content. It contains 264 calories per hundred grams of product. In this case, total fats - is 22 grams, saturated - 8.8 grams. One serving contains 17 grams of protein, and there are no carbohydrates at all, but there are vitamins, calcium, zinc, phosphorus, and other beneficial trace elements.
Pig meat contains about the same amount of protein as beef. Approximately 20% of calories is protein, which is vital for internal organs and muscles.
The product is rich in vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, and B12. They play a crucial role in metabolism, increase its speed, respectively, the food is better digested, and fats are not deposited under the skin. The knuckle contains a lot of iron, which is necessary for the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen and nutrients.
There is plenty of selenium in meat. This trace element reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases. From meat a person gets enough zinc, which can positively affect the immune system. Pork contains less fat than chicken breast.
Not all slices, of course, are so helpful, but with the right choice this is a great alternative to a product suitable for a low-calorie diet.
How to cook at home?
Shin can be made very tasty, for this there are many recipes for cooking. It is most useful to bake it, make on the grill, although you can cook it in the microwave. Some cooks prefer to cook it twisted without a bone, such ham can be smoked. This bulky piece of pork bone, meat and skin can be turned into a fragrant and tender dish. It takes a little effort to achieve the desired result.
One of the simplest recipes when preparing meat in the sleeve, before that you can pickle it or just rub it with spices. The desired vegetables are put together with the pork and stew until they are cooked. You can marinate in soy sauce, tomato juice, lemon, in this case, the knuckle becomes more tender, and the process of roasting takes less time.
It is best to use as additional ingredients the following:
- soy sauce;
- oyster sauce;
- ginger;
- garlic.
In addition, for the preparation of the shank will need to prepare the following ingredients:
- 1 kg of meat per bone;
- chopped ginger root;
- 2–5 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped;
- 4 green onions, coarsely chopped;
- 4 tbsp. l Sahara;
- 4 tbsp. l soy sauce;
- 2 tbsp. l fermented tofu in spiced butter;
- 2 tbsp. l rice vinegar;
- 2 tbsp. l oyster sauce;
- 2 tbsp. l corn starch mixed with water to thicken.
Meat will need to boil for five minutes, so it will become more attractive.
Now everything else is added, and leave to simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and allow to boil until the flesh separates from the bone. Add diluted starch in water, wait until the dish thickens, you can use wheat flour. Served with rice, noodles or just bread.
There are more complicated recipes in cooking that require the purchase of ingredients, which is not always easy to find on the market. Ordinary housewives are less likely to use them, because they do not want to spend a lot of time and money to prepare a delicious dinner.You can just take a knuckle, wash it well.
Pour into a large saucepan approximately 3.5 liters of water, bring it to a boil, then put the pork. While it is boiling, prepare the vegetables: potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers. They must be well washed, cleaned and cut into large pieces so that they do not boil soft during the quenching.
After the meat boils, remove the foam, salt and spread the other ingredients. Stew 2 hours on low heat. When the meat is quite soft, turn off the gas and add seasoning, greens, cover with a lid and let it brew.
If it is possible to better use a cauldron or other dishes with thick walls, because it turns out the dish tastes better. You can use a clay pot and an oven. Serve pork without a side dish.
Very tasty is a stewed stew with apples and red cabbage. The following ingredients are required for cooking:
- meat - about 1 kg;
- onions - 3 pcs., medium;
- butter or vegetable oil - 4 tbsp. l .;
- carrots - 250 g;
- shallot;
- apples - 4 pcs .;
- garlic - 4 cloves;
- bay leaf - 3 pcs .;
- cumin seeds - 1 tsp;
- coriander seeds - 2 tsp;
- flour - 1 tbsp. l .;
- apple juice - 800 ml;
- red cabbage - 150 g;
- wine vinegar - 4 tbsp. l
The process of cooking includes the following steps:
- set the oven to + 220 ° C;
- take pork from the refrigerator for an hour before cooking and spread on the table so that it gets room temperature;
- clean and roughly chop the onions, carrots;
- the knuckle is rubbed with a small amount of oil, then you need to put in a preheated oven for 25 minutes;
- take out lightly toasted meat and set aside;
- chopped onions and peeled garlic are fried in the same container in the oven;
- peel small onions, leaving them whole, put them in a roasting pan with carrots, bay leaves, cumin and coriander seeds and roast for 5 minutes;
- pour in flour diluted with water, stew for 2 or 3 minutes before adding apple juice; season with salt and black pepper;
- reduce the temperature to + 160 ° C, bring the liquid to a boil, then lay back the meat, cover with foil and bake for 1 hour;
- cut the apples into quarters and dip them into the sauce; continue cooking for another hour or until the pork becomes tender;
- finely chop red cabbage, pour red wine vinegar into a deep pan, bring to a boil, then add salt and pepper;
- spread cabbage in vinegar and tightly covered with a lid; stew over moderate heat, sometimes stirring the contents;
- when the pork is ready, vegetables are added to it and served as such.
You can cook the knuckle in a different, more complicated recipe, because salsify is not easy, but possible. It will require ingredients such as:
- lemon - 1 pc .;
- salsify - 500 g;
- butter - 50 g;
- fresh white bread - 125 g;
- olive oil;
- parsley - 6 sprigs;
- egg - 1 pc .;
- orange - 1 pc.
The cooking process includes the following steps:
- fill the pot with cold water, cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice out of it, empty shells are not thrown out;
- they clean the salsify, boil the pot with water, put the root of the plant there, salt it, boil it for 25 minutes, drain the liquid;
- thin breadcrumbs are made of bread, which must be loosened, then they are laid out in a shallow dish, the egg is broken and whipped slightly in a small bowl; the salsify is placed first in the beaten egg and then the crackers;
- melt the butter in a frying pan, add a little olive, then spread the root and fry until the rusks are golden in color;
- chopped parsley, finely rub orange peel, all mixed;
- peel off an orange, cut into thin slices;
- put on a plate fried orange, goat root and chopped parsley - this will be a side dish for pork knuckle.
Now proceed to cooking directly the meat itself. This will require ingredients such as:
- 1.5 kg shank;
- 5 cloves of garlic;
- 3 tablespoons of honey;
- Apple juice;
- 75 ml of olive oil;
- salt;
- a mixture of peppers;
- 1 bay leaf;
- 1 stick of cinnamon;
- 1 tsp. coriander seeds.
For stewed onions will require ingredients such as:
- 400 g red onions;
- 75 ml of olive oil;
- ½ tsp salt.
For the tomato side dish, you should prepare ingredients such as:
- 6 medium tomatoes, cut in half;
- 3 tbsp. l olive oil;
- a pinch of salt;
- ground black pepper.
Next, run the following algorithm:
- for pork knuckles they preheat the oven to + 120 ° С;
- 5 small deep cuts are made on the skin with a sharp knife, where they are placed over a whole clove of garlic;
- rub the product with honey and place in a container for baking with apple juice, olive oil, adding salt and a mixture of peppers, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds and 75 ml of water;
- Cover with a lid or foil, first bring to a boil on the hob, then transfer to the oven and bake for 4 and a half hours until the meat separates from the bone;
- while the pork is boiled, the onions are lightly fried in olive oil for 5 minutes over medium heat, then add salt and 100 ml of water, cover and simmer over low heat for 25 minutes;
- for a tomato garnish, halves of tomatoes are stewed in olive oil for about 2 minutes, until they are soft; season with salt and pepper;
- serve the dish on a plate with all separately prepared ingredients.
It is worth saying that pork knuckle is a fragrant dish that is especially popular in Germany, as well as in the capital of Thailand, where it is served in hotels.
There are many methods how to beautifully serve it to the table, regardless of whether it is stewed meat or fried, it is distinguished by its juiciness and tender pulp.
To prepare such a dish in an unusual style, the cook will need to use the following ingredients:
- knuckle;
- mustard - 0.2 kg;
- sauerkraut - 0.2 kg;
- mashed potatoes - 0.3 kg;
- seafood in sauce - 0.2 kg;
- bay leaf - 1 pc.
Seafood in a sauce can be made independently from the following ingredients:
- chili - 5 g;
- lime juice - 3 g;
- fresh garlic - 3 g;
- sugar - 1 g;
- coriander root - 3 g;
- fish sauce - 5 g.
All of these ingredients are mixed and get the necessary composition.
Put the pork in a large pot of boiling water, leave for 15 minutes on low heat, so that it boils a little. At this time, preheat the oven to + 220 ° C. Poultice, after it has cooled, sprinkled with cumin and rubbed with pepper, salt, placed in a pan and clean in the oven. From above, you can periodically pour boiling water or grease. Cooking time is one hour. Then lower the temperature to + 180 ° C and cook in the oven until the meat moves away from the stone. Served with mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, seafood sauce and mustard.
It is very popular in many countries, and Russia is no exception, the knuckle in a sweet and sour sauce. For its preparation will require the following ingredients:
- 4 onions;
- fresh ginger, sliced into strips;
- chilli;
- 100 ml of soy sauce;
- 15 ml oyster sauce;
- 1 liter chicken broth.
For the sauce should prepare ingredients such as:
- 1 cup sauce made from the above ingredients;
- 2 tsp. corn starch dissolved in a small amount of water;
- sugar;
- white wine vinegar;
- good quality tomato sauce.
Pork knives are incised on the side where the thinnest skin is located. It is placed in a pan with all the ingredients that are listed in the first list, brought to a boil and continue to cook for 60 minutes. Reduce the heat and stew the contents for another hour, then remove from heat and transfer the pork to the pan, which is stopped in a preheated oven at + 180 ° C for another hour. Meat is not covered.When it moves away from the stone, the knuckle is removed, moved to a cutting board, where it is necessary to finely chop it.
Additional sauce is prepared from the mass that remained in the pan. One cup is enough to add corn starch, vinegar, tomato sauce and sugar. All this is put on a small fire and brought to a boil, then boil for three minutes. Serve the meat, watering it with hot sauce.
What to file?
If pork knuckle is stewed with vegetables, then it can be used as a separate dish, without making an additional side dish, but most often it is served with sauce, so it is important that it accompany the meat. It is always finely chopped greens, which is best used fresh, because then it gives off all the flavor. This may be parsley or dill, green onions, but cilantro and basil are best. It is very good to serve shank with mashed potatoes or baked, steamed, boiled root vegetable. You can perfectly combine meat with a sweet and sour sauce and rice or other cereals, sometimes with pasta.
If you do not want to add calorie to a dish, then it is better to serve the pork with boiled or steamed vegetables. You can cook a light salad of fresh herbs, tomatoes and cucumbers, stew cabbage.
Cooking pork shank prescription Ilya Lazerson, see the next video.