Recipe Categories
Meat 
Misc. Pork
Sausage & Feet

Granny's  Pork Knuckle

1 small leek
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
1 onion
2 meaty pork knuckles
Salt
Black pepper corns
2 tablespoons cooking fat or vegetable shortening
a pinch of cumin
Beer or water

Wash and dice the leek, celery, carrot and onion. Cook pork knuckles, diced vegetables, salt and peppercorns in water to cover 2 to 3 hours or until tender. Avoid overcooking. Remove from water; drain well reserving vegetables and cooking liquid. Preheat oven to 425F (220C). Melt fat or shortening in an enamel-lined, cast iron pan. Add drained pork knuckles, cooked vegetables and a small amount of cooking liquid.

Bake 30 minutes. Moisten meat frequently with more cooking liquid. Before meat is fully cooked, sprinkle with beer or water in which a good amount of salt has been dissolved. Add cumin to increase flavor. Serve with potato or white bread dumplings or sauerkraut salad. Note: In Bavaria, the juices and cooking liquid are strained and served as an accompanying sauce.

'He means well' is useless unless he does well.

- Plautus