About this Dish
Czech pub food at its most magnificent — a whole pork knuckle roasted until the skin crackles and the meat falls from the bone, served with mustard, horseradish and bread dumplings. Eaten in Prague's historic beer cellars with a half-litre of Czech lager. The crackling must shatter — soft skin is unacceptable. A meal of heroic proportions.
IngredientsServes 2
🍖Pork knuckle (hind leg), 1.5–2kg, skin-on
🧄Garlic, 6 cloves, halved
🧅Yellow onion, 2 large, roughly chopped
🍺Czech dark lager, 500ml (plus one for the cook)
🧂Caraway seeds, 2 tbsp, lightly crushed
🧂Coarse sea salt, 3 tbsp
🌿Bay leaves, 4 dried
🫙Whole black peppercorns, 1 tsp
🧈Lard or sunflower oil, 2 tbsp
Method
1
Score the skin of the knuckle in a deep crosshatch pattern using a sharp knife — cut right through the skin but not into the meat. Use a small knife to stab deep pockets all over the flesh and push in the halved garlic cloves.2
Rub the knuckle all over generously with coarse sea salt and the crushed caraway seeds, making sure salt gets into every score line. Leave uncovered in the fridge overnight, or for at least 4 hours — this is what makes the skin crackle.3
Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F). Place the chopped onion, bay leaves and peppercorns in the base of a deep roasting tin and sit the knuckle on top. Pour the dark lager around the sides and rub the lard over the skin.4
Cover tightly with foil and roast for 2.5 to 3 hours, basting the meat with the pan juices every 45 minutes, until the meat is completely tender and pulling away from the bone.5
Remove the foil, crank the oven up to 230°C (450°F) and roast for a further 25–35 minutes, watching closely. The skin must blister, bubble and turn deep mahogany brown — rotate the tin if needed for even crackling. Do not cover it again.6
Rest the knuckle for 10 minutes uncovered. Strain the pan juices and skim the fat, then reduce in a small saucepan over high heat for 5 minutes to make a simple jus for pouring over.7
Serve the whole knuckle on a wooden board with strong yellow mustard, freshly grated horseradish, bread dumplings or dark rye bread, and a cold half-litre of Czech lager. Pull the meat apart at the table — it should fall from the bone without a fight.User Reviews
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