Central European gastronomy is designed to warm you up . Dishes like the delicious Hungarian goulash or the irresistible kulajda are a clear example of this. But today we bring you the most well-known dish of all Czech gastronomy, the one that Czechs love and that can be found in any restaurant, Koleno or knuckle.
Roasted knuckle is the star dish par excellence of Czech cuisine, and one of the most requested in restaurants by both tourists and locals. The usual thing is a piece of between 1.5 and 3 kg of knuckle per serving and if that were not enough, it is accompanied with a garnish of vegetables, potatoes and horseradish (the same one used to create the wasabi substitute ) . As you will understand, the usual thing is to share the knuckle between two or three people, and even then there is usually leftovers, but the Czechs eat it in one sitting, accompanied by a good Czech beer to wash it all down.
It is a very filling dish but absolutely delicious . Its preparation is a bit laborious, since it requires first cooking the piece of meat and then roasting it so that it is crispy on the outside but inside the meat melts in the mouth . If you have ever been to the Czech Republic, you will surely remember this dish with great affection, and if not, then it is a perfect time to get closer to Czech food. Although it requires a little effort, the result is so delicious that you will surely love it.
Ingredients:
- 550g. pork knuckle
- 1 carrot
- 1 kohlrabi
- 1 celery
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Half a red onion
- 1 chilli
- 2 bay leaves
- Fresh parsley
- 1 meat broth cube
- 200 ml soy sauce
- mustard seeds
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper (to each household’s taste)
- Olive oil
- Water
- To accompany: 4 special potatoes for roasting
- 12 cherry tomatoes
- 8 asparagus
Before starting with the knuckle
- Before cooking we need to desalt the knuckle. The normal thing to do is to put it in a container with plenty of cold water 24 hours before cooking it, changing it every 6-8 hours.
- This is an estimated time, but the ideal would be to read the product label, if you buy it packaged, and follow the desalting time marked on it. Now there are desalted knuckles, ready to cook.
Preparation of the knuckle
- We wash and clean the knuckle well. The Czechs do not remove any of the fat from the knuckle, but if we want to make it healthier, we can remove it without any problem. Then we chop the onion, carrots, celery, rutabaga, chilli and garlic. We add it to the pot and fry everything with a little olive oil until ready. We also add a little salt and a bay leaf.
- When the sauce is ready, we put the knuckle in the pot and give it a few touches so that it takes on a golden color to the skin. We add the pepper, mustard seeds and parsley.
- When the meat is well sealed, we add water to the pot until it completely covers the knuckle. We also add the meat concentrate tablet and the soy sauce. We let everything cook over low heat for an hour and we make sure that the water does not reduce too much, adding more if necessary and adjusting salt and spices if necessary.
Baking and final presentation of Czech-style knuckle
- When 50 minutes have passed, we preheat the oven to 190º C.
- We peel the potatoes (please make them special for roasting) and wash them. Cut it into thick sticks, to roast quickly, and place it on a baking tray. We salt and pepper.
- We put them in the oven at 190º C with heat up and down (with air if you have it) in the middle tray. We bake for 25-30 minutes (depends on the size of the potatoes). We remove and reserve for assembling the dish.
- While the potatoes are cooking, remember that we are cooking the knuckle in the pot. Once that hour of cooking has passed, we place the knuckle on a baking tray. We beat the sauce that we have left in the pot, we bathe the knuckle well with it and we put it in the oven for 40 minutes. From time to time we add a little sauce on top to make it juicy.
- Sauté the asparagus and cherry tomatoes in a frying pan over medium heat for about 12 minutes. We salt and pepper. As I mentioned, it is an accompaniment idea, but it is optional, you can accompany it only with the potatoes.
- After this time, we take it out of the oven and serve it with a timbale of roasted potatoes on the side, and well drizzled with sauce. Ready to enjoy with a good bread, to dip and not stop.
Tips for a perfect roast knuckle
- We must carefully monitor the baking time . If we see that it is already quite golden on the outside, we take it out to prevent it from burning.
- This knuckle is usually accompanied by sauerkraut and horseradish , as well as a good mug of beer, although we can add roasted potatoes or whatever we fancy.
- It is a very filling dish, ideally we should use it to share between two people.
