Ingredients
4 salted pork knuckles, each about 800g with bones
freshly ground pepper
250ml hot water for the fat collecting roasting tin
about 1 litre (4 cups) hot water, or half vegetable stock and half water
3 onions
100ml light beer
dark sauce thickner (optional)


Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Rinse the meat under cold running water, pat dry and rub with pepper. Slide a fat-collecting roasting tin onto the third shelf from the bottom and pour 250ml (1 cup) of water into it. Place the knuckles on a metal grid (cake cooling rack) and slide the grid into the oven above the fat-collecting roasting tin.

Add hot water or vegetable stock now and again into replace the evaporated liquid (the fat-collecting roasting tin should always be filled with liquid to a height of 1cm). Turn the meat occasionally and baste with the cooking juices.

Peel the onions, cut into quarters and add to the liquid in the fat-collecting roasting tin, then cook for another hour. Baste the knuckle with the beer from time to time.

Remove the cooked meat from the bone and arrange on a pre-heated dish. Skim the fat off the cooking juices with a spoon, put aside 500ml (2 cups) of the cooking juices and top up if necessary with water or stock. Thicken the 500ml of cooking juices with sauce thickner if desired and season with pepper. Serve the sauce with the meat.

Accompaniments: Serve with sauerkraut, mashed potato or potato dumplings.

Tips: You can make the sauce spicier by adding a little mustard. This will also make the sauce more digestible.
The knuckle can also be seasoned with dry marjoram leaves or caraway seeds.
If you prefer the rind crispier, raise the oven temperature by 20-40°C for the last 15 minutes.
No more than six knuckles should be cooked in the oven at the same time.