Name: Roast Pork with Crackling and Beer Gravy (Schweinekrustenbraten)
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 95 min
Total time: 130 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 1.2 kg pork joint with rind (e.g. shoulder or belly); 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 1 tbsp oil (for the spice paste); 1 tbsp medium-hot mustard; 1 tsp ground caraway; 2 tsp salt; freshly ground black pepper; 2 tbsp oil (for browning); 2 carrots (about 200 g), in 2.5 cm pieces; 2 onions (about 200 g), in 2.5 cm pieces; 100 g celery, in 2.5 cm pieces; 1 tbsp tomato purée; 1 sprig rosemary; 500 ml meat stock; 120 ml dark beer (for pouring over); 1 tbsp plain flour (to thicken, mixed with a little cold water); 1 tbsp cold butter (to finish the gravy)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 °C (conventional). Pour boiling water over the rind of the joint, dry it well and score it in a diamond pattern without cutting into the meat.
Mix the garlic, oil, mustard, caraway, salt and plenty of pepper into a paste and rub it firmly all over the joint.
Cut the carrots, onions and celery into pieces of about 2.5 cm. Heat the oil in a roasting tin until very hot and brown the joint well on the rind side, then remove.
Briefly roast the vegetables with the tomato purée in the pan fat, add the rosemary and deglaze with the stock. Set the joint on top, rind side up, so the rind does not sit in the liquid.
Roast the joint in the oven for about 1½ hours, basting now and then with the juices from the tin. Half an hour before the end, pour the beer over it and do not baste again after that.
For the last 15 minutes switch to top heat at the highest temperature so the rind puffs up crisp. Take the joint out and let it rest for a few minutes.
Pass the juices and vegetables through a sieve, pressing the vegetables out well, reduce the gravy strongly, thicken with the flour paste and finish with cold butter. Slice the joint starting from the rind side and serve with the gravy, potato or bread dumplings and cabbage.

Drink with it

Dark beer · excellent match
Munich Dunkel or Schwarzbier, cool
The beer is already in the gravy; roasted malt echoes the crust, while carbonation and gentle bitterness clear the rind fat from the tongue.
Which beer goes with food? More than just pils with barbecue
Pale lager · excellent match
Bavarian Helles or Märzen
A soft malt body and carbonation hold up against the fat and caraway without drowning out the robust beer gravy.
Pils or Helles: What's the Difference?
Fruit brandy · excellent match
Plum or pear brandy, neat and at room temperature, after the meal
As a digestif after the roast: clear fruit and alcohol lift the fat and caraway from the palate.
What is Calvados? Apple brandy with origin
Red wine · good match
Lemberger or Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), dry
Dark fruit and moderate tannin stand up to the roasted crust, and the acidity cuts through the fatty meat.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing
White wine · good match
Silvaner from Franken, dry
Earthy spice and firm acidity accompany the caraway and mustard and refresh after each fatty bite.

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 °C (conventional). Pour boiling water over the rind of the joint, dry it well and score it in a diamond pattern without cutting into the meat.
Mix the garlic, oil, mustard, caraway, salt and plenty of pepper into a paste and rub it firmly all over the joint.
Cut the carrots, onions and celery into pieces of about 2.5 cm. Heat the oil in a roasting tin until very hot and brown the joint well on the rind side, then remove.
Briefly roast the vegetables with the tomato purée in the pan fat, add the rosemary and deglaze with the stock. Set the joint on top, rind side up, so the rind does not sit in the liquid.
Roast the joint in the oven for about 1½ hours, basting now and then with the juices from the tin. Half an hour before the end, pour the beer over it and do not baste again after that.
For the last 15 minutes switch to top heat at the highest temperature so the rind puffs up crisp. Take the joint out and let it rest for a few minutes.
Pass the juices and vegetables through a sieve, pressing the vegetables out well, reduce the gravy strongly, thicken with the flour paste and finish with cold butter. Slice the joint starting from the rind side and serve with the gravy, potato or bread dumplings and cabbage.

Drink with it

Dark beer · excellent match
Munich Dunkel or Schwarzbier, cool
The beer is already in the gravy; roasted malt echoes the crust, while carbonation and gentle bitterness clear the rind fat from the tongue.
Which beer goes with food? More than just pils with barbecue
Pale lager · excellent match
Bavarian Helles or Märzen
A soft malt body and carbonation hold up against the fat and caraway without drowning out the robust beer gravy.
Pils or Helles: What's the Difference?
Fruit brandy · excellent match
Plum or pear brandy, neat and at room temperature, after the meal
As a digestif after the roast: clear fruit and alcohol lift the fat and caraway from the palate.
What is Calvados? Apple brandy with origin
Red wine · good match
Lemberger or Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), dry
Dark fruit and moderate tannin stand up to the roasted crust, and the acidity cuts through the fatty meat.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing
White wine · good match
Silvaner from Franken, dry
Earthy spice and firm acidity accompany the caraway and mustard and refresh after each fatty bite.

Roast Pork with Crackling and Beer Gravy (Schweinekrustenbraten)

Preparation

Drink with it

Munich Dunkel or Schwarzbier, cool

Bavarian Helles or Märzen

Plum or pear brandy, neat and at room temperature, after the meal

Lemberger or Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), dry

Silvaner from Franken, dry

This pairs well too.

Choucroute garnie (Alsatian sauerkraut with meats)

Schupfnudeln with Sauerkraut and Bacon (Swabian potato noodles)

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings

Beef Tacos (ground beef tacos)

Roast Pork with Crackling and Beer Gravy (Schweinekrustenbraten)

Preparation

Drink with it

Munich Dunkel or Schwarzbier, cool

Bavarian Helles or Märzen

Plum or pear brandy, neat and at room temperature, after the meal

Lemberger or Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), dry

Silvaner from Franken, dry

This pairs well too.

Choucroute garnie (Alsatian sauerkraut with meats)

Schupfnudeln with Sauerkraut and Bacon (Swabian potato noodles)

Honey BBQ Chicken Wings

Beef Tacos (ground beef tacos)