Slovak Roasted Pork Knuckle

For the pork knuckle, prepare the marinade: press the garlic and mix it with salt, pepper, caraway, marjoram and mustard into a thick paste. Rinse the knuckle under cold water and pat it dry with a paper towel. Score the skin in a dense crosshatch, deep but not into the meat. The denser the pattern, the better the spices penetrate.

Rub the meat all over with the marinade and work the paste well into the scored skin. Place the knuckle in a large container or sturdy bag, pour over the beer and add the bay leaf and roughly chopped onion. Seal and marinate in the fridge for at least 12 hours, ideally overnight.

Preheat the oven to 160 °C and wait until it heats evenly. Remove the meat from the marinade and transfer it to a deep roasting pan. Pour the remaining marinade with the onion, beer and bay leaf over the meat. It turns into a delicious gravy during the slow roast.

Cover tightly with foil so steam cannot escape. Leave in the oven for 2 hours, until the meat is completely tender and starts to pull away from the bone. A fork should slide in without resistance.

Uncover the foil and raise the oven temperature to 220 °C. Mix the remaining mustard with honey and brush this glaze evenly over the whole surface of the meat.

Roast for 25 to 30 minutes uncovered, checking the color of the skin as you go. It should turn a deep golden brown and crackle at the touch of a spoon. Serve warm with oven potatoes, braised cabbage or fresh bread and a good mustard.