PIGS’ KNUCKLES WITH SAUERKRAUT/ SCHWEINKNOCHEL MIT SAUERKRAUT

Wow…this is my 365th recipe posted at what to cook today.com. So, pretty much I have one recipe for each day of the year huh? lol.

Anyway, when I was young I used to think that Asians eat so many different parts of animals from the inside out (not talking about just the meat from the body) like feet, head, ears, internal organs, etc and I did wonder if people from other countries do consume those. My brother is the only one in the family that does not touch any other parts. Just give him the straight-forward meat and he’s content. It kinda disgusts him though when my mom prepared dishes like pork hocks, pig ears, pig intestine, liver, kidneys, etc. He couldn’t understand why we enjoy eating such things. To be honest with you, I don’t know either. We love these since we were young and this is pretty common in Asian culture. Nothing go to waste lol!

Flipping through The German Cookbook by Mimi Sheraton, it makes me realize that the Germans and lots of other parts of European countries consume the same things. Pork hocks, feet, liver, tongue, ears. I didn’t see intestine, but those are enough to tell me that wow… we’re not the only one lol!

If you are like my brother, you probably won’t be reading this post anymore, unless you are just curious 🙂
If you are like me, pretty much eating everything under the sun or somehow I manage to convince you to try those different parts, then you must try this recipe. When you mention German, Pigs’ knuckles are simply part of the story. Now, roll up the sleeve and get busy eating, sucking those tender knuckles!!

PIGS’ KNUCKLES WITH SAUERKRAUT/ SCHWEINKNOCHEL MIT SAUERKRAUT (6 servings)

6 pigs’ knuckles
2 quarts fresh or canned sauerkraut
1 to 2 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, minced
1 Tbsp caraway seeds
Dry white wine or water
Salt to taste

COOKING METHOD:

1. Scrub, scrape and wash pigs’ knuckles thoroughly. Drain sauerkraut and if it is very sour, rinse in a colander once or twice. Heat butter in heavy 3-quart Dutch oven or casserole. When butter is hot and bubbling, add minced onion and saute until transparent and begins to turn bright yellow

2. Add sauerkraut and caraway seeds and toss lightly with fork until onion and caraway seeds are evenly distributed. Saute 3 or 4 minutes. Add the knuckles and push them down until they are covered with about half the kraut. Add enough wine or water to just reach level of sauerkraut. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer slowly but steadily for the next 3 to 4 hours

3. The meat on knuckles should be tender when pierced with fork or skewer